Is Ibra the Greatest Club Footballer?

He has not been afraid to travel to unfamiliar terrains. Unlike others, he made a mark in whichever leagues he played. No one would challenge the fact that he added value to each of the teams in which he played...

- Niji NG

Is Zlatan Ibrahimovic the greatest club footballer? He himself would agree, but many people would frown upon the thought. For a lot of football fans, football is a bipolar world. Cristiano Ronaldo stands at one pole, while Lionel Messi occupies the other. There is no room for any other player at the summits. It could be true if you take both international games and club football into consideration, but cannot be true if only club football is considered.

The achievements of Ronaldo and Messi are great in club football. Ronaldo has EPL crowns, La Liga crowns and Champions League titles to his credit, while Messi has more La Liga and Champions League titles than Ronaldo. However, Zaltan has something no one else has: four league titles in four different countries. If his current form at Manchester United continues, in a couple of years he is likely to have one more.

UNMATCHED VERSATILITY

There is an oft-repeated phrase that you see in self-improvement books: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. There is a something of a comfort zone in football too. The things that you see on the football ground from a player depend on what that player goes through during the rest of his time in training, in his home and in the society he lives. Football fields are not air-tight compartments from the outside worlds. The comfort level of the player with his life in a particular country is a vital factor for his consistent good performance for the club.