The power, the fury and the hugs: Zlatan’s return to the Camp Nou in pictures
December 11, 2014
Like a tornado of bitterness and resentment trying to disguise itself as a friendly typhoon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Barcelona on Wednesday with PSG for the Champions League match that would decide the winner of Group F. Though he only spent one season with Barca, the events of that period were the basis for the most vitriolic passages of his autobiography and wounds that seem to still haven’t totally healed four years later. And so, all eyes were on Zlatan during the match. Just as he likes it.
He wasted no time in making his mark on the night by opening the scoring in the 15th minute. In an age where too many players refuse to celebrate goals against their former clubs, Zlatan lifted himself into the sky with a combination of pride and vengeance.
He made Luis Suarez, who scored Barcelona’s final goal, think he was about to lose all of his people chewers.
And at one point, he started shooting green (the color of envy, coincidentally) laser beams from his face.
He did whatever this as to Javier Mascherano.
Barcelona won 3–1. But in the end, he still let Lionel Messi hug him. If only because he knew it would make him look like Leo’s daddy.
After the match, Zlatan was asked if he still had any friends at Barca. He responded in typical Ibra fashion by saying, “The 90 thousand in the stands and 22 on the pitch.” In other words, everyone in the stadium was Zlatan’s friend. Because Pep Guardiola wasn’t there.
