Galliani lauds Ibrahimovic

25 March 2012 17:47

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has lavished praise on striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he led them to a 2-1 win over Roma on Saturday.

The Sweden international was withdrawn at half-time in Tuesday night's Coppa Italia clash with Juventus in Turin, complaining of back pain.

He was considered a major doubt for the visit of Roma but not only did the forward start at San Siro, he turned the game around with a second-half double which earned Milan a precious 2-1 victory.

"Ibra has a bad back and it was unsure if he was even going to play," Galliani told the club's official website. "But then he scored two - he’s an extraordinary player.

"And Ibra's goals are always something special. He's fantastic, extraordinary."

Milan, however, lost Thiago Silva to a muscular problem that has ruled the Brazilian centre-half out of Wednesday night's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Barcelona at San Siro

Galliani feels the versatile Daniele Bonera, who was moved into the centre to fill the void left by Silva during the Roma clash, has already proven himself to be an able deputy.

"Bonera is having an extraordinary championship, probably his best since he arrived at the club," he said.

"We don't miss (Philippe) Mexes or Thiago Silva with him, as he never makes a mistake on the pitch."