‘Manage with his ego’ - Why Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not become a coach as ex-AC Milan, Juventus, PSG & Man Utd striker avoids ‘chaos’ in the dugout

Having started his career in 1999 at Malmo, Ibrahimovic played in four different decades before hanging his boots up for the final time in 2023. By that point he had represented Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the LA Galaxy.

Countless trophies were collected over the course of a glittering career, with that haul including five Serie A titles, four domestic crowns in France and a Europa League triumph during his spell at Old Trafford. Ibrahimovic also won 122 caps for Sweden, posting a record-setting tally of 62 goals along the way.

With vast experience to pass on, questions were - once reaching retirement - inevitably asked if one of the most colourful characters in professional sport could turn his hand to coaching. An alternative avenue back into football was eventually trodden.

Ibrahimovic is still involved in the game, as a prominent figure behind the scenes at AC Milan, with a man that never shied away from billing himself as a ‘God’ in his playing days considered to have settled upon the perfect role.

Quizzed on whether Ibrahimovic would have brought too much “chaos” to management, Milan legend Ambrosini - speaking courtesy of BetVictor Online Casino - told GOAL during an exclusive interview: “Zlatan found, right now, exactly what he has to do. I'm not sure he wants to be a manager. Maybe when you finish playing you start thinking: ‘Okay, what can I do? What am I able to do?’ And maybe it's normal that he thought: ‘Okay, I can be a manager’. 

“But he realised that it's not the right role for him. Because he has to manage with his ego. The perfect way to manage with his ego is to stay above, not to think about 30 players every game. He needs to stay in the position that he is in right now. Close to the owner, not so close to the club like last year. Stay a step forward and see what happens - bringing his unbelievable knowledge of football, but not as a manager.”

Ibrahimovic was cut from the same cloth as five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo - in that he always demanded the best of himself and those that he worked alongside. Pressed on whether that mindset would have made coaching difficult, Ambrosini added: “Even the last years of his career, he changed. Because when he came back the last time with AC Milan, he realised that his team-mates were not as good as we were 10 years before. And this changes his way of staying in the locker room. 

“Of course, bringing his power, bringing his confidence, bringing his ego. But realising that the players would need something more: ‘Okay, come here, I'm going to explain to you what you need to do in a different way’. That's why they won the last title.”

It could be said that modern football misses personalities like Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli and Gennaro Gattuso - figures that play with passion and make no apologies for who they are and what they do.

Asked why that is the case, Ambrosini - who won four Serie A titles and two Champions League crowns with Milan - said: “The players you mentioned, they like to play on the pitch. Now the new generation have fun off the pitch. I mean, they realise their ego with the social media. 

“Mario Balotelli was having fun, Zlatan having fun. They know that they have only the 90 minutes and that's it. Now the players know that they can think, they can put their energy even off the pitch. So maybe the 90 minutes sometimes is not so important. Of course, it's not going to be like this for everybody, but you lose a lot of energy thinking about something that does not belong to football. I miss that player.”

The ex-Italy international went on to say of football also losing enigmatic talents such as Ronaldinho and Neymar - those that play with a smile on their face and are all about entertaining with a box of tricks: “To play like Ronaldinho, you have the quality of Ronaldinho, first of all. And it's not going to be easy. 

“I don't know, you're talking with an Italian man and here in Italy, we have a lack of quality much more than in other countries. In England, in France, in Spain, you have talented players. You have a lot of talented players. Here in Italy, nothing. Absolutely nothing. And we are asking ourselves why we don't have any more that kind of player. 

“But of course, I think the problem is, especially here in Italy, maybe much more than in the other parts, people lose time, lose energy, social media and what else. Of course, it's not the only reason. There are a lot of reasons. I'm talking about in Italy. This is a big problem. We don't have quality.”

Part of Ibrahimovic’s remit is to help change that, as he endeavours to help bring glory days back to San Siro. Milan would love to have a home-grown core at the heart of any success - alongside imports such as USMNT star Christian Pulisic and Portugal international Rafael Leao.

It remains to be seen whether the Rossoneri can aid that process, with the Italy national team currently preparing for crucial World Cup qualification play-off action - as they face Northern Ireland in the semi-final stage - having missed out on a place at the last two stagings of that tournament in 2018 and 2022.