Fox assembled one of the most credentialed soccer studio teams in American television history for this World Cup — Thierry Henry, Clarence Seedorf, Peter Schmeichel, Javier Hernández, Alexi Lalas, Carli Lloyd, Clint Dempsey — and the analyst it is most counting on to make the whole thing work has never done studio television before, has no script, and told Jimmy Kimmel this week that without him, the American viewing public would fall asleep.
That would be Zlatan Ibrahimović, who Fox Sports president Brad Zager identified as the network’s top target when it began building its coverage team in March, a process that also reportedly included David Beckham and Jürgen Klopp before both opted not to be featured. Ibrahimović told Kimmel he has spent the last few days in rehearsals with the rest of the desk, with one distinction from his colleagues.
“The other ones follow a script, and I’m there just to be myself,” he said. “They want Zlatan. I’m going to bring them, Zlatan.”
Rebecca Lowe, who anchors a secondary studio desk alongside Ibrahimović, said last week that her only concern about working with him was having to cut him off mid-point to go to break. Ibrahimović’s own concern, apparently, is the opposite, that he is the only thing standing between the American viewer and unconsciousness.
“I feel when the other ones are doing their [analysis], American people is going to fall asleep, and I’m there to wake them up,” he said.
That is a very Charles Barkley thing to say, and The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote when Fox signed him that if Ibrahimović’s career could be compared to any American athlete, it would be Barkley. Kimmel raised the Barkley comparison, suggesting Ibrahimović might become the desk’s polarizing, unfiltered voice, much like Barkley is on Inside the NBA.
“I know, but I won,” said Ibrahimović. “He didn’t win. That’s the difference. Not being disrespectful.”
For most former players making the transition to broadcasting, the hardest part is learning to criticize former teammates and coaches on the record. Ibrahimović told Kimmel that the particular adjustment does not apply to him.
“I’m a person without filters,” he said. “I will tell them what I think, what I feel, wrong or right, it’s my opinion. You like it or not, it’s up to you.”
That is more or less what Fox is paying him — a lot, per Kimmel, which Ibrahimović confirmed without hesitation — to do.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.