Ibrahimovic return will be special, says Rosenberg

Markus Rosenberg says the return of Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Malmo in the Champions League on Wednesday will be a special occasion.

The 34-year-old will be in his native Sweden to face his hometown club, the team who gave him his start in professional football prior to his move to Ajax in 2001.

Malmo striker Rosenberg, retired from Sweden duty but a former international team-mate of Ibrahimovic, paid tribute to the Eredivisie, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 winner ahead of the match and is confident the striker will receive a positive reception.

“It will be special and of course he will be welcomed,” he said.

“Zlatan is the greatest player ever from Sweden and he is from Malmo. We are very proud of him and what he has achieved. We all know what he can do and that he is a fantastic player.”

Victory would be enough for PSG to make it through to the last 16, while a draw could also see them advance if Shakhtar Donetsk fail to beat Real Madrid.

Rosenberg is optimistic home advantage will make a positive difference for Malmo, who need to win to keep their faint qualification hopes alive.

“I think that we are more used to this big stage now and hopefully we can play our own game,” he said.

“You have to play on this level to learn – you cannot just talk about it. We are a team that is better when we play more offensively, so maybe that is the reason that we play a lot better at home. 

“We like it more when we attack. We are not as good at defending, which we are forced to when we play away at this level.”