Zlatan Ibrahimović (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈslɑːtan ɪbraˈhiːmɔvɪtɕ], Bosnian pronunciation: [zlǎtan ibraxǐːmoʋit͡ɕ]; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team for which he iscaptain. Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. He later signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A, benefiting from his strike partnership with David Trezeguet.
In 2006, Ibrahimović signed with league rival Inter Milan, where he won individual awards such as the Italian Oscar del Calcio and the Swedish Guldbollen, 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. His time at Barcelona was short-lived, however, moving back to Serie A football with A.C. Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world[2] and cost the Italian club €24 million. He signed a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain in July 2012.
With his playing style compared to Dutch legend Marco van Basten, Ibrahimović is regarded to be one of the best footballers of his generation.[3][4][5][6] In December 2013, Ibrahimović was ranked by The Guardian as the third-best footballer in the world.
Early life
Ibrahimović was born in Sweden to a Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Croatian Catholic mother, Jurka Gravić,[8] who had also emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. His father was born in Bijeljina and his mother was born in the village of Prkos near Škabrnja in Croatia's Zadar County.[9] One of six children, Ibrahimović grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities, along with his three sisters and two brothers.
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.[10][11] He has stated in an interview that once when his team were 4–0 down at half-time, he came on as a substitute for his Balkan youth team and scored eight goals.[citation needed] While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF.[11] 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.[12] Ibrahimović successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade. Though he was admitted to Borgarskolan and had above-average grades, he soon dropped out of high school entirely to focus on his football career.
Club career
Malmö FF
Ibrahimović signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996, and moved up to the senior side for the 1999 season of Allsvenskan, Sweden's top-flight league. That season, Malmö finished 13th in the league and were relegated to the second division, but returned to the top flight the next season. Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade Ibrahimović to join Arsenal, while Leo Beenhakker also expressed interest in the player after watching him in a training match against Norwegian side Moss FK.[13] On 22 March 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Ibrahimović's transfer to Amsterdam was announced, and in July, Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax for 80 million Swedish kronor (€8.7 million).[14]
Ajax
Ibrahimović received little playing time under manager Co Adriaanse, but when Adriaanse was sacked on 29 November 2001, new coach Ronald Koeman inserted Ibrahimović into the starting lineup as Ajax won the 2001–02 Eredivisie title. The next season, Ibrahimović scored twice in a 2–1 victory over French champions Lyon in his Champions League debut on 17 September 2002. He scored four Champions League goals overall as Ajax fell to A.C. Milan in the quarter-finals. In his final season with Ajax, Ibrahimović's profile rose when he scored a breathtaking goalagainst NAC on 22 August 2004, a goal that was eventually voted the "Goal of the Year" by Eurosport viewers.[15] He netted only once in the 2003–04 Champions League (against Celta Vigoon 22 October) as Ajax were eliminated in the group stage.
On 18 August 2004, Ibrahimović injured fellow Ajax teammate Rafael van der Vaart during an international match against the Netherlands, which led to accusations from van der Vaart that Ibrahimović had hurt him intentionally. This led to Ibrahimović's sudden sale to Juventus on 31 August.[16] In May 2012, van der Vaart reignited the bitter feud between both players when he was filmed practicing his golf swing on a picture of Ibrahimović's face.[17]
Juventus
Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for €16 million.[18] He was promptly inserted into the starting eleven due in part to top scorer David Trezeguet's injury problems, and scored sixteen goals. Near the end of the season, Juventus reportedly rejected a €70 million bid for him from Real Madrid, which was later revealed to be a publicity stunt initiated by Ibrahimović's agent, Mino Raiola, in order to increase his market value.[15] On 14 November 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen, a prize awarded to the best Swedish footballer of the year.[19]
The following season was poor compared to his first season; his role in Juventus' attack changed, as he became less of a goalscorer and moved more to the sidelines, taking much part in the build-up play, especially as a target player, and his assist numbers increased. In the 2005–06 season, Juventus fans often got frustrated with him due to his anonymous presence in certain important games such as the Champions League defeat to Arsenal. Juventus were stripped of their last two Scudetti as part of the verdict from the Calciopoli scandal, and were relegated to Serie B. The new staff tried to persuade Ibrahimović and other top players to stay with Juventus, but the player and his agent were adamant to move on, with Raiola threatening legal action in order to extricate Ibrahimović from his contract.[20]
Inter Milan
On 10 August 2006, Ibrahimović completed a €24.8 million move to Inter Milan, signing a four-year-deal,[21] this coming only a few days after 30-year-old defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira had completed his own transfer from Juve to nerazzurri.[22] Ibrahimović revealed that he had supported Inter when he was young.[23]
Playing under head coach Roberto Mancini, Ibrahimović started his spell at the club by scoring one goal and assisting another in a league match against Fiorentina and ended his first season as Inter's top goalscorer with 15 goals. Inter won the league for the first time in 17 years. They finished the Serie A season with 97 points, a league record, a feat Ibrahimović would go on to repeat at FC Barcelona. During the season Inter also broke the European Big Five League Record for most consecutive wins, 17. The record still stands.
Ibrahimović played his 100th Serie A match on 16 September 2007. His contract was renewed in 2007, it was due to expire in June 2013.[24] He was estimated as the top of footballer wages.[25] He scored two Champions League goals in the group stage against PSV on 2 October, which marked his first European goals since December 2005 and his first goals overall in an Inter jersey, and finished with five goals in seven Champions League matches. Against Parma in the final league matchday on 18 May 2008, he returned from a chronic knee injury and scored both goals as Inter won 2–0, clinching their third straight Scudetto.
On 16 November 2008, Ibrahimović said that he would not return to the Allsvenskan as an active player, but he would stay the rest of his active career as a player abroad.[26]
Ibrahimović's 2008–09 season started brilliantly, hitting the back of the net in Inter's first league match. His goal against Bologna was voted "Goal of the Year". He scored it with his heel without moving and accurately into the net from a cross by Adriano.[27] Ibrahimović's form in the season had been eye-catching, with clever movement on and off the ball, and his passing had been outstanding, such as his acrobatic pass against Lazio. He ended a month long goal drought against Genoa, handing them their first home loss of the season, making Inter the only team not to lose at home in the league. In the final league game of the season, Ibrahimović scored twice against Atalanta, securing the Capocannoniere for himself by finishing one goal ahead of Marco Di Vaio and Diego Milito with 25 goals in the domestic season.
Barcelona
After Maxwell completed his transfer to Barcelona, president Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Inter Milan for Ibrahimović to join the club in exchange for Samuel Eto'o, plus a fee.[28] Laporta revealed that the negotiations started when he decided to divert a flight, which was originally from Ukraine to Spain, in order to have talks with Massimo Moratti, the president of Inter Milan, in Milan.[29]Ibrahimović left Inter Milan during their United States summer tour in the World Football Challenge on 23 July 2009 for negotiations with Barcelona, with his last match for Inter Milan being against Chelsea.[30] After Inter Milan agreed terms with Eto'o[31] and Barcelona with Ibrahimović,[32] Barcelona announced Ibrahimović would arrive on 26 July 2009 and undergo a medical test on 27 July 2009.[33] Ibrahimović passed his medical and was presented to a crowd of over 60,000 at Camp Nou.[34] He signed a 5-year contract,[35] for €46 million[35] and the exchange of Eto'o (valued at €20 million) and loan of Alexander Hleb (with an option to buy for a €10 million fee),[35] with a €250 million release clause,[35] making Ibrahimović worth €66 million. However, the Hleb deal collapsed. Eventually Ibrahimović cost Barcelona €69.884 million which included other fees.[36] As per the Inter book the fee was €69.5 million,[37][38] but part of the Inter fee (about 4.5%) was redistributed to youth clubs as solidarity contribution (except Juventus.[39])
Ibrahimović started the 2009–10 season with his competitive debut for Barcelona on 23 August 2009 by assisting on a goal by Lionel Messi, leading them to the Spanish Super Cup. In his next competitive match, Barcelona won the2009 UEFA Super Cup.[40] In his third appearance, he scored his first goal in Barcelona's La Liga season openeragainst Sporting Gijón in a 3–0 win. Ibrahimović went on to score in his next three appearances, thus setting a team record as the only player ever to score in his first four league matches.[41]
On 20 October, he scored his first Champions League goal for Barcelona in a group stage match against Rubin Kazan. Five days later, he scored twice in a 6–1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza, giving him a league-leading seven goals in seven league matches while bringing Barcelona to the top of the table.[42] However, on 7 November, Ibrahimović suffered a thigh injury that kept him out for three weeks. He returned to action in week 12 of the season against Real Madrid as a second-half substitute for Thierry Henry, and scored his eighth goal of the campaign.[43] He finished with eleven goals and four assists in all but two of Barcelona's first fifteen league matches. Barcelona capped off 2009 by winning the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup against Estudiantes on 19 December 2009.
Ibrahimović scored Barcelona's only goal in the 2009–10 Copa del Rey first leg match of the round of sixteen in a 2–1 loss to Sevilla on 5 January 2010. On 20 January, he was selected in the 2009 UEFA Team of the Year.[44] His first goal of 2010 came on 14 February against Atlético Madrid. In his next appearance, Ibrahimović scored against Stuttgart in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout stage fixture. He was sent off on 6 March in a league match against Almería, which Barcelona appealed to no avail, and he was suspended for one game.[45] A calf strain during warmups before the next La Liga match following his return from suspension against Athletic Bilbao ruled Ibrahimović out of the second leg 4–1 victory over Arsenal, in which he scored two goals away from home, the return leg of the El Clásico against Madrid (which Barcelona won 2–0),[46] and the next league match against Deportivo La Coruña. He made his return as a substitute in the 82nd minute in against Espanyol.
Ibrahimović finished the season with a sixth-best 16 league goals, as Barcelona won La Liga with 99 points in 38 matches. He scored his final goal for Barcelona in a Spanish Super Cupmatch on 14 August in a 3–1 defeat over Sevilla, and on 25 August, he played his last match for the club against A.C. Milan for the Joan Gamper Trophy, after which he claimed to the media that his relationship with coach Pep Guardiola had started deteriorating and that Guardiola had not spoken to him since March.[47]
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