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The Gamper, Ibra's Party

11:06 Reporter: Editor 4 Responses

The day has come to enjoy the Swedish crack.

"Ibra Fever," as it is beginning to be known, has gotten a hold of Barcelona, as well as fans alike. "There is no better way than to present Ibra and open his debut at the 44th Gamper game," claims Xavier Muñoz from El Mundo Deportivo.

Perhaps this night would become one of the greatest nights for a Gamper. Having the likes of Robinho, Tevez, and Adebayor along with their ever growing squad applauding and welcoming back the Tricampeon to the field promises to shake and motivate azulgrana fans to fill the whole stadium. Its the game thats going to bring the most "bang" for the buck.

Ibra is probably going to play 45 minutes with a protective cover on his arm. Asked about his debut, he responded, "Of course I feel a little nervous. Everything is new and I still have to adapt. But I don't worry about it much. I know how good I am and I am confident."

"I will always try to play for the fans. And being along Henry and Messi at the front, Oh! I think that the fans will enjoy it." Asked about his future triumphs with Barcelona, Ibrahimovic responded, "You cannot just win here, you have to play beautiful football too. That is something that is a real motivation for me."

"Ibra's Party" will begin to be televised early morning, as preparations for the game will be underway. Before the game, the official presentation of Barcelona will begin. Fasten your seatbelts, we're in for a ride!

Ibrahimovic arrives two minutes late for training

06:15 Reporter: Editor 34 Responses

Barcelona's official televison channel released footage of Barcelona player Zlatan Ibrahimoic coming two minutes late for yesterday's training session at 9 am.

The video shows Guardiola who walks nervously around, waiting for Zlatan to attend the morning training session at the club's Joan Gamper training centre.

watch a video here

Read more:
Ibrahimovic confident ahead of debut
Zlatan attracting Swedish tourists

Guardiola thinks Ibrahimovic will adapt quickly

04:22 Reporter: Editor 8 Responses

Speaking at a press conference, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola praised Barelona's new signing Ibrahimovic's quality and adaptation:

"Ibrahimovic has adapted well to the team and to the people. Today, at the Gamper, we want him to start playing so he can catch the rhythm he is missing.

I don't think it will take Ibra a lot of time to get used to us. He has a lot of class and is the type of player who can adapt to any system. I am confident that he will do so as soon as possible. The most important thing is that he gets some playing time, but he is a very intelligent player and has already taken in our tactics. When I first saw him play I thought he was very big and tall but had a lot of quality, like someone who was much smaller. He dominates all aspects of the game.”

contribution khairallah, ibrahimovic |

Ibrahimovic confident ahead of debut

23:53 Reporter: Editor 11 Responses

Speaking to Swedish televison channel TV4, Barcelona forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27) explained how he is feeling before his predicted debut today against English Premier League club Manchester City in the Joan Gamper Trophy:

"Of course I am a bit nervous but I am not worried about my qualities. I know how good I am. I have a lot of confidence.

It irritates me a little that I have to play with my arm protected. But I just have to give everything. I always try to do my best and give something back to the spectators. It's the people who follow you and pay the expensive tickets and I think they will enjoy it."

Read more:
Medical: Green light for Ibrahimovic and Messi
Zlatan attracting Swedish tourists
The eleven tattoos of Zlatan

contribution fuglen, ibrahimovic, tv4 |

Zlatan attracting Swedish tourists

16:50 Reporter: Editor 9 Responses

Before, England and Italy were the two countries which attracted football fans from Sweden, now a report by Sport shows how the arrival of Zlatan has enhanced the status of Barcelona in Sweden, where football is the most loved sport.

The arrival of new Barcelona star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has sparked new interest of Swedish tourists visiting Barcelona as a popular tourism destination. Nowadays, at Barca's training, several Swedish journalists show keen interest in the club and Zlatan.

Travel agents in Sweden have also shown drastic growth in tourism. Giving Street, a travel agency in Sweden, says that "we had never sold before the season. It has been crazy. We even have to say every day that we have sold out". Kliben Issa, another trader, adding that "we have sold more trips to Barcelona in two weeks than in two years."

contribution deem, ibrahimovic, sport |

The eleven tattoos of Zlatan

06:36 Reporter: Editor 34 Responses

Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is known not only for his talent as a football player but also for his passion for tattoos. He has eleven of them drawn all over his physique, mostly relating to his family and beliefs and as good luck charms.
by: Xaviniesta

1- The most striking design, a red dragon on his back, is said to be a metaphor for his personality.

2- The symbols on his wrists known as the "Ibrahimovic Code" are actually the birth dates of his parents and three siblings.

3- When his son Maximilian was born he had his name written on his right arm.

4- His second son Vincent's name was later added to Maximilian's.

His sons' birthdays were also added to the "Ibrahimovic Code" on his wrist.

5- The family name Ibrahimovic is written in Arabic on the back of his right arm.

6- The tribal drawing supposedly symbolizes the family's good fortune.

7- His mother's name Jurka is tattooed on his left arm.

8- His father Šefik's name is on his right arm. His parents' names and the Ibrahimovic Code were his earliest tattoos.

9- The words "Only God Can Judge Me" on his belly supposedly show both his religious and rebellious nature.

10- He supposedly got this unique white ink tattoo for a commercial but later decided to keep it.

11- His latest tattoo is a drawing of two poker cards, the aces of hearts and clover placed near the dragon symbol as a good luck charm.

The customized shoes of Ibrahimovic

23:55 Reporter: Editor 11 Responses

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo reports that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has started training yesterday with the football shoes customized by Nike. In the United States, he had been using red shoes because these darker ones didn't seem to fit at first.

At the internal part of the shoes, his own name is engraved, while at the external part the names and birth dates of his two sons are mentioned: "Maximilian 22 Sept. 2006" and "Vincent 6 March 2008". Ibrahimovc has shoe size 47.

Number of the day: 25

12:59 Reporter: Editor 7 Responses

percentage of Ibrahimovic' goals scored during the last fifteen minutes of a game over the past five seasons

more quotes and numbers

ibrahimovic, quote |

First group training for Ibrahimovic

03:51 Reporter: Editor 17 Responses

Barcelona player Zlatan Ibrahimovic has today for the first time normally taken part in the group training.

With only nine first team players available (Valdés, Pinto, Jorquera, Henrique, Maxwell, Víctor Sánchez, Pedro, Bojan and Ibrahimovic), Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola has decided that the four Barcelona Atlètic players who have been with the team since pre-season started (Muniesa, Fontàs, Jonathan and Jeffren) will at this moment continue with the first team. Thierry Henry and Andrés Iniesta have been doing individual recovery exercices at the sports centre.

Read more:
Medical: Ibrahimovic joins group training tomorrow

ibrahimovic |

Picture of the day

13:09 Reporter: Editor 17 Responses

ibrahimovic |

Video: Ibrahimovic on transfer to Barcelona

06:49 Reporter: Editor 10 Responses

Zlatan Ibrahimović interviewed by former football player Frank Leboeuf,
followed by a discussion.

source: ESPNsoccernet,
aired: Monday 3 August 2009

espnsoccernet, ibrahimovic, video |

Zlatan's cars

07:26 Reporter: Editor 7 Responses

Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have the following cars in his garage:
Ferrari 360 Spider, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Audi S8 Quattro,
Volvo C30 T5, Ferrari Enzo, Porsche GT and Mercedes-Benz CLK 430

(pictures from above to below)
source: aftonbladet - sport

aftonbladet, ibrahimovic, sport |

Vice president Yuste: "I felt sad for Villa"

00:34 Reporter: Editor 8 Responses

Barcelona sports vice president Rafael Yuste gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.

Which transfer operation was your debut?
The sale of Ronaldinho. That's where I learnt that a football player always ends up playing where he wants to play. For us, the best option was Manchester City, but he wanted to go to Milan and he ended up in Milan.

What do you think of this world of football?
Well... Complicated. It's about persons, so there's a human factor you should be able to manage. And then you have the clubs, coaches, intermediaries, press... It's very complicated.

You had signed Villa?
The boy wanted to come. We went to Madrid to close the operation with Valencia but at the last minute they asked an exaggerated sum of money that was above our budget. I felt sad for Villa that it didn't go through.

So then you went after Ibrahimovic...
He was the dream of Guardiola. And ours, but it always seemed something far, impossible, until we decided to actually try it.

That suddenly crossed your mind...
I've always been very persistent and I think nothing is impossible. I thought there was a possibility if we could convince Eto'o. We had one advantage: we knew that the dream of Ibra was to play at Barça.

And so you went to Milan...
That's where we already had a series of circumstances that helped us. Moratti was in Milan, we could land at the airport that same afternoon when we returned from Ukraine and the president negotiated very well. You can see the result - Ibra seemed impossible but we signed him.

Let's see if the same happens with Ribéry...
No, Bayern doesn't want to sell him. The day they put him on the market, we'll be the first to be informed.

What about Mascherano, Chygrynskiy, Cesc...?
We know that the priorities of Pep are a centre-back and a midfielder. We'll make a decision when the moment is there. To uptouch a Picasso is very difficult.

Read more:
Laporta on Cesc, Messi and Ibrahimovic
Assistant coach wants one or two more transfers

Zlatan signing stirs souvenir shop chaos

23:30 Reporter: Editor 0 Responses

Journalists from Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan visited Barcelona's souvenir shop two days ago and described it as chaos. Shop cashier Magda Trabajo told the paper:

"It has been a rush on the shirts here since Zlatan signed. We sell most of Ibrahimovic's shirts this year since he is new. I guess half of the sold shirts has his name on it."

In addition, Sydsvenskan also observed thousands of people at the Nou Camp grounds lined up in a hundred metre long ticket line to tour the stadium.

Read more:
Zlatan presentation (picture special, the end)
Ibrahimovic talks about first days at Barcelona
Picture: Zlatan's bicycle kick

ibrahimovic, shirts, sydsvenskan |

Laporta on Cesc, Messi and Ibrahimovic

22:00 Reporter: Editor 2 Responses

Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave an interview to Spanish television channel La Sexta. Some excerpts.

Transfers
"Guardiola is very satisfied with the current squad. But if another transfer would be needed, we will do that."

Central defender
"If the coach says he wants to add another centre-back to the squad, then it will be like this. We'll try to solve the issue."

Cesc
"If we need more midfielders, our technical department will propose some names of possible transfers."

Messi
"The most important thing is the commitment and the affection from both sides. This paves the way, so when we're drawing up the papers everything will be done like it was planned. Every time he plays, he shows he's the best player in the world. And what is more important, he shows that he is happy. He creates a lot of expectations, he unbalances the opponent, he offers a show... I like to see him happy."

Ibrahimovic
"Like all the fans, I want to see him play as soon as possible. People really expect a lot. It's a great quality player and I think he'll add a lot to the team."

Read more:
Barcelona ready to bid for Cesc
Messi doesn't ever want to leave Barcelona

cesc, ibrahimovic, la sexta, messi |

Picture: Zlatan's bicycle kick

23:42 Reporter: Editor 19 Responses

Zlatan Ibrahimovic performed a bicycle kick during yesterday's training session and came down on his left arm. Guardiola saw it happen, grabbed his head and shouted: "No Ibra, don't do that!" In the end, the fall didn't seem to have affected his injury.

ibrahimovic |

Quote of the day: Henry

14:07 Reporter: Editor 4 Responses

You can see goals in Zlatan's eyes.

Thierry Henry, Barcelona player

more quotes

ibrahimovic, quote |

Ibrahimovic talks about first days at Barcelona

04:41 Reporter: Editor 6 Responses

At his first press conference as Barcelona player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic talked about his first days at the club:

"The working atmosphere is great, very pleasant, everybody is taking care of us. I joined Barça because of its history, its way of playing. All the players I have talked with told me positive things.

When you see Barcelona play, you see that nobody can imitate that. That's why it's special to be here. Barcelona has its own philosophy and that's very important.

The history, the homegrown players, the atmosphere and other little details helped me to make my decision. I also talked with Henrik Larsson. He only told me good things about the club and life in Barcelona. He told me it's the best club he had played for and that I didn't have to think twice.

Here you have quality in every position. You have eleven players that aren't just good, they are great. And behind them, you have again eleven players who can do the same thing. In Italy, people think more about defending while here they're thinking about scoring. And if they've scored one, they're already thinking about the second. I think my stay at Ajax will help me to adapt.

I'm not obsessed with wininning the Champions League. If you get obsessed, things go wrong and you don't win anything. You have to keep your objectives in mind, but you shouldn't get obsessed. Barcelona has won the trophy two times in the last five years, so they have experience. We're the favourites to win it, but we want to win all trophies we will play for.

Winning the Champions League in Madrid would be very nice, but we didn't talk about that in the dressing-room. It would be fantastic if we could repeat the treble, but the World Cup for clubs is maybe especially important because we didn't win that trophy before. We have to change history.

Since Barcelona won everything last season, the pressure will be on Real Madrid this year, also because they have spent a lot of money in transfers. Barcelona already has a team in place, that has won trophies, that has a lot of experience, and that's always an advantage. That also allowed them to sign only two players so far.

Over the last days I've talked a lot with Guardiola and that helps me a lot to get integrated and to know what he wants from me. If the coach will ask me to put pressure on the opponent, I will do that, yes, just like Eto'o did. But you cannot compare two players. He did a great job at Barça and I'll give everything for Barça. If the coach wants me to put pressure, that's no problem for me. I just will have to adapt to that. I will do what is needed for the team."

Read more:
Ibrahimovic: "We'll do it like our lives are on the line"
Guardiola happy with Zlatan's training debut

ibrahimovic |

Barcelona's wage structure

01:20 Reporter: Editor 23 Responses

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona's wage scale has six levels:

GROUP A
Messi

GROUP B
Henry
Ibrahimovic

GROUP C
Alves
Xavi
Iniesta
Puyol

GROUP D
Valdés
Touré
Márquez
Keita

GROUP E
Bojan
Piqué
Jorquera
Pinto
Busquets

GROUP F
Pedro
Víctor Sánchez
Muniesa
Jeffren

Maxwell happy to be re-united with Ibrahimovic

17:08 Reporter: Editor 3 Responses

source: Aftonbladet
translated by: Dimmu

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's new 'life' at Barça does not only mean that he is making new friends. In the Eto'o deal Zlatan also got his best friend from Inter, the Brazilian full-back Maxwell Cabelino Andrade, also known as Maxwell. These two players are currently playing in their third mutual club together.

"Its very special to be with him again. We played together at Ajax, Inter and now here in Barca. We have a very good relation with each other" Maxwell said to 'Sportsbladet'. When asked if Maxwell discussed the transfer with Ibra during the January transfer window. Maxwell answered: "No, during the winter we were concentrating on winning the scudetto and the Italian cup, but at the end of the season we discussed it."

Maxwell's transfer was finalized few weeks before Zlatan's, but Maxwell was sure that Zlatan would follow him to Barca. Both of the players also share the same agent Mino Raiola: "I knew that Ibra's transfer was going to happen when I signed for Barcelona and I'm happy that it took place in the end. He brings a lot of quality to the team," said the Brazilian who is also convinced that this transfer is the best thing that could happen to both of them. "For me there is no better team to join then Barcelona. For both of us it was a very good transfer".

Maxwell has been training with Barça's squad for few weeks now and got to play for 45 minutes against LA Galaxy on Saturday, while Zlatan is still out because of his hand injury. Compared to last season with Inter, it looks like Maxwell and Ibrahimovic will get tough competition from Real Madrid for the title this season. "We will show Real that we can deal with them even though they have spend a lot of money of buying new players", said Maxwell.

Read more:
Ten things you should know about Maxwell
Ibrahimovic is making friends
Ten Things You Should Know About Zlatan