Giorgio Chiellini Names His Toughest Opponent Ever
REUTERS/Tony Gentile
Italian centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, who shut out the potent attack of Barcelona earlier in the Champions League quarterfinal, has named the toughest attacker he has ever played against.
Chiellini is regarded as one of the most reliable defenders of our times, as he doesn’t let many get behind him when he guards the Juventus goal like a rock. But there is one player in particular, who gives a few headaches to the Juventus defender.
It’s none other than Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic – who surely has been a nightmare for most defenders across Europe.
Giorgio Chiellini has described Zlatan as his “most formidable” opponent in an interview with France Football.
Reuters / Andrew Yates
The defender stated: ” I have always liked to play against the great ones.
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the most formidable striker that I have come across. I often played against him in Serie A, where there was both sunny days and rainy days. Ibra is the best. He has always made a difference wherever he has gone.”
Chiellini and Zlatan are no strangers, as they have shared the dressing room during their time together at Juventus in the 2005/06 season.
Zlatan then joined rivals Inter when Juventus got relegated to Serie B in the wake of the Calciopoli match fixing scandal. The two have fought many memorable battles in Serie A and other competitions ever since.
Written by Shorya Panwar 
Has 20+ years of experience managing Schalke in Football Manager 2017. Believes wing-backs are the most complete footballers in the modern/evolved football. Writes weird stuff on his personal blog.