Ibrahimovic: Lord of Arrogance

Ibra: King for the Day

Mario Balotelli, Carlos Tevez, Didier Drogba. All respectable candidates for "Soccer's Most Arrogant Player", but none truly measure up to the great Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Want a good endorsement? Kevin-Prince Boateng (a man who is also on the shortlist for this title) was quoted saying, “I thought he [Ibrahimovic] was an arrogant bastard!”

More proof? Ibra once threatened Pep Guardiola, his former boss. Feeling he should start over Lionel Messi (a ridiculous request), Zlatan got so upset that he threw a box of gear across the room. That temper tantrum may have a lot to do with why he was loaned out to Milan.

 Zlatan has been passed around 4 different teams in the last 3 years

But recently, Ibra has had a lot of buzz around him because of his amazing performance against England on the 14th. Yes, he did play incredibly and yes his final goal would have been spectacular in FIFA 13, let alone real life.

So, this is arrogance a flaw players need to overcome?

There are classic examples of players looking foolish by their egos. Mario Balotelli's infamous failed backheel is a prime example. "Super" Mario felt that he could treat Man. City's friendly against LA like a training session, which lead to him making a fool of himself and pulled from the match. 

But there is a very thin line between arrogance and confidence. A player needs to be extremely arrogant (or confidant) to says, "I can score this bicycle from 30-yards out." The same arrogance Messi displays when he puts his head down and says, "Screw this ticky tacky. I'm taking this in on my own."