Juve move 'fantastic' says Ibrahimovic

Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star of attraction at the airport yesterday afternoon as the latest capture of Serie A's Juventus arrived in Malta along with the Sweden national squad ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier at Ta' Qali.

National coach Lars Lagerback headed the Swedish contingent which also included the U-21 squad.

A sizeable group of Maltese football fans waited impatiently at the arrivals' lounge to get a glimpse of the Swedish stars, including prolific goalscorer Henrik Larsson, of Barcelona, Arsenal's Fredrick Ljungberg, Aston Villa defender Olaf Mellberg and Teddy Lucic, of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

But it was Ibrahimovic who received the most rousing welcome as Italian football followers rushed to greet their new hero who on Tuesday sealed a €19 million move from Ajax to Juve.

In a short comment on his way to the team bus, Ibrahimovic dismissed suggestions that tomorrow's match will be a walk in the park for the Swedes.

"It's going to be a difficult one for us. Malta is a small team but we'll have to work hard for the points just the same," Ibrahimovic said.

Asked to describe his move to Juventus he summed up his feelings in two words: "Simply fantastic".

Mellberg said: "In Europe there are no more easy teams these days. We're here to win but we cannot underestimate any of our opponents otherwise we could easily end up losing precious points."

Mellberg was a key member in the Swedish team that reached the quarter-finals of EURO 2004 in Portugal. They bowed out after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Holland.

This season Aston Villa had a good start in the Premier League. Mellberg is looking forward to a positive campaign.

"Villa are playing really well at the moment," he said.

"This summer we have strengthened the squad with some interesting players. Things look good so far but it's still early days. Hopefully, we can keep in touch with the top teams and perhaps earn a place in Euro football next season."