Dubai: Marcus Berg evaded talk on fellow strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s possible return for Sweden at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.
The 31-year-old Berg, who went to the top of the goal-scoring chart in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) with a hat-trick in Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of Al Nasr, refrained from taking questions about Ibrahimovic’s desire to return to national duty from retirement.
“I don’t want to speak on this topic,” was his terse and clear message after being asked about Ibrahimovic’s desire to return in time for Russia.
“I want to celebrate this win now. Let’s deal with this topic on another day,” he insisted.
Earlier this week, the 36-year-old Ibrahimovic — who transferred from Manchester United to the MLS with the LA Galaxy — expressed his desire yet again to come out of international retirement and be with the national team for Russia. Ibrahimovic had called time on a memorable career with his country after Euro 2016 with 116 appearances and 62 goals over a 15-year period for Sweden.
Berg has been a regular with Sweden since 2008, during which time he has made 55 appearances while remaining in Ibrahimovic’s shadow and yet scoring 18 goals. During Sweden’s qualifying stages the 31-year-old had to take over the mantle from his illustrious predecessor.
Berg transferred to Al Ain June last year, and since then has taken his time to settle in with The Boss. His 21 goals this season, with just one final round remaining, keeps him one goal away from Al Wahda’s Sebastian Tagliabue (20) and Al Wasl’s Fabio De Lima (19) in the race for the season-ending ‘Golden Boot’ prize.
“It gives me a lot of good feelings after winning the title. Now we can focus on the next target. We are in good shape and we play good offensive football. As for me, I just try to be in the right place and get my goals,” Berg said.
“In the beginning, it’s always difficult as you need to find a relationship with all of the other players. This takes time and effort. But we try and see life outside of the football pitch. And that includes involving the family too. This involvement is important to settle down. Once all these other aspects are fixed, then one can concentrate on the one thing — to play football,” he added.
