The pair worked together for two years at Juventus, bringing in back-to-back Scudetti in 2004-5 and 2005-6 (both later revoked as part of the sanctions for Calciopoli) as the Swede established himself among Europe’s elite strikers.
But according to Capello, he had to work hard on Zlatan’s game to make him the striker he is today.
“Ibrahimovic had a stunning technique”, Capello told Premium Sport. “When I moved to Juventus, I immediately asked the club to sign him. I wanted to bring it to Roma in the previous campaign, but we had already Totti, Cassano, Batistuta, Montella and Delvecchio. At the beginning of his first spell at Juventus, however, I noticed that he was weaker than I thought when he had to kick the ball and was not very strong in the air. Ibrahimovic loved making assists more than scoring goals. I wanted him to become more ruthless in front of goal and improve his finishing.” “He had the same technical skills as Van Basten and I made him watch some videos of him to improve his finishing, I told him to watch Van Basten’s movements inside the area and the way he used to score goals. Ibra got it straight away; I think results are out there to prove it.”
Still going strong at 35 with Manchester United, Capello added that his former charge thoroughly deserved his success. “He is a very humble guy and he worked every day to improve He’s proud of himself too, he loves being the best," he said.
