As Zlatan Ibrahimovic turns 40, we analyse a man who's known as much for his comments off the field as he is for his exploits on it.
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the best strikers of modern football history – and up there among the all-time greats. Just ask you; he’ll tell you so himself. However, as the old saying goes, “it ain’t bragging if you can back it up”. It is a line that is extremely relevant to the Swedish striker. Yes, he can come across as insufferable while singing his own praises, but he backs them up with plenty of performances. For the best part of 20 years now, he has been the figurehead for Swedish football – a celebrity who, in many ways, captures the attention of the masses.
The man continues to defy age and is still playing for a top side in AC Milan. But, as he turns 40 and his career appears likely to be winding down, it is worth taking a look back at the man’s career – and some of his best soundbites.
Therefore, on Zlatan’s birthday, we look at the footballer, the man and the persona.
Younger fans will not be as familiar with this, but the man who likes to refer to himself in the third person is more than just a goalscorer. Age and a loss of mobility have seen him fine-tune his game and become a poacher of sorts.
However, the boy from Malmo was more than just someone who could find the back of the net. Ibrahimovic was, in many ways, ahead of his time when he first broke onto the scene.
At Ajax, the first major club he joined, he was known for his tricks and flicks as much as for his finishing. Ibrahimovic was not afraid to dribble around players, whether with nimble footwork or sheer speed.
And he could play in a multitude of formations too. At Juventus, he formed an effective partnership with David Trezeguet up front. In later years, as two-striker formations were phased out, he proved an effective focal point as a sole striker.
His ability in the air is also worth noting. His height and build means he can and will go for headers when possible, making him useful on both ends of the pitch.
What also seperates Ibrahimovic from the rest is his mentality. The Swede is said to have a winners mindset, and has consistently worked hard on his game to improve.
Early in his career, he was not as ruthless a finisher as he is now and preferred being more of a playmaker. Over time, he worked on becoming more selfish in front of goal and became more prolific.
He’s also a natural leader, someone who inspires teammates to do better both on the field and in the training ground. It is a role he continues to do as an elder statesman at AC Milan.
An easy mark of greatness for any player is how many trophies they win over their career. While it might not be an accurate metric – an average player in a great team will also win plenty of silverware – it does have some merit.
In that sense, the legacy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic is well and truly secured. He’s won 31 trophies over the course of his career – a number that could have been higher if not for the Calciopoli scandal.
There’s also the fact that he’s won trophies in a number of countries. He won leagues and cups in the Netherlands with Ajax, and multiple trophies in Italy.
He’s also won trophies in Spain during his one-year spell at Barcelona. Besides that, he won trophies in England with Manchester United and in France with Paris Saint-Germain. He even took the MLS by storm, winning trophies with LA Galaxy before returning to AC Milan.
He’s also won numerous individual accolades. Notably, the only trophy missing from his collection is the Champions League title.
Incredibly, he’s never won what is arguably club football’s biggest trophy. But that takes little away from his illustrious career.
Yet one of the reasons he is always in the news is his outspoken nature. Zlatan Ibrahimovic consistently refers to himself in the third person, and possesses self-confidence and arrogance in equal measure.
His brash nature has seem him clash with a number of teammates over the years. Hell, one could fill a long-form article on his numerous fights with teammates, ex or current.
As such, he has given a number of memorable quotes to the media over the years. His response to being offered a trail at Arsenal was simple: “Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”
He once said, while commenting on himself, “I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am.” Tell us how you really feel. Then there’s his description of dribbling past Liverpool defender Stephane Henchoz. “First I went left; he did too. Then I went right and he did too. Then I went left again and he went to buy a hot dog.” Yikes.
Yet perhaps his best barbs were reserved for Pep Guardiola. The two had an infamously terse relationship during Ibrahimovic’s one-year stint at Barcelona. And the Swede never missed a chance of telling others about his hatred for Guardiola.
“When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas. [Pep] Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat,” was his response to how he was used at Barcelona.
There’s also this gem: “[Jose] Mourinho is Guardiola’s opposite. If Mourinho brightens up the room, Guardiola pulls down the curtains and I guessed that Guardiola now tried to measure himself with him.”
Never change, Zlatan. And happy birthday.
