Will Zlatan Ibrahimovic Conquer the MLS
Zlatan Voted MLS Player of the Week Early
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish Soccer National Team striker, known as one of the greatest players of his era, has recently transferred from Manchester United in the EPL to the LA Galaxy in the MLS. The transfer was heard around the world with Zlatan being one of the most popular personalities in the sport due to his play in four of Europe’s major leagues: La Liga, Seria A, EPL and last , and Ligue 1 where he made his largest impact. Zlatan’s debut for La Galaxy in the first ever L.A. derby against expansion team LAFC, shows how history repeats itself as he scored in his debut the same way he has in previous leagues.
Being subbed in at the 71st minute of MLS week 5, fans chants of “We want Zlatan!” were answered. While only playing 19 minutes, Zlatan had arguably the most remarkable MLS debut ever. Zlatan’s presence was noticeable from when he first hit the pitch as he took control of the game with the LA Galaxy down two goals. Almost immediatley Zlatan controlled the ball leading up to Chris Pontius’ goal narrowing the gap to a one goal difference. Zlatan followed by taking the game into his own hands, and delivering two of the most memorable goals in MLS history. One being a 38 yard volley he scored over the head of LAFC goalkeeper, Tyler Miller. The other in stoppage time, a ball in which he beat Miller and two defenders to head into the back of the net taking the victory with a final score of 4–3. This performance led to Zlatan being voted for MLS Player of the Week in his first week of the MLS.
The question now is, will Zlatan conquer the MLS like he’s done in many other leagues? He himself said his goal in the MLS was to “conquer the US”, which I think is completely possible for a player like Ibra, a world class striker known world wide. Due to the fact that he played 20 years of European soccer, starting at his homeland in Malmo and finishing in Manchester United, and arguably being one of the best players to have passed by each league he’s played in. He’s won his league in four different countries for six out of the seven teams he has played for. Not only does Zlatan have the skills to conquer the MLS, but also has the experience.
