Food For Thought: Players’ Agents Should Think Before They Speak

Is Ibrahimovic Better Than Ronaldo, Kaka And Benzema Combined?

Okay, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has “phenomenal technical ability” and although it might sound weird for a player who almost invariably drapes on the Invisible Cloak during big games, Ibracadabra is indeed a footballing sorcerer.

But to suggest that he is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema put together is pushing it a bit.

For one thing, Ibrahimovic hasn't won the Champions League. No, winning the European Cup doesn't necessarily denote that you are a top class player (Djimi Traore is a European Cup winner but Brazil’s Ronaldo is not) but Ibra couldn't inspire his clubs to the European summit.

On the other hand, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka have. While Ronaldo was a key figure in United's surge to the European summit in 2008, Kaka scored 10 goals in the Champions League in 2006-2007 and destroyed Manchester United in the semi-finals to single-handedly lead AC Milan to their seventh European Cup triumph. Karim Benzema is only 21 years of age and has time on his hand.

Also, Ibrahimovic has never been in real contention for the Ballon d'Or or the FIFA World Player of the Year award and with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo in red hot form, it is unlikely that he ever will.

True, Ibra does possess marvelous technical skills that have been indispensable to Inter Milan's scudetto conquests for the past three seasons and some of his goals like that taekwondo-kick goal have been outlandishly world class, but to suggest that he is better than Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema combined is wishful thinking. Better than Benzema for sure, perhaps more talented than Kaka but not as effective and certainly not as complete as Ronaldo.

Selling a player is an agent’s job but selling a player like Mino Raiola is trying to sell Ibra loses credibility. But then again, if players’ agents started learning to think before speaking, the world would become a less funnier place.

Can Michael Owen Find The Goals At Manchester United?

Michael Owen has been off his game for five seasons now. Since his move back to the Premier League at the end of the 2004-2005 season from Real Madrid where he was a bench-warming Galactico, the former Liverpool star has been struggling with injuries and poor form. Although he did regain some of his scoring touch briefly during the 2007-2008 season he couldn't sustain that streak.

Now of course Manchester United would be the new challenge for the England international striker. True, the Owen who scored that goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup finals is locked inside the attic never to come out again and the 29-year-old’s reassurance that he would regain his scoring touch at Old Trafford might seem to have little credibility at the moment, but Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't have signed him for nothing, even if it was on a free transfer.

Moving from Spanish and European powerhouse Real Madrid to Premier League also-rans Newcastle United in 2005 was a step down but moving to English and European giants Manchester United (from Championship side Newcastle United) is a massive step up. Given the right service and if played to his strengths, Owen will score goals but perhaps asking him to emulate CR7-turned-CR9's goalscoring record at Old Trafford would be asking a bit too much.

Subhankar Mondal