In this Nov. 19, 2013 file photo Sweden’s forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic removes the captain’s armband, after the World Cup 2014 qualifying playoff second leg soccer match between Sweden and Portugal, at Friends Arena in Stockholm. Sweden lost 2-3. The tournament in Brazil will be a poorer spectacle without Zlatan Ibrahimovic strutting his stuff for Sweden, or Welshman Gareth Bale leaving defenders in his wake with his searing pace. Prolific scorer Robert Lewandowski of Poland, Czech goalkeeper Peter Cech and rising Danish star Christan Eriksen will also be missing from the showcase tournament. (AP/TT/Erik Martensson
After missing out on the World Cup, Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t consider the tournament to be compulsory viewing — at least for him.
Sweden was eliminated in the playoffs last month by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, leaving 32-year-old Ibrahimovic with some time off after Paris Saint-Germain’s season.
“For sure I will see some games, but it’s not like I will run home and sit in front of the television,” he said Friday during a telephone conference call to promote PSG’s friendly against Real Madrid on Jan. 2 in Doha, Qatar.
Sweden lost 3-2 at home to Portugal for a 4-2 aggregate defeat.
Ibrahimovic said it would be a “struggle to watch games” during the tournament in Brazil.
“I’m suffering. It goes away, slowly, slowly,” he said. “Every game I am playing and trying to bring out this anger in a positive way.
“I think that disappointment will come back in the World Cup,” he added.
Repeatedly referring to himself as “Zlatan” in the third person, Ibrahimovic said media had portrayed him as “arrogant” and “cocky” with a big ego.
“If you have a big ego, you don’t win 20 trophies,” said Ibrahimovic, who has won league titles with Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and PSG. “This is something media makes up and you have to live with.
“I try to be myself,” he said, going on to add that he can be testy during interviews. “When you ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer. That’s the way it is.”