The player Pavel Nedved held above every teammate from his career was not quite the finished article when he first walked into Turin.

The Czech midfielder, who won the 2003 Ballon d’Or at Juventus, chose Zlatan Ibrahimović as the best he ever played with, before adding a line that would surprise anyone used to watching the Swede score for fun.

“In terms of team-mates, I’ve had a lot and I don’t want to offend anyone. If I had to say one though, I’d say Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He’s a striker who can cut through defences, he has scary power and height, as well as excellent technique,” Nedved told Eurosport.

“That said, when he came to Juventus he couldn’t finish. What you see today is mainly down to the fact Fabio Capello took him for a half hour of shooting practice after every training session.”

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Capello’s own version of the story

“When Ibrahimovic arrived at Juventus, he was not good at shooting,” Capello said of the striker’s first weeks at the club.

“Listen to me, for the moment he only broke the windows of the gym.”

“Then Ibrahimovic began to train every day and, obviously, as everyone knows, he improved a lot.”

Ibrahimović arrived in 2004 and left in 2006. The Swede scored 26 goals in 98 games for the club across those two seasons, with Nedved providing the midfield engine behind him.

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London hosts the Ballon d’Or’s 70th edition

The compliment resurfaces in a year when the award Nedved himself once lifted is going somewhere new.

France Football will stage the 2026 ceremony at the London Palladium on 26 October, the first time the Ballon d’Or has been held in England and the award’s 70th edition.

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