MILAN - On his 27th birthday Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave an interview for Special100one, Sky Sport Italia's weekly programme dedicated to all things Inter.

The Swedish forward spoke about a range of topics, including the importance of his family, his return to top form after recovering from a niggling knee problem, and the positive changes to Inter under José Mourinho.

Ibrahimovic, it's your birthday today. Do you feel a bit older?
(Smiles) "I feel even older today and time passes more quickly. Time goes by and you get older every year, but I'm happy because I'm enjoying life with my family and my football. It's impossible to feel better than I'm feeling now."

How important is your family for you. And how important is it for your job?
"It's very important. It can be an advantage because you're not as concentrated on football, you have more time with your family, and football comes automatically. I think having a family is an advantage because football isn't the only thing you think about. I train every day, I have matches every weekend and there's also a game in midweek, so it's nice to be with your family and put football to one side sometimes, because in this way you're more relaxed when you arrive for training or a match."

What is the best possible present you could receive today?
"Being with my family, my children, my wife and my dog is what I want today. This is the best present I could receive."

You're playing with great continuity. How hard was it to train separately due to the knee problem?
"It's not nice when you're injured because you have to train in the background, and not with the team. I trained in the gym and the team trained together, and I didn't like this. They played on Sundays and I worked in the gym. Unfortunately this happens in you career. When you're injured you have to do individual training sessions to recover, and it's hard."

Were you ever worried about your knee?
"Anything could have happened, but I told myself from the start that I shouldn't think about it. The more you think about these things, the more something can happen. When I go on the pitch I go to train or play a match and I don't think about my knee."

Was it your character that helped you overcome this difficult phase of your career?
"I feel stronger than before the injury. I had a lot of self-confidence and I have a family behind me who give me a lot of confidence, and I'm very positive. All of this has helped me. I told myself I would return stronger. This is important for a player. Everything on the pitch is easier when you're surrounded by a positive environment. If you feel good off the pitch, you feel good on it as well."

Do you feel a leader of this Inter?
"Yes, I feel a lot of responsibility but I'm not the main leader because we have our captain Javier Zanetti. He is our leader."

How important is José Mourinho for you?
"He has given me a lot of responsibility and confidence, and a lot of freedom on the pitch - everything I need to do my things and play with my qualities and do what I can. He knows how to get the best out of all of us. This is why I have said he's the most complete of all the coaches I've had up to now."

What differences are there between Roberto Mancini's Inter side and this one? 
"It's a lot different from last year. It's a different system of play because there's a new coach with a different philosophy. Mancini had his methods, and training sessions have changed a lot now because the whole team is training in a different way. Each coach has his own philosophy though, and in the end it always depends on whether you win or not."

Have you had an excellent relationship with all your coaches?
(Smiles) "I hope so...".

What do you think of Adriano's improvement?
"I'm very pleased for him. I like Adriano a lot as a person and I like his style of play. He's very good, one of the best players in the world. It's nice to play alongside him because he gives me lots of room, and the other players are scared of him. They all try and wait for me, but when Adriano gets in there the defenders don't know who to go for. He frightens everyone."

How do you get on with Amantino Mancini?
"Top-level players immediately understand each other. You don't need time; everything's automatic. After just two days you can see he's a good player."

Do you think you will succeed in winning the Ballon d'Or?
"This is something for the others to say, not me. I have confidence in myself and I know my qualities. I know I'm at a high level, but I don't want to say I'm number 1, 2 or 3. I prefer for the others to talk. I have to let the results do the talking, and so far the results are there."

How are Inter doing at the moment?
"We have to continue doing what we have done so far, and maybe win a few trophies. Our objectives are there and we'll have to work hard to achieve them. Anything can happen with The Special One."