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| Full name | Zlatan Ibrahimović | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) (6' 3½") | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Internazionale | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 24, 2006 | |||
Zlatan Ibrahimović (IPA: 'slaːtan ɪbra'hiːmovɪtɕ, Swedish pronunciation; born October 3, 1981) is a Swedish football striker. He is currently playing for Inter Milan, in Italy. Widely considered Sweden's most promising footballer, he is known for his innovative playing style, upbeat personality and quick oneliners in response to queries from journalists.
Early life
Zlatan was born in Malmö, Skåne County. The son of immigrants from Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, his Bosniak father Šefik was born in Bijeljina and his Croat mother Jurka was born in Zadar, Croatia. He grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its prominent immigrant communities, where he also successfully completed junior high school (ninth grade). Although thereafter admitted to Borgarskolan in Malmö, he soon discontinued high school in order to focus on his football career.
Zlatan began playing football at the age of ten. His initial local club was called FBK Balkan, whose participants unsurprisingly reflected the demographics of the Rosengård neighbourhood.
Professional career
Ibrahimović started professional football with the Swedish club Malmö FF in the 1999-2000 season. During his stay at the club, Arsène Wenger tried to persuade him to join Arsenal but Malmö did not allow the transfer. Then was lured to a move to Juventus on a $150,000 per week contract.
Other than Wenger, Leo Beenhakker also showed interest in Ibrahimović after observing him practicing in Spain. Beenhakker went back to Amsterdam and on March 22, 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Ibrahimović's transfer to Amsterdam was announced and in July of the same year, he joined Ajax for €7.8 million.
Under manager Co Adriaanse, Ibrahimović received little exposure. His fortune started to change with the arrival of Ronald Koeman. Following Koeman's arrival, Ibrahimović was consistently chosen in Ajax's starting lineup.
On August 31, 2004, the final day of the summer transfer window, Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for a €19 million transfer fee. Near the end of the Serie A season, where he scored 16 goals and earned a starting spot to the disadvantage of Juves longtime captain Alessandro Del Piero, Juve reportedly rejected a €70 million bid for him from Spanish power Real Madrid. This later proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt initiated by Ibrahimović's agent in order to raise his market value. Nonetheless, he is generally considered to be one of the world's top football talents and was voted the player of the season in 2004/05 by the fans of Juventus.
Zlatan was nominated to the 2005 FIFA world player of the year along with thirty other top players. He finished as number eight.
On November 14 2005, he was awarded Guldbollen, a prize given to the best Swedish footballer of the year.
Zlatan played three games and scored no goals for Sweden in the 2006 World Cup. Sweden were knocked out by Germany in the 2nd round.
After Juventus were relegated to Serie B, Zlatan decided to leave Juventus, and threatened legal action to extricate himself from his contract. He joined Inter Milan for € 24.8 milion on 10 August 2006, with a four years contract.
Rumours about playing for Bosnia-Herzegovina or Croatia
In 1999, at the age of seventeen, Zlatan was reportedly rejected by the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team and was given a choice to play for the B selection. He rejected this proposal and started playing for Sweden. This has been denied by Ibrahimovic himself. In an interview with Swedish paper Expressen he said "I've only been to Bosnia once with dad, when I was eight years old. When I was a junior someone from the Bosnian federation asked me if I wanted to join a tour with the development team. I had no desire to do so. I had already played with the Swedish U-18 team. I was born and raised in Sweden. It's my home country."
Due to his mixed ethnic background he potentialy had three national teams to choose from. In addition to his country of birth, he could have played for Bosnia or Croatia.
On certain occasions, Zlatan has expressed his desire to play for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team. In an interview for Bosnian newspaper Dnevni avaz Sport in 2003, he said "I have Swedish passport, Bosnian blood. I am aware of the fact that the Swedes would not let me go but if I was in a position to choose, I would most certainly play for Bosnia-Herzegovina."
Clubs
- Inter Milan 2006 -
- Juventus F.C. 2004 - 2006
- Ajax Amsterdam 2001 - 2004
- Malmö FF 1995 - 2001
Honours
With the Swedish national team :
- FIFA World Cup
- Appearances: 2002, 2006
- European Championship
- Appearances: 2004
With Juventus F.C.:
- Serie A champions: 2004/2005, 2005/2006 (Both stripped from Juventus in match fixing trial)
With Ajax Amsterdam:
- Eredivisie champions: 2001/2002, 2003/2004
Memorable goals
The 1-1 goal against Italy in a group stage match in the Euro 2004. The Italians fail to clear a Swedish corner kick. Italian keeper Buffon and Zlatan rush against the ball, upon which Zlatan manages to keep Buffon away from the ball with his body. Zlatan jumps and kicks the ball with the back of his heel, resulting in the ball going over Christian Vieri into the goal.
In his last ever game for Ajax Amsterdam against NAC Breda, he received the ball 35 yards from goal, and after winning a 50-50, slalomed his way through the defense, beating five men (two of whom he turned twice) before swivelling on the ball, taking it from his right foot to left and slipping underneath the helpless goalkeeper in one movement. The Dutch commentator was only able to utter the words "Maradona... Zidane..." in response.
Against AS Roma in the 2005/2006 season of Serie A, Zlatan received a long pass by Emerson on the halfway line. With his first touch he casually flicked it behind him, before muscling Samuel Kuffour out of the way effortlessly. He then proceeded to blast the ball past the goalkeeper in overall a quite marvellous amalgamation of both skill and strength.
Interesting Facts
Zlatan is half Muslim and half Christian from his parents, but he is not very strict about the religion.
Joga TV, a series of TV advertisement for Nike leading up to 2006 FIFA World Cup, frequently features Zlatan. One episode centered on Zlatan's (proven) ability to spit a piece of gum out of his mouth, juggle it between his feet, and then kick it back into his mouth.
Zlatan has two tattoos on each of his forearms, nicknamed the Ibrahimovic code. They are a series of numbers which are birth dates of his family.
Left arm: 18.07.1979 — Sister, Sanela 16.04.1951 — Mother, Jurka
Right arm: 23.08.1951 — Father, Sefik 30.04.1973 — Brother, Sapko 10.07.1986 — Brother, Aleksander
During the World Cup in 2006, one of the most popular songs in Sweden was "Who's Da Man" - a song about Ibrahimovic that was written and performed by a seven-year-old boy, who had Ibrahimovic as his hero.
Said about Zlatan
Sven-Göran Eriksson, about facing Sweden in the FIFA World Cup. (The Sunday Times (UK), Dec 11, 2005):
"If Zlatan Ibrahimovic goes on like he does at the moment, he will be the best in the world."
Martin O'Neill on the BBC, 23 June, 2006:
"He is possibly the most over-rated player in the world."
The Sunday Times (UK), Dec 11, 2005:
"Described as 'half ballerina, half gangster', Sweden's Juventus striker could be England's undoing in Germany 2006."
Hernán Crespo, Internazionale, after UEFA Champions League game (Sept 26, 2002):
"He is one of the best forwards I have met this year. In my opinion he can become one of the world's greatest players. He already has enormous qualities."
Gazzetta dello Sport, before UEFA Champions League game against Internazionale (Sept 25, 2002):
"Zlatan is a ghost that is loose and might be a butcher that can settle the game against Inter. Materazzi has to be prepared to deal with the Swedish beast."
Björn Ranelid, Swedish writer (Swedish newspaper DN, May 31, 2002):
"He invents moves that don't exist in the material world and they are done like jazz improvisations on the pitch."
"Zlatan is a colossus and most probably is the best Swedish player of all time."
Notes
- Template:Sv icon Guld-Zlatan
- JUVE SLAP £25m PRICE TAG ON ZLATAN
- Template:Sv icon "Jag känner mig kränkt"
- Nakon ove utakmice, Milan ni Italija me ne zanimaju
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic Super Goal
External links
- Zlatan.net - fansite
- Zlatan-online.nl - fansite (in Dutch)
- The Big Interview: Zlatan Ibrahimovic - The Sunday Times - Football
- Zlatan's Photo
- Avaz Sport Interview In Bosnian, done in 2003; Zlatan expresses his desire to play for the Bosnian national team.
References
| Sweden squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup | ||
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| Inter Milan – current squad | |
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