Zlatan Ibrahimović born 3 October 1981 is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Sweden national team for which he is captain.
Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s before being signed by Ajax, where made a name for himself. He signed for Juventus and excelled in Serie A in a strike partnership with David Trezeguet. In 2006, he signed for rivals Internazionale and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona before moving back to Serie A football with A.C. Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid players in the world. After winning a further Scudetto with Milan in 2010–11, he signed with Paris Saint-Germain in July 2012. With PSG, Ibrahimović has won three Ligue 1 championships, two Coupes de la Ligue, one Coupe de France, and in October 2015 he became the club's all time leading goalscorer.
Ibrahimović is one of ten players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Swedish national team, and is the country's all time leading goalscorer in international matches with 62 goals. He has represented Sweden at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2004, 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Championships. He has been awarded Guldbollen (the Golden Ball) for the Swedish player of the year a record ten times, including for nine consecutive years between 2007 and 2015.
With his playing style and acrobatic finishing compared to Dutch legend Marco van Basten, Ibrahimović is regarded as one of the best strikers in the game and one of the best footballers of his generation. His spectacular bicycle kick for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year. Off the field he is known for his brash persona and outspoken comments, in addition to referring to himself in the third person (Zlatan). In December 2013, Ibrahimović was ranked by The Guardian as the third-best player in the world. In December 2014, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter named him the second-greatest Swedish sportsperson of all time, after Björn Borg.
Early life
Ibrahimović was born in Sweden to a Muslim Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Croatian Catholic mother, Jurka Gravić, who had also emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. His father was born in Bijeljina, Bosnia and his mother was born in the village of Prkos near Škabrnja in Croatia's Zadar County. Ibrahimović is of partial mixed Albanian-Roma descent, and he can also speak some Albanian.
After receiving a pair of football boots, Ibrahimović began playing at the age of six, alternating between local junior clubs Malmö BI and FBK Balkan. While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF. At the age of 15, Ibrahimović was close to quitting his football career, in favour of working at the docks in Malmö, but his manager convinced him to continue playing. His idol was Brazilian star Ronaldo when he was growing up.
Style of play
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.
Controversies
Ibrahimović has been involved in several violent incidents with teammates, some of which have gone viral on the internet. In 2011, Ibrahimović kicked teammate Antonio Cassano in the face while Cassano was speaking to reporters. Ibrahimović has also kicked teammates Christian Wilhelmsson and Rodney Strasser during training, both caught on camera.
After a 2004 international friendly against the Netherlands, Ajax teammate Rafael van der Vaart publicly accused Ibrahimović of deliberately injuring him during the game. Ibrahimović responded by threatening to break both of Van der Vaart's legs. Ibrahimović also punched Ajax teammate Mido in the dressing room.
During his spell at Barcelona, Ibrahimović had a falling-out with Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, culminating in a dressing room incident in which Ibrahimović threw a training kit box across the room and screamed insults at Guardiola. Guardiola eventually refused to speak to Ibrahimović and loaned him out to A.C. Milan. Barcelona vice-president Carles Vilarrubi reported that Ibrahimović threatened to publicly beat up Guardiola if he was not released to A.C. Milan.
In 2010, Ibrahimović was involved in a training ground fist-fight with A.C. Milan teammate Oguchi Onyewu, after Ibrahimović made a two-footed tackle on him, then headbutted him. The session was abandoned after the two players were separated, and Ibrahimović suffered a broken rib. Onyewu had accused Ibrahimović of repeatedly insulting him.
In March 2011, Ibrahimović was given a three-match ban for punching Bari defender Marco Rossi in the stomach during a game. He received another three-match ban in February 2012 for slapping Napoli player Salvatore Aronica.
After Sweden's 1–0 victory over the Faroe Islands in October 2012, Faroes captain Fróði Benjaminsen accused Ibrahimović of foul play and insults, describing him as "arrogant", "childish", "ignorant" and a "dirty player".
In November 2012, Ibrahimović received a two-match ban for kicking Saint-Étienne goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier in the chest. In December 2012, Ibrahimović was accused by Lyon defender Dejan Lovren and president Jean-Michel Aulas of deliberately stamping on Lovren's head. In February 2013, UEFA handed Ibrahimović a two-match ban for stamping on Valencia winger Andrés Guardado. In March 2013, PSG winger Lucas Moura claimed that Ibrahimović regularly insulted team-mates, stating “He always asks for the ball and insults a lot. He is sometimes a bit arrogant and complains.” Lucas later claimed, though, that the interview was twisted and badly translated. In May 2013, Ibrahimović was filmed screaming at sporting director Leonardo after PSG's title victory.
Ibrahimović's forceful comments on the disparity of achievements by and treatment of male and female footballers, including a suggestion that rewarding the woman with most national-team appearances with anything more than "a bike with his autograph on it" when her male counterpart received a car was "devaluing" the man's achievements, provoked reactions that his remarks highlighted "failings in the basic values of male football" and showed a lack of respect.
In January 2015, Lyon coach Hubert Fournier accused Ibrahimović of abusing officials, stating that "All the referees in this league get insulted by this person." In March 2015, after a loss by PSG in a Ligue 1 match, Ibrahimović angrily ranted "In 15 years I’ve never seen a referee in this shit country ... they don’t even deserve PSG". He later apologised, but was criticised by French politicians, and Ligue 1 imposed a four-match ban.
