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PL Hangover: Will Ibrahimovic Prove a Cantona-Like Catalyst at Man United?
- Updated: December 19, 2016
For a man in possession of the finest comic timing and deadpan delivery in football, it’s fair to say Zlatan Ibrahimovic subscribes to the adage that many a true word is spoken in jest.
Which is why when over the summer Eric Cantona said with tongue firmly in cheek that the Manchester United new boy could be a prince of the city but never its king, Ibrahimovic will almost certainly have taken it as a challenge.
He’s not quite earned the God-like status he predicted would be his before too long in Manchester, though if he keeps up a scoring rate that was extended to 10 in nine games with a match-winning double at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, he could be spoken of in the same divine terms afforded to the Frenchman by the time he bids farewell to Old Trafford.
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It’s now three wins in seven days for a rejuvenated United. They have not lost since a wretched performance at Fenerbahce on November 3. Momentum is growing.
No player has taken greater responsibility than Ibrahimovic, who has managed 11 goals more than any of his team-mates. They’re not a one-man band, but if he takes to the field on Boxing Day against Sunderland with a drum on his back, harmonica in mouth and guitar in hand don’t be surprised if he murders “This is the One.”
Since a performance at Everton on December 4 that drew criticism despite a goal as he repeatedly dropped deep to leave United lacking a focal point, Ibrahimovic appears to have accepted his job is to lead the line and score goals. Both the player and United have been all the better for it. Wayne Rooney may be nominally holding on to the captain’s armband, but few would dispute who the leader of this side really is.
In a perverse way, the assault he committed at the weekend almost felt as significant as the goals. As West Brom defender Craig Dawson lay prostrate it was difficult to tell whether it was the force of impact or sheer incredulity at Ibrahimovic’s act of wanton violence that had taken his breath away.
A more stage-school referee than Anthony Taylor would have relished brandishing a red card in the direction of the Manchester United striker, after he had leapt into a first-half challenge with his shoulder later than the average Royal Mail delivery at this time of year. Though neither particularly malicious nor malevolent, it would be hard to argue it wasn’t deliberate.
It was the type of challenge neutrals argue United players have been getting away with for years; it was the type of challenge United players haven’t been making for years.
As pale and wan as an undercooked chicken in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson slump, for three seasons it has been feared Trading Standards could demand the removal of the devil from the club’s badge. With a sepia filter now applied to the Scot’s years, it’s easy to forget his teams could bully opposition and hector referees with the best of them.
With Ibrahimovic in their ranks, United may finally be ready to make a pact with Lucifer again. On cue, as though present at a singalong musical, a lively away end at the Hawthorns gave a festive rendition of “Five Cantonas” shortly after Ibrahimovic doubled United’s lead. It would have been just as fitting had they done it after he had poleaxed Dawson.
Given Manchester United agreeing to sign Cantona from Leeds United in November 1992 proved to be the most seismic piece of business conducted in the history of the Premier League—if not English football—it will no doubt seem preposterously premature to draw parallels with the acquisition of Ibrahimovic at a time when the club trail league leaders Chelsea by 13 points.
For starters, they played in Manchester at such disparate points in their careers. Cantona was five years younger than Ibrahimovic is now when he retired. The Frenchman was a recognised talent but had more baggage than Michael Palin.
Football in the early 1990s was unrecognisable to as it is today. Just 13 non-British players figured on the opening day of the 1992/93 Premier League season. If English football is still considered blinkered now, back then it carried a white stick. Cantona opened its eyes to the world.
Yet in many respects what Ibrahimovic brings to the party is not dissimilar to what Cantona did 24 years ago. Both men draw people to them like a moth to a flame. Both are charismatic, even if Cantona did more talking with his eyes than he did his mouth. As his team-mates would testify, a glacier stare was all it took. Ibrahimovic does not suffer fools gladly either.
“If ever there was one player, anywhere in the world, that was made for Manchester United, it was Cantona,” Ferguson said of the Frenchman, per MailOnline.
“He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he were asking: ‘I’m Cantona. How big are you? Are you big enough for me?'”
‘Tis the season to be Eric 🎄👑 pic.twitter.com/FgF6AMq0lW
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) December 17, 2016
How many of the club’s current crop in times of sombre self-reflection over the past three seasons might have asked themselves: “Am I big enough for Manchester United? Am I really good enough?” Half, maybe two-thirds?
Not Ibrahimovic. He pitched up in the north-west of England having won the league in 13 of his 15 seasons spent playing abroad. Even in his advanced years he knows the club is lucky to have him rather than the other way around, and that makes a …
