Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have plenty to prove when AC Milan travel to Camp Nou for their September 13 clash with Barcelona.
By Marcus Chhan
The two European heavyweights were drawn together in Group H of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage, along with BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen.
Milan kick-off the group with a mouth-watering away fixture at the Nou Camp, which opens the door for the Swedish striker to exact a small measure of revenge on his former employers.
Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona in the summer of 2009 to much fanfare but found himself being loaned out to the Rossoneri after just a year of the five year contract he signed with the Catalans. By then the dream move to Spain had become a bit of a nightmare compounded by limited playing time and a falling out with the manager Pep Guardiola.
His Barca career began brightly enough though; he laid on an assist for Lionel Messi on his debut and scored goals fairly regularly (seven goals in seven league games at one point) when played. Barca were certainly good with Ibrahimovic in the squad but the problem for Guardiola and his new 6ft 5in striker was that Barca were becoming a much better team - one of the best of all time - without him.
It remains unclear whether Guardiola forced Ibrahimovic out - perhaps he did after realising the direction he could take Barca with someone like David Villa in the squad - or whether the Sweden striker sealed his own fate by refusing to bow down to the manager after a disagreement.
What is clear is that from March 2010 onwards, the pair had stopped speaking to each other and by the end of August that year (the start of a new season) he was offloaded on loan to the red half of Milan. David Villa would make his La Liga debut for Barca that same month.
An Ibrahimovic-less Barcelona went on to lift the 2010/11 La Liga crown as well as winning the European Cup while the former Inter Milan forward's goals inspired the Rossoneri to clinch the Scudetto for the first time since 2004. Milan opted to make the 29-year-old's move a permanent one in January this year.
So why did it all go wrong for Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Barcelona? He's clearly still a top marksman as his 14 goals in 29 league appearances in Milan's title triumph last season showed. Yet, Barca have certainly not missed him. This is because during his time there, Ibrahimovic forced Barca to compromise on their exalted, tiki-taka style of play.
He was less mobile than David Villa and Pedro (as well as latest acquisition Alexis Sanchez) and as a result Barca tended to hit more long balls to service the Swede. That made it easier for quality centre-backs to stifle Barca's point of attack - as Inter Milan did in the Champions League semi-final back in the 2009/10 season.
So while Ibrahimovic may be a better finisher than Villa and Pedro, Barca's attack is a more potent force without him. When Guardiola plays Villa and Pedro alongside Lionel Messi in the false nine role, his side look more threatening than they ever did with Ibrahimovic.
They've given themselves multiple and varied options to get at teams - something they lacked against Inter Milan in that Champions League semi-final defeat of a few seasons ago.
Ibrahimovic is a traditional striker - a tall and physical presence in the box who can score goals. However, with him as the focal point of the Barca attack, Messi had too little space to work his magic. Guardiola had to find a way to solve this problem, which meant Ibrahimovic had to go or at least take a back seat. Maybe this is what the manager and player argued about?
I think even the most ardent Ibrahimovic fan can't fault the Spanish tactician for his decision in the end. Not surprisingly, Guardiola has stayed away from buying an out-and-out-striker in this summer's transfer window. Instead he opted for Udinese's Alexis Sanchez - a player totally different to Ibrahimovic and shaped more in the Messi mould of an attacking midfielder/forward.
At the end of day though, Ibrahimovic may have the last laugh. It wouldn't be beyond his ability to score the winner for AC Milan against Barcelona when the two sides meet. But it still won't change the fact that Ibrahimovic - as good as he is - was never meant to have a long and happy marriage with Barcelona.
Shades of Carroll situation we are faced with currently.I am just glad we have got a flexible and intelligent manager at the helm who is not afraid to make strong decisions.
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