If you do not learn from history, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will force you to repeat it: How Milan and their ageless talisman became unlikely title contenders

 

10 years ago, AC Milan signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, rescuing the 29-year-old from a fraught, unhappy period at Barcelona and immediately cemented themselves as title contenders in a Serie A that had groaned under the weight of a suffocating dynasty enjoyed by cross-city rivals Inter. 

Inter had recently replaced Jose Mourinho with Rafa Benitez, and the Nerazzurri were struggling to adapt to a new era defined by the declining prowess of some of the foundational pieces that had won the treble the season before and had until then, a historic vice grip on the peninsula's premier league. 

The arrival of Zlatan, partnering him with a quiet, thoughtful and tactically astute coach in Massimiliano Allegri, a tight defence and workhorse midfield, coalesced around the skills of their transcendent Swede and brought Il Diavolo's first title in seven years. It was a watershed moment for Italian football, breaking up a half-decade of dominance and re-affirming that the Serie A power pendulum mirrors every swing of the mercurial forward's boot. Gazetta dello Sport wrote the next day, 'Serie A is a league in which 20 teams compete and in the end, Zlatan Ibrahimovic wins.' 

That period was an entire decade ago and for Milan, it was three ownerships, eight coaches and countless crises ago. It has been a tumultuous period since those heady days that brought Ibrahimovic and a Scudetto to Rossoneri hands but unbelievably, against all notions of logic, all pre-conceived rules of time and any hitherto accepted truths about a player's declining athletic ability after a certain age, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back in a Milan shirt and has turned his team into unlikely Scudetto candidates again. 

The parallels do not end with the 39-year-old's mere reappearance. This time, a decade on from ending the black-and-blue stranglehold on Serie A in the late-aughts, Italian football had surrendered to a seemingly omnipotent champion in Juventus; a Bianconceri side that had adopted the role of schoolyard bully for nine successive seasons, turning a previously competitive league into a 19-team battle for second place. 

However, in similar fashion to the post-Jose Inter, Juventus are displaying chinks in previously impenetrable amour. Like Inter, Juve replaced an out-going figure of consistency and European success in Massimiliano Allegri (remember him?) with a much more inexperienced one in first Maurizio Sarri and now a completely inexperienced one in Andrea Pirlo (think Benitez/Leonardo at Inter). 

Like Inter in 2010, Juventus's foundational pieces are not as strong as in previous seasons. As deep and well-funded the current squad is, the league champions over-reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo, inconsistent performances from star Paolo Dybala and striker Alvaro Morata, ageing/declining/injury prone defenders in Leo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini and the now five year absence of a dominant midfield presence means the usually sealed shut window on title contention is ever so slightly open, even if just a sliver. 

Meanwhile, at Via Turati, Milan are playing with an abundance and confidence not seen since a raised eyebrow was the leading facial expression patrolling San Siro's touchline. Once again, a side has been built around the strengths of their imposing forward - surrounding Ibra with pacey and hard-working wingers such as Alexis Saelemakers, Rafael Leao, Sami Castillejo and new signings Jens Petter Hauge and the exciting Brahim Diaz offering offensive incision and regularly stretching opposition defences. 

In Stefano Pioli's 4-2-3-1, the combination of Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie is at the moment the best midfield partnership in Italy, the former's passing range complimenting the latter's bulldozing runs and physicality. Simon Kjaer and the revitalised Davide Calabria have helped steady a defence that has survived a shaky return to fitness from captain Alessio Romagnoli and even has an attacking capacity shown by hardworking engine Theo Hernandez. 

Under Pioli, a coach who has seemingly found his calling at Milan, is a teacher and tactician getting defensive solidity and attacking fluidity from a side that for years had displayed very little of either prior to his arrival. Milan additionally seem to have depth of quality where previously there had been no quality at all, able to rotate Diogo Dalot, Sandro Tonali and Ante Rebic alongside the aforementioned quadrant of widemen. 

At the centre of it all is Ibrahimovic, a man who has powered his former and current club to 24 consecutive matches in Serie A without loss and having contributed to 23 goals in that time (17 goals, 6 assists) at the age of 39, a frankly astonishing feat that further establishes Zlatan as one of the most unique and impactful forwards in European football history. 

Still possessing the size and strength to hold off defenders and dominate aerially, able to maintain possession and spray the ball out to wide players and into tight corners and between defenders, Ibrahimovic is a footballing juxtaposition. A leader and reference point, and still an intoxicating cocktail of power, presence and audacious technique. 

No more can this be encapsulated in his goal and assist vs Udinese - the first a lofted ball that the striker brought under control with an awe dropping ease, holding a defender off with one arm as casually as one might hold a door for an oncoming stranger, before sliding a pass into Franck Kessie's path. 

The goal, #11 rising up and striking an absurdly nonchalant overhead kick among the chaos of the 18 yard box after a poor clearance, highlights not only the Swede's skill, but the brazen confidence the man still possess as he approaches an age where many men are considering a poorly placed piercing or neon coloured car to maintain their youth. Zlatan maintains his rather more organically. 

At some point this season, the run Milan are on will presumably end and balance will be restored as Juventus stroll to a 10th league title, the De Ligt-Dybala-Ronaldo core too much to overcome for a side built around several men in their early 20's and a striker nearly two decades their senior. But right now, Milan look like Champions League qualification could be a minimum expectation for a team that has not found success like this in over a decade. In fact, if you squint a little, it looks a lot like 2010 right about now. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has chance to cement his status as all-time great in Lisbon return ahead of Champions League final

On Saturday 24th May, Real Madrid will face city rivals Atletico Madrid for a chance to lift their 10th Champions League title, in what will be their first final appearance since Zinedine Zidane's sumptuous volley sealed a 2002 victory in Glasgow.

Since that evening, now 12 years ago, Real Madrid have viewed the 10th title, called "La Decima" to Madridistas and Spaniards everywhere as an "obsession", a dream that has formed an identity of its own, fuelling managerial appointments, transfer fees and press conferences almost immediately after the ninth Champions League title was lifted into a dark Glasgow night by then Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez.

For Real Madrid, a team of unparalleled European success, the next title is always the most important and the tenth is of symbolic significance not lost the club's owner Florentino Perez and all those he employs to bring said trophy back to the Bernabeu.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, talisman of this Madrid side since his arrival in the summer of 2009, "La Decima" is more than symbolic significance to his employers but arguably a chance to complete a year of redemption for the Portugese star.

Redemption is an admittedly odd word for a man who has routinely considered one of the top two players on the planet since he lifted the Ballon D'or in 2008 following Manchester United's Champions League win against Chelsea, but it is appropriate.

Because despite Ronaldo's personal achievements, record-breaking goal tallies and irrepressible surge up the all-time scorers lists for Real Madrid and Portugal, the advent of Lionel Messi's greatness has somewhat demeaned those achievements as an afterthought compared to the Barcelona stars personal quest with history.

It is almost unfair to compare Cristiano Ronaldo to Lionel Messi, a player of almost universal popularity and praise that as a result, has elevated the Argentine almost beyond normal comprehension. Because of the staggering achievements of Messi from his 2009 Ballon D'or win at 22 to his ascension as Barcelona's greatest ever goalscorer amidst his four consecutive Ballon D'ors during a period as the fulcrum of a side dominating football like few sides before it, Ronaldo's achievements appear secondary.

If Cristiano Ronaldo's CV is put in a vacuum, you're looking at one the greatest players of all time, who would also be unquestionably the greatest in any era in terms of efficiency bar the one he is part of right now. 164 league goals in 142 league games coupled with 51 Champions League goals in 50 appearances since his arrival at the Spanish giants is a return that should only be found on a computer game. His 16 goals in 10 Champions League matches this season is unparalleled in the history of the competition, also providing four assists and hitting the woodwork four times.

The Ballon D'or win was a vindication of sorts, but the Portugese's critics will point to the absence of the injury-hit Lionel Messi as the prevailing factor in his recognition. Even in his finest hour, Messi's shadow looms large.

Similarly, Ronaldo's superb form since arriving at Real Madrid comes with the caveat of an absent space in Madrid's locker room, forever reserved for the 10th Champions League trophy. Regardless of his transfer being considered an undoubted success despite the enormous price, the lack of a tangible, European reward is a blot on an otherwise pristine record, emphasised by the continental achievements of bitter rivals Barcelona and the 2011 Champions League appearance made by former club Manchester United. Should Ronaldo take over Raul Gonzalez as Real Madrid's all-time goalscorer (which grows more and more inevitable every season), his bid at becoming one of the Spanish club's all-time greats will also be diminished should it end without a European title. For a club like Real Madrid, records and trophies must go hand in hand.

Lisbon's hosting of the final takes on a multi-faceted sense of significance for the homecoming forward. It offers the opportunity for Ronaldo to crown a historic season with the European trophy that his arrival sought to ensure, as well as the opportunity to affirm his status as one of Real Madrid's all-time greats.

For once, in almost five years, Cristiano Ronaldo will not be talked about as an antagonist to Lionel Messi, the rival that pushes the more talented player to new heights. It will be a singular achievement for a man that has led his side to the promised land of the Champions League, and will arguably allow him to stand as a player whose career must be evaluated among those who have graced the history books in years gone by.

For Ronaldo, it is more than La Decima. It is the chance at all-time greatness.