Zlatan Ibrahimović (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈslaːtan ɪbraˈhiːmɔvɪtɕ], Bosnian: [zlǎtan ibraxǐːmoʋitɕ]; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He was also a member of the Sweden national team from 2001 to 2016, serving as captain from 2010 until his retirement.[3] Primarily a striker, he is a prolific goalscorer, who is best known for his technique, creativity, strength, ability in the air, and his powerful and accurate striking ability. He is currently the second-most decorated active footballer in the world, having won 32 trophies in his career.[4]
Ibrahimović began his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s before being signed by Ajax, where he 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 rival side Internazionale and was named to the UEFA Team of the Year in both 2007 and 2009. In addition, Ibrahimović would finish as the league’s top scorer in 2008–09 and win three straight Scudetti. In the middle of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona, before moving back to Serie A football the following season, joining Milan in a deal that made him one of the highest-paid players in the world.[5] He won another Scudetto with Milan in the 2010–11 season. He joined Paris Saint-Germain in July 2012. During his four-season stay at PSG, Ibrahimović won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, three Coupes de la Ligue, two Coupes de France and was the top scorer in Ligue 1 for three seasons. In October 2015, he became PSG’s all time leading goalscorer. He finished his PSG career with 156 goals in 180 competitive matches.[6]
Ibrahimović is one of ten players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Swedish national team. He is the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals. He represented Sweden at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 UEFA European Championships. He has been awarded Guldbollen (the Golden Ball), given to the Swedish player of the year, a record 11 times, including 10 consecutive times from 2007 to 2016.[7]
With his playing style and acrobatic finishing compared to Dutch retired striker Marco van Basten, Ibrahimović is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the game and one of the best footballers of his generation.[8][9][10][11] His spectacular bicycle kick for Sweden against England won the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year.[12] Off the field, he is known for his brash persona and outspoken comments, in addition to referring to himself in the third person.[13][14] In December 2013, Ibrahimović was ranked by The Guardian as the third-best player in the world, behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.[15] In December 2014, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter named him the second-greatest Swedish sportsperson of all time, after tennis player Björn Borg.
See also: List of international goals scored by Zlatan Ibrahimović
Ibrahimović was eligible to represent Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia at international level; he chose Sweden.[185] He made his debut for Sweden in a 0–0 friendly draw against the Faroe Islands at Tipshallen on 31 January 2001 during the 2000–01 Nordic Football Championship.[186][187] On 7 October 2001, he played his first competitive match, a 2002 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan, scoring his first ever international goal in a 3–0 win as Sweden topped their group to qualify for the upcoming tournament.
Sweden qualified for UEFA Euro 2004 as group winners, with Ibrahimović scoring three goals throughout the qualifying campaign.[192] In Sweden’s opening group match of Euro 2004 against Bulgaria on 14 June, Ibrahimović assisted one of Fredrik Ljungberg’s goals and later scored from a penalty in a 5–0 win.[193] In the following match against Italy on 18 June, he scored an 85th-minute equaliser with a back-heel lob to seal a 1–1 draw and was named Man of the Match;[194][195] the goal was later named the best goal of the tournament.[196] Sweden and Denmark subsequently sealed a place in the knockout round on direct encounters following a 2–2 draw in their final group match, despite a three-way five-point tie with Italy, with Sweden topping the group.[197] In the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, he missed a penalty in the resulting shoot-out following a 0–0 draw after extra-time, as Sweden were eliminated from the competition.[198]
During the 2006 World Cup qualification campaign, Ibrahimović scored four goals in a 7–0 victory away to Malta on 4 September 2004.[199] He did not score during the 2006 World Cup finals, as Sweden were knocked out in the round of 16, this time by Germany.
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.[225] On 8 September, he made his 100th appearance for Sweden in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Austria at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.[226]
On 14 November 2015, Ibrahimović scored the winning goal for Sweden in a 2–1 victory in the home leg of the Euro 2016 qualifying play-off against rivals Denmark. Three days later, he scored both Sweden’s goals of a 2–2 draw in Copenhagen to qualify the nation for the Euro 2016 finals.[227] Ibrahimović scored 11 goals during the qualifying phase, making him its second-top goalscorer after Poland’s Robert Lewandowski.[228] On 11 May 2016, Ibrahimović made the final 23-man squad for Sweden at Euro 2016. As captain, he played every minute of Sweden’s three group matches, but did not score any goals. He managed only one shot on target during the tournament.[229] Sweden finished in last place in their group and as a result were eliminated along with seven other teams in the group stage.[230] On 21 June 2016, Ibrahimović announced that he would retire from international football immediately after Sweden’s last match at Euro 2016.
