Zlatan: 'I promised to be decisive'

Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he has promised CT Janne Andersson he will be ‘decisive’ for Sweden. ‘Now I have to prove it’.

The 39-year-old returns for Sweden this month and underlined he has cleared the air with the coach and is prepared to ‘contribute for the national team’.

“We met for the first time, alone in a room, and we spoke about everything,” Ibrahimovic said at a press conference.

“It was a positive meeting where we confronted each other and, in the end, we chose what was best for Sweden.

“We both know what is best for the national team and today I’m sitting here in front of you. If I’m here, it’s not because my name is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but because I deserve to be here.

“Everything I have done before means nothing. I feel fit, I want to be involved and I feel I can still contribute for the national team.

“I’m just a piece of the puzzle,” he continued. “If you ask me, I’m the best in the world, but that doesn’t help here.

“I just want to put my experience at the disposal of the team and I promised the coach I will be decisive, but now I have to prove it on the pitch.”

The veteran said he’s not looking to take the captaincy of Andreas Granqvist but admitted he asked Real Sociedad forward Alexander Isak to get the No. 11 shirt.

“In my head, the captain is Andreas Granqvist,” he said. “But then it’s up to the coach to decide.

“I asked Alexander if I could have the No. 11 shirt. He gave me the OK, as long as he could get it back within six or seven years,” he laughed.

“Forsberg had offered me No. 10, but I preferred to decline because this is a new chapter and it’s right that he has it.

“And then, the number doesn’t really matter.”

Sweden face Georgia and Kosovo in Group B of the World Cup qualifiers this month and conclude the international break with a friendly against Estonia on March 31.