I came, that’s special. These are not my words; they are the words of the Swedish legend, Zlatan Ibrahimović, after scoring the winning goal to claim his first major trophy at Manchester United in a season that many were not expecting any good thing from the club. He was asked about the special thing happening at the club and he says it’s his arrival and assuredly, he is special!

This is probably the greatest football speech of all times! The words blow my mind and keep my heart yearning for impossible places! This goes way beyond football, it’s more than fun, it is life congealed and coded in the beautiful round leather game…

“This is a team effort, this is not about an individual, it is collective and this is what I came for, I came to win and I’m winning so I just have to keep going because the more I win, the more satisfied I get, so that’s me!”….. Says Zlatan!

Chilled bumps ran down my body as I heard this, a man who recognizes the efficacy of teamwork and one who can only be satisfied by victory, little did I know that more was coming. He was asked how victory felt as he grew, he scored a winning goal at a major competition when he was 20 and now he’s 35, he’s not stopped scoring winning goals… Then he says:

“You appreciate winning as you grow, the more mature I got, I knew it was all about winning, about collecting the trophy. This is my 32nd trophy and I’m super excited! Wherever I went, I won!”

Then I whispered to myself, this guy is just a winner and he knows it, he’s just confident about it! Oh, can you beat that, “wherever I went, I won!” WOW!  I need such virtue!

Then the interviewer reminded him of having scored more goals than anyone in England, regarding it as a truly phenomenal season for him. He then posed this question: “even by your high standards, has it gone better than you expected?” His answer almost made me jump out of my body! He replied:

“No, no, this is what I predicted, everything I saw would happen, the only thing is that others didn’t see it and I came here to show them what I saw and what I would do and I’m doing it because according to many, I could not do it, my friend, I keep going, I keep doing what I’m doing every year and I’m enjoying the game, the only thing is I’m enjoying it now in England”.

Right here, I almost burst into tears, many had concluded that he has gone past his prime, but this guy just keeps going, he doesn’t care about the news, the right informer is within him. He goes on to say:

“I predicted things and what I predicted is what I’m doing and it’s what I’m going to continue doing”.

So, we are in for more mouth-watering performances from the big man! Bring it on Zlatan!

 

Oh, Zlatan! His audacity made me stand to my feet and query: who is this guy?! He speaks like a god! He speaks with so much assurance as if this was some mathematical calculations! Then something struck me. I thought this was not a prepared speech, this guy didn’t do consultations before dishing out this, he didn’t even have to compose himself, neither did he write down the words, he just spoke them right from within him! Then I concluded, this is no fluke, this is definitely who this guy is, victory and success are in his very fabrics, he’s made of victory. He has a winning mentality and he is personally deceived, fully persuaded! The victory we now see, he had long seen it, we are the ones overtly surprised and overwhelmed, he’s not; he’s only reassured!

So I ask: what do you see? What are you assured of? What’s your vision? What’s that thing only you can see and you’re ready to stick out your neck just for it? Who is informing you? Is it circumstances around you or rather the deep assurances within you?

As for me, I choose to be like Zlatan, the visions I have within me, I’m gonna fan them to flame. The little assurances I have, I’ll hold fast to them, the sure words of prophecy I have received, never will I let them slip off me. I’ll hold fast my confidence and on the day of my showing forth, I predict someone is also gonna hear my words and run with them. I’m going to have to run with these, see you at the top and expect more from my living legend!