Jol praise for Ibrahimovic
Posted Tuesday, September 28, 2010 by PA
Ajax coach Martin Jol has hailed the returning Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the "best striker in the world" with the Swede set to spearhead the AC Milan attack at the ArenA.
Ibrahimovic spent three-and-a-half years at Ajax earlier in his career before spells at Juventus, Inter Milan and Barcelona.
He is now back in Italy and has made a promising start to his second spell at the San Siro.
Jol is certainly wary of the impact Ibrahimovic could make against his men as they look to bounce back from losing 2-0 to Real Madrid in their Group G opener.
He said: "It will not be easy as AC Milan and Real Madrid are at the same level.
"Ibrahimovic is the best striker in the world.
"In addition, Robinho is unpredictable and you know what Ronaldinho can do when he gets time on the ball.
"It will be hard but we are at home, at the ArenA and we don't lose there very often.
"We will have to play like we did in the first half against FC Twente on Saturday.
"We have a chance."
Jol will have midfielders Rasmus Lindgren and Eyong Enoh available after both men were passed fit.
There is not such good news for Jol's Milan counterpart Massimiliano Allegri, who is without Alexandre Pato and Massimo Ambrosini.
And he is expecting a difficult encounter in Amsterdam.
He said: "Our match against Ajax is very important, it will be a tricky game.
"They are strong at home, they're a good team with a lot of good, young skilled players.
"This match is very important regarding our qualification from the group."
Milan come into the game after edging past Genoa in Serie A on Saturday night - Ibrahimovic scoring the only goal after 49 minutes.
"I want to see Milan play like we did against Genoa: determined to win, while paying attention at the back," added Allegri.
"However, we have to play better than on Saturday and I'm sure we will."
Allegri has overseen steady progress so far but he is impressing vice-president Adriano Galliani, who is eager to focus on results at this stage.
He said: "First of all, Milan have to be solid rather than entertaining.
"We have to win titles, we are not at a fun fair.
"Hopefully we will win."
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