Zlatan Ibrahimović

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Zlatan Ibrahimović
Image:Zlatan 060602.jpg
Personal information
Full name Zlatan Ibrahimović
Date of birth October 3, 1981 (age 25)
Place of birth    Malmö, Sweden
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Nickname Ibra, Ibrakadabra, Il Mago, Il Genio,La Magia
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Internazionale
Number 8
Youth clubs
 
1991-1995
1995-1999		 FK Bosna
FBK Balkan
Malmö FF
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999-2001
2001-2004
2004-2006
2006-
 Malmö FF
Ajax
Juventus
Internazionale		 40 (16)
73 (32)
70 (23)
24 (15)   
National team2
2001- Sweden 42 (18)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of March 11, 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of February 2, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Zlatan Ibrahimović (IPA: ['zlaːtan ɪbra'hiːmovɪtɕ], Bosnian pronunciation; born October 3, 1981) is a Swedish football striker. He currently plays for Inter Milan, in Italy, and for the Sweden national football team.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Ibrahimović was born in the notorius suburb of Malmö called Rosengård, Skåne County (then Malmöhus County), the son of immigrants from former Yugoslavia, his Bosnian father Šefik was born in Bijeljina and his Croatian mother Jurka was born in Zadar. His parents met in Sweden, and he grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighborhood known for its immigrant communities, where he also successfully completed junior high school (ninth grade). Although, thereafter admitted to Borgarskolan in Malmö, he soon discontinued high school in order to focus on his football career.[1]

Ibrahimović began playing football at the age of ten. His initial local club was called FK Bosna (meaning FC Bosnia), whose participants unsurprisingly were Bosnian and Somalian immigrants of the Rosengård neighborhood[citation needed]. In 1995 he joined Malmö FF.

[edit] Professional career

Ibrahimović started professional football with the Swedish club Malmö FF in the 1999 season (Allsvenskan, the Swedish top division, begins in spring, not in autumn like in Central and Southern Europe). During his stay at the club, Arsène Wenger tried to persuade him to join Arsenal but Malmö did not allow the transfer.

Other than Wenger, Leo Beenhakker also showed interest in Ibrahimović after observing him practicing in La Manga, Spain. Watching Ibrahimović score an amazing goal in a training game against Norwegian side Moss, Beenhakker became convinced of his talent. He went back to Amsterdam and on March 22, 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Zlatan's transfer to Amsterdam was announced and in July of the same year, he joined Ajax for record-breaking €7.8 million. The deal is by far the most lucrative any Swedish side has struck.

Under manager Co Adriaanse, Ibrahimović received little exposure. Adriaanse was sacked in November 29, however, and Ibrahimović's fortune started to change with the arrival of Ronald Koeman. Following Koeman's arrival, Ibrahimović was consistently chosen in Ajax's starting lineup. Ajax then went on to win the Eredivisie.

The next year Ibrahimović had a major breakthrough at the biggest stage of European football, UEFA Champions League. In his first game ever in the Champions League against French Champions Olympique Lyonnais, Ibrahimović scored two goals, including a true masterpiece when he dribbled past Brazilian Edmilson before shooting past the goalkeeper from a difficult angle. He helped Ajax make it all the way to the quarter-finals where they were narrowly beaten by eventual winners A.C. Milan.

The Champions League success took its toll in the domestic league, however, and Ajax finished second behind PSV. In the 2002-2003 season, Ajax was back at the top of Eredivisie, though. Ibrahimović continued to do well both in the league and, in particular, in the Champions League, scoring another spectacular goal against Celta Vigo, while in a Group H match against Milan on September 16, 2003, Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was sent off late in second-half injury time after backhanding Ibrahimović in the face. In spite of these incidents Ajax did not advance past the group stage.

The next season started brightly for Ibrahimović. On August 22, he scored an incredible goal against NAC Breda which was eventually voted the best goal of the year by Eurosport's viewers. Maradona-like, he dribbled past more or less the entire defense, feinting continuously and even fooling the cameraman in one of his fake shots before beating the goalkeeper and calmly putting the ball in the back of the net. On August 31, 2004, the final day of the summer transfer window, Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for a €19 million transfer fee. He made it rather quickly in to the starting eleven. This was due in part to the fact that the team's top scorer, David Trézéguet was injured, in part to Zlatan being one of coach Fabio Capello's favorite players (Capello had tried to get him already at Roma), but mostly thanks to Ibrahimović's fine performances. He scored 16 goals, and this was in a league that is considered to be very hard for strikers to score in (especially for a foreign striker).

Near the end of the Serie A season Juve reportedly rejected a €70 million bid for him from Spanish power Real Madrid. This later proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt initiated by Ibrahimović's agent in order to raise his market value. Nonetheless, he was voted the player of the season in 2004-05 by the fans of Juventus. Zlatan was nominated to the 2005 FIFA world player of the year along with thirty other top players and finished as number eight. On November 14, 2005, he was awarded Guldbollen, a prize given to the best Swedish footballer of the year.

The following season was a more turbulent one for Ibrahimović. He had always had problems with Swedish journalists and these problems mounted as his success grew. During autumn, Ibrahimović's role in Juventus attack changed, and he became less of a goalscorer. He moved more and more to the sidelines, taking much part in the build-up play, especially as a target player, a role for which he was suited considering his exceptional physical strength. He thus started to make more assists than goals.

Even though he played well, arguably the best football he had produced so far, criticism against the lack of goals started to increase. And in spring, when Ibrahimović lost most of his fine form in the game outside the penalty area as well, criticism rose to a thunderstorm, both in Italy, where fans and journalists preferred Juve icon Alessandro del Piero, often sidelined for Ibrahimović's benefit, and in Sweden. Even so, he retained his place in the starting eleven and Juventus eventually won the Serie A again. Ibrahimović was also considered arrogant and troublesome, especially in Sweden where these feelings were strengthened due to several incidents between Zlatan and Swedish media.

In mid 2006, Juventus and Ibrahimović lost the league titles of the two previous seasons, due to Serie A scandal: Juventus were also relegated to Serie B. The new staff tried to persuade Zlatan, and other top players, to stay in Juventus, but Ibrahimović and his agent were adamant to move. Mino Raiola even threatened legal action in order to extricate Ibrahimović from his contract. He signed a four-year contract to Inter Milan for € 24.8 million on August 10, 2006.[2]

Ibrahimović started his spell at Inter with a good match against Fiorentina, assisting one goal and scoring another. After that he was somewhat inconsistent for a time, having notable troubles, along with the rest of the team, in the Champions League. However, after the spectacular 4-3 win in the derby against AC Milan everything worked out for Ibrahimović and Inter. They went on to a record seventeen wins in a row in Serie A, and Ibrahimović was coach Roberto Mancini's first choice in attack. Ibrahimović's performances have prompted Mancini and Livorno striker Cristiano Lucarelli to compare him with the legend Marco van Basten.

[edit] National career

Ibrahimović made his debut in the Swedish national team in a goal-less friendly match against Faroe Islands January 31, 2001. The match only featured players from the Scandinavian Leagues. The first competitive game he played in for the national team was the World Cup qualifying game against Azerbaijan in October 7 the same year. Ibrahimović was included in Sweden's 2002 World Cup squad that managed to go through to the finals despite playing in the Group of Death against Argentina, England and Nigeria. He only played for 45 minutes in Sweden's defeat from a Golden Goal, against Senegal.

Ibrahimović was a regular starter for Sweden in the campaign for Euro 2004, and after a fine season in Ajax he was well prepared for Euro 2004 in Portugal. He joined a fine Swedish team featuring Celtic star Henrik Larsson and Arsenal winger Fredrik Ljungberg. Ibrahimović did well, scoring a penalty goal against Bulgaria and rounding off a fine performance against the solid defense of Italy by scoring an amazing late equaliser. He jumped up in the air with his back to goal and kicked the ball one-and-a-half meters above the ground with his back heel into Buffon's top corner. Ibrahimović is well known for his agility and his ability to score goals with his feet high up in the air, and perhaps this stems from the fact that he practiced tae kwon do as a youth.[citation needed] The tournament ended, though, with Sweden losing to Holland on penalties in the quarterfinals. Zlatan was one of the Swedes who missed a penalty.

Ibrahimović contributed heavily to Sweden's successful attempt to qualify to the 2006 World Cup. Both Sweden and Ibrahimović were thought to under-achieve in the tournament, though. He was substituted at half time in one game, against Paraguay, and did not participate in another, against England, due to a groin injury. How much his performances in the other games were affected by this is hard to know. Sweden was knocked out in the 2nd round by Germany.

Not long after his awaited transfer to Inter, Ibrahimović was called up to the Sweden squad to face Liechtenstein in the European Championship Qualifiers. While the squad was gathered at the players hotel, Zlatan and his teammates Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg decided to break the squad curfew by going out to a nearby nightclub. Notable is that none of the players stated above had anything to drink. The coaches of the national team, Lars Lagerbäck and Roland Andersson, decided that the three players should be sent home. Thus, they did not take part in the game against Liechtenstein.

Mellberg and Wilhelmsson grudgingly accepted the punishment, but Ibrahimović felt that it was unjust. Thus, he refused to take part in the following games against Iceland and Spain. Sweden went on to win these matches without Ibrahimović. He also refused to take part in a friendly match against Egypt on February 7, but it has been reported lately that Ibrahimović agreed to return to Swedish national team.[3] On March 28th, 2007, in a European Championship Qualifier game, Zlatan made his return. He had one shot rejected on the line.

[edit] Playing style

Ibrahimović is 192 cm tall and powerfully built, and thus physical strength is one of his greatest assets. Since his arrival in Italy, he has become even stronger, since coach Fabio Capello, who is known to prefer physically strong players, ordered him to undergo a gym training program. It has been suggested by Ibrahimović himself that he might have added a couple of kilos too much, and that this contributed to the poor form in the spring of 2006.[4]

Ibrahimović is, though, also known for his technical ability, and this unusual combination of technique and strength is what has taken him to the top clubs in Italy. None of the wondergoals described above could have been made by a less technically gifted player. He is also well known to be a good provider of spectacular assists.

His technique consists mainly in his great dribbling skills, but he can also shoot very hard, though not always accurately, and has taken free-kicks in both Inter and Juventus. He is also a good passer of the ball, though he sometimes seem to have concentration lapses and thus makes simple mistakes. Ibrahimović is also quite fast, though this is rarely seen, as he prefers to meet the ball rather than try to beat the offside trap and run towards the opponents goal. When playing in a 4-4-2-formation, Ibrahimović is usually the one of the attackers who meet the ball, whereas the other attacker (most notably Hernan Crespo and David Trézéguet) is closer to the goal, trying to beat the offside-trap and getting first on crosses. This might be one reason why Ibrahimović scores relatively few goals but makes quite a few assists for a forward. Occasionally, when playing with players less suited for that role, such as Alvaro Recoba, Ibrahimović moves further upfront.

Ibrahimović is also thought to have a bad temper, resulting in a red card in the important game against Bayern Munich in November 2, 2005, and a two match suspension after head-butting present assistant coach Siniša Mihajlović in the match between Inter and Juventus in April 17, 2005. He is also known to be quite a bad loser, never giving interviews after defeats. The flip side of this may be that he is a winning type, according to some.[5]

With his strength and height, he wins most aerial duels with defenders.

In Sweden, Ibrahimović is often accused of laziness: that he does not work enough defensively. In Italy, where people never expect strikers to do much defensive work, this is less often heard. Another drawback he has is that he concedes quite a few fouls.

[edit] Honours

With the Swedish national team :

With Internazionale FC:

With Ajax Amsterdam:

[edit] Trivia

  • Joga TV, a series of TV advertisement for Nike leading up to 2006 FIFA World Cup, frequently features Ibrahimović. One episode centered on Ibrahimović's (proven) ability to spit a piece of gum out of his mouth, juggle it between his feet, and then kick it back into his mouth.
  • Ibrahimović has two tattoos on each of his forearms, nicknamed the Ibrahimović code. They are a series of numbers which are birth dates of his family.
  • During the World Cup in 2006, one of the most popular songs in Sweden was "Who's Da Man" - a song about Zlatan that was written and performed by a group from Ystad called Elias. It featured a seven-year-old boy on vocals, Frans, who considers Ibrahimović as his hero.[6]
  • In a poll on Zlatan.net during 2003, 61 per cent (4,221 votes) voted for Ibrahimović to wear the name "Zlatan" on the back of his shirt. 29 per cent (2,014 votes) voted for "Ibrahimović", while 9 per cent (617 votes) had no opinion.
  • Ibrahimović shares a birthday (October 3, 1981) with fellow Swedish footballer Andreas Isaksson.
  • He is trained in tae kwon do.
  • Ibrahimović was the fourth Swede to put on the Ajax shirt, joining Inge Danielsson, Peter Larsson, and Stefan Pettersson.
  • 84% of the population of Rosengård, the part of Malmö where Ibrahimović grew up, have a background from Somalia, Bosnia and countries other than Sweden.
  • Vägen tillbaka - Blådårar 2 is a movie (partly) about Ibrahimović and his time back in Allsvenskan, the Swedish first division, for Malmö FF after they where relegated from Allsvenskan in 1999 for the first time in 64 years. It also includes a song about Zlatan.
  • In April 2002, a new book about training soccer skills was published in Sweden, where readers can learn some of Ibrahimović's special tricks.
  • Ibrahimović signed for Malmö FF at the age of 13.
  • He has a son, Maximilian, who was born on September 22, 2006.
  • Zlatan is a Bosnian name which means "golden". His surname means in English "Son of Ibrahim".

[edit] Quotes

  • "... Ibrahimovic, the best of the championship. If he wins something, it will be the best placed to succeed Cannavaro late in the year. It is not Van Basten, but the physical appearance is similar, and the school identical Ajax." -- Marcello Lippi, Former Italia coach, winner of the FIFA World Cup 2006, January 31, 2007
  • "... Zlatan in this form is not an asset for the national team at all. I see no big difference in him being present or not." -- Thomas Ravelli, former Swedish goalkeeper, September 19, 2006
  • "Watching Zlatan play today was the equivilant of watching a donkey getting wipped on a portugeese beach -- Jose Mourinho on BBC, June 23, 2006
  • "He invents moves that don't exist in the material world and they are done like jazz improvisations on the pitch." -- Björn Ranelid, columnist for Swedish newspaper DN, May 31, 2002)

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Jakob Sillén. Guld-Zlatan (Swedish). EXPRESSEN.SE. Retrieved on 25 September, 2206.
  2. ^ JUVE SLAP £25m PRICE TAG ON ZLATAN. sportinglife.com. Retrieved on 25 September, 2006.
  3. ^ Ibrahimovic agrees to return to Sweden side. ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved on 2 March, 2007.
  4. ^ Zlatan talar ut – om allt (Swedish). Sydsvenskan.se. Retrieved on 25 September, 2006.
  5. ^ Jennifer Wegerup. - Ibra är en galen häst (Swedish). Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved on 25 September, 2006.
  6. ^ Frans Zlatan-hyllning en blivande VM-hit (Swedish). svt.se. Retrieved on 25 September, 2006.

[edit] Web sites

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Preceded by
Kaká		 Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
2005		 Succeeded by
Kaká & David Suazo


Flag of Sweden Sweden squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Flag of Sweden

1 Hedman | 2 Mellberg | 3 P. Andersson | 4 Mjällby | 5 Michael Svensson | 6 Linderoth | 7 Alexandersson | 8 A. Svensson | 9 Ljungberg | 10 Allbäck | 11 Larsson | 12 Kihlstedt | 13 Antonelius | 14 Edman | 15 Jakobsson | 16 Lučić | 17 Magnus Svensson | 18 Jonson | 19 Farnerud | 20 D. Andersson | 21 Ibrahimović | 22 A. Andersson | 23 Isaksson | Coach: Lagerbäck / Söderberg
Flag of Sweden Sweden squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Flag of Sweden

1 Isaksson | 2 Nilsson | 3 Mellberg | 4 Lučić | 5 Edman | 6 Linderoth | 7 Alexandersson | 8 A. Svensson | 9 Ljungberg | 10 Ibrahimović | 11 Larsson | 12 Alvbåge | 13 Hansson | 14 Stenman | 15 K. Svensson | 16 Källström | 17 Elmander | 18 Jonson | 19 Andersson | 20 Allbäck | 21 Wilhelmsson | 22 Rosenberg | 23 Shaaban | Coach: Lagerbäck
F.C. Internazionale Milano - Current Squad

1 Toldo | 2 Córdoba | 4 Zanetti | 5 Stanković | 6 Maxwell | 7 Figo | 8 Ibrahimović | 9 Cruz | 10 Adriano | 11 Grosso | 12 Júlio César | 13 Maicon | 14 Vieira | 15 Dacourt | 16 Burdisso | 18 Crespo | 19 Cambiasso | 20 Recoba | 21 Solari | 22 Orlandoni | 23 Materazzi | 25 Samuel | 36 Fautario | 50 Maaroufi | 51 Bonucci | 57 Filkor | 58 Biabiany | 60 Ribas | 61 Slavkovski | 77 Andreolli | 79 Carini | 91 González | 99 Choutos | Coach Mancini
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