Zlatan was born in 1981 in Malmö, Sweden. He received his
first pair of football boots at the age of five and it was obvious even at this
early age that he had the potential to become an extraordinary footballer. He
grew up in the infamous neighbourhood Rosengård known for being one of Sweden's
roughest areas, but this did not hinder him. After playing for a local Swedish
Club for a couple of years he transferred to Malmö FF in his teens, and it was
here he started to pursue a career as a professional footballer.
Ibrahimović signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996, and
moved up to the senior side for the 1999 season of Allsvenskan, Sweden's
top-flight league. That season, Malmö finished 13th in the league and were
relegated to the second division, but returned to the top flight the next
season. Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade Ibrahimović to join
Arsenal, while Leo Beenhakker also expressed interest in the player after
watching him in a training match against Norwegian side Moss FK.
After being perused by top Clubs all over the world, Zlatan
finally decided to transfer to Ajax and he joined the Amsterdam club in July
2001. He received the number 9 shirt, which was previously worn by Nwankwo
Kanu, Patrick Kluivert and the legendary Marco van Basten. After playing for
Sweden's Under-21s, the Swedish National Team managers Tommy Söderberg and Lars
Lagerbäck chose Zlatan to play his International debut against the Faroe
Islands in Sweden in January 2001, and since then Zlatan has been a part of the
Swedish National Team.
Zlatan ended his first season at Ajax, just like he started
it, on top. He scored the golden goal in the Dutch Cup Final against Utrecht
and Ajax won both the League and the Cup. His success continued when he was
selected as one of 23 players for the Swedish squad in the World Cup 2002,
where he played against Argentina and Senegal.
After four years with Ajax, Ibrahimovic transferred to
Juventus F.C. and led the Italian club to two Serie A championships. However,
Juventus was stripped of those titles when club management was charged with
fixing matches in the infamous Calciopoli scandal, and Ibrahimovic forced a
transfer to Inter Milan. More success followed for the towering striker, who
won three straight Serie A titles and claimed his first league scoring crown in
2009.
Traded to F.C. Barcelona for Samuel Eto'o in 2009, Ibrahimovic
starred for a loaded club that rolled to a league title and Super Cup
victories, but he butted heads with manager Pep Guardiola and spent the
following season on loan to A.C. Milan. The Italian club purchased his contract
outright for 2011-12 and Ibrahimovic claimed his second scoring crown, although
his amazing streak of eight straight seasons on a title-winning club came to an
end.
On 17 July 2012, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that they had
reached an agreement to acquire the sporting and economic rights of Ibrahimović
from A.C. Milan, having already agreed personal terms with the striker, for an
initial transfer fee of around €20 million, making Ibrahimović the most
expensive footballer in combined transfer fees. Valued at €180 million, these combined
fees eclipsed those commanded by Nicolas Anelka. His three-year contract would
see him receive a net annual salary of €14 million including bonuses (which
would be €2 million more than what he was earning per year just before he left
Milan), and make him the second best paid footballer in the world behind
Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o.
After transferring to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012, the
veteran striker proved he had plenty left in the tank by claiming a third
scoring title with a career-high 30 goals, and leading the club to its first
Ligue 1 title in 19 years.
In January 2013, Ibrahimović was handed the number 10 jersey
after the departure of Brazilian winger Nené. In April 2013, Ibrahimović scored
in a 2–2 draw against his former club Barcelona in the quarter finals of the
Champions League. However, PSG were knocked out on away goals after drawing 1–1
at Camp Nou in the second leg. He ended the season as assists leader in the 2012–13
Champions League,providing 7 assists.
Even though Ibrahimović was eligible to play for Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Croatia, he chose to play for Sweden, his country of birth.
Ibrahimović made his debut in a 0–0 friendly draw against the
Faroe Islands at Tipshallen on 31 January 2001 during the 2000–01 Nordic Football
Championship. On 7 October 2001, he played his first competitive match, a 2002
World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan, scoring in a 3–0 win. Ibrahimović was
part of Sweden's 2002 FIFA World Cup finals squad who were eliminated in the
round of 16 by newcomers Senegal.
During 2006 World Cup qualification, Ibrahimović scored four
goals in a 7–0 victory away to Malta on 4 September 2004. He did not score
during the 2006 World Cup finals as Sweden were knocked out in the round of 16,
this time by Germany.
He was called up for a Euro 2008 qualifier against
Liechtenstein on 6 September 2006, but two days before the match, he violated
team curfew by leaving the hotel with teammates Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof
Mellberg and visiting a nightclub. Though none of the players consumed any
alcohol, they were nonetheless all sent home by manager Lars Lagerbäck as
punishment and did not take part in the match. Mellberg and Wilhelmsson did not
appeal the coach's decision, but Ibrahimović felt that it was unjust and
therefore refused to take part in Sweden's next qualifiers against Iceland and
Spain. He also refused to partake in a friendly against Egypt on 7 February
2007, but ended his self-imposed boycott a month later, and returned for
Sweden's loss to Northern Ireland on 28 March. He did not score in any of the
12 qualifying matches. Ibrahimović was awarded the 2007 Swedish Golden Ball as
the "Country's Top Player of the Year."
Ahead of Euro 2012 qualification, Ibrahimović was named team
captain on his return to the national team. He scored his first goals of the
qualifying game against San Marino where he scored the first and fifth goals in
a 6–0 win in front of over 21,000 home fans despite being down to 10 men for
over an hour. His next goals came in the form of a hat-trick against Finland
whom they beat 5–0.
At the Euro 2012 finals, Ibrahimović scored the opening goal
in Sweden's first game against Ukraine. He then scored with a volley, later
considered the goal of the tournament, to open the score in Sweden's 2–0 win
against France in the last group match. Despite the victory, Sweden was knocked
out in the group stage.
On 14 November 2012, he scored all four goals in a 4–2 win
over England in the first ever match at the Friends Arena. His fourth goal, a
35-yard overhead kick with his back to goal, won him praise from players and
pundits, with the BBC describing it as a goal that "combined unfathomable
imagination and expert technique". It would win the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award
for Goal of the Year.
On 4 September 2014, Ibrahimović scored his 50th
international goal in a 2–0 friendly match victory over Estonia, making him the
Swedish national team's all-time leading goalscorer. Earlier in the same match,
he equaled Sven Rydell's record of 49 by scoring the opening goal. On 8
September, he made his 100th appearance for Sweden in a UEFA Euro 2016
qualifier against Austria at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.
Ibrahimović has been described by ESPN as being "good in
the air, tall, strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts
some of the best finishing, vision, passing and ball control around."Although he has been criticised for his work-rate in big matches, he has scored
in some of the biggest matches in football including the Milan Derby in Italy,
El Clásico in Spain, Le Classique in France, and UEFA Champions League and UEFA
Euro Championship games against some of the strongest opponents in
football.Ibrahimović is the only player to have
scored for six different clubs in the Champions League.Tactically,
Ibrahimović is capable of playing anywhere along the front line, although he is
most often deployed as a striker, or as a creative supporting forward, which
allows him to provide assists for team mates.
Due to his prolific goal scoring and spectacular strikes,
Ibrahimović is regarded by many in the sport to be one of the best players in
the world and one of the most complete strikers of his generation. He has
however been criticised for his aggression and rebellious character at times.
In 2007, The Times placed him at number 44 in their list of the 50 hardest
footballers in history. Due to his powerful shots and volleys from inside and
outside the penalty area with both feet and on dead ball situations, his
agility, acrobatic ability in the air, physicality, skill, finishing and
technique, Ibrahimović has frequently been compared to Dutch legend Marco van
Basten. Despite this comparison, Ibrahimović has stated that his main influence
was his idol, former Brazilian superstar Ronaldo, whom he regards as the
greatest player of all time.
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