Zlatan Ibrahimović (born October 3, 1981 in Malmö) is a Swedish football striker of Bosnian and Croatian parentage who plays for Italian Serie A club Internazionale and the Swedish national team.

Early life

Ibrahimović's parents were immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. His father was born in Bijeljina, Bosnia, and his mother in Zadar, Croatia, though they met in Sweden. Ibrahimović grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities. He began playing football at the age of eight, alternating between local junior clubs Malmö Anadolu B.I. and FBK Balkan.

At age 10, he was a regular in his homeclub FBK Balkan, whose participants consisted of Bosnian and Somalian immigrants of the Rosengård neighbourhood, though he was playing with kids up to 2 years older. He successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade, and though he was admitted to Borgarskolan in Malmö, he soon dropped out of high school to focus on his football career.

Club career

Malmö FF

Ibrahimović signed with hometown club Malmö FF 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 tried to persuade Ibrahimović to join Arsenal F.C. but Malmö did not allow the transfer^{citation needed}. AFC Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker also expressed interest in the player after watching him in a training game against Norwegian side Moss F.K. On March 22, 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Zlatan's transfer to Amsterdam was announced, and in July, Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax for a record-breaking €7.8 million, the highest transfer fee ever paid to a Swedish club^{citation needed}.

AFC Ajax

Ibrahimović received little playing time under manager Co Adriaanse, but when Adriaanse was sacked on November 29, 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 perennial French champions Olympique Lyonnais in his first career Champions League match on September 17, 2002. He scored four CL goals overall for Ajax, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals by A.C. Milan.

In his final season with Ajax, Ibrahimović netted a goal against NAC Breda on August 22, 2004 that was eventually voted the goal of the year by Eurosport viewers. He continued to flourish domestically, but also made headlines in a CL group stage match against Milan on September 16, when he was booked for tugging on the jersey of Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso as both were vying for the ball late in second-half injury time, after which Gattuso was sent off after backhanding Ibrahimović in the face. Ibrahimović scored his only European goal against Celta Vigo on October 22 as Ajax were eliminated in the group stage.

On August 18, 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 F.C. on August 31, 2004.

Juventus

Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for a €19 million transfer fee. He quickly made it into the starting eleven due in part to top scorer David Trézéguet'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. Ibrahimović was nonetheless voted the fans' player of the season in 2004-05, and he finished eighth in the voting for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year. On November 14, 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen, a prize awarded to the best Swedish footballer of the year.

The following season was a more turbulent one for Ibrahimović. His role in Juventus's attack changed, and he became less of a goalscorer. He moved more and more to the sidelines, taking much part in the build-up play, especially as a target player, a role that complemented his physical strength, and his assist numbers increased. However, criticism against the lack of goals started to increase both in Italy—where fans and journalists preferred Juventus icon Alessandro del Piero who was often sidelined for Ibrahimović's benefit—and in Sweden. Even so, he retained his place in the starting eleven and Juventus eventually won the Serie A again.

Juventus were stripped of their last 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, while Raiola threatened legal action in order to extricate Ibrahimović from his contract.

Internazionale

Ibrahimović signed a four-year contract with Internazionale for € 24.8 million on August 10, 2006.^[2] He revealed that Inter was his favourite club as a child, gaining him immediate popularity with the Inter supporters. He started his spell at the club by scoring one goal and assisting another against ACF Fiorentina. After a close 4-3 win over A.C. Milan, Inter went on to a record seventeen consecutive league wins en route to Inter's first Scudetto on the field since 1989, and Ibrahimović was coach Roberto Mancini's first choice in attack. He was recognized as the "scudettobearer", meaning the player who was most important in the league win, by Gazzetta dello sport and several other publications.

On September 16, 2007, he played his 100th Serie A match. He scored two Champions League goals in the group stage against PSV Eindhoven on October 2, which marked his first European goals since December 2005 and his first goals overall in an Inter jersey. He went on to score 3 more ending with a tally of 5 goals in 7 matches for the 07/08 season.

Against Parma on May 18, Ibrahimovic returned, after having been out of action because of a chronic knee injury, and scored both goals as Inter won 2-0 and won their third straight Scudetto on the final matchday of the season.

On August 30th, Ibrahimovic opened the scoring in the 1-1 opener against Sampdoria.

International career

Ibrahimović debuted for Sweden in a goalless friendly match against the Faroe Islands on January 31, 2001. His first competitive match was a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on October 7. Ibrahimović was part of Sweden's 2002 World Cup finals squad who were eliminated in the round of 16 by Senegal.

Ibrahimović was a fixture in the starting lineup for Euro 2004, scoring a penalty against Bulgaria and rounding off a fine performance against the solid defense of Italy by scoring a late equaliser. However, he missed a penalty as Sweden were sent home following a shootout loss to the Netherlands. He went scoreless during the 2006 World Cup finals as Sweden were again snuffed out in the round of 16, this time by Germany.

He was called up for a Euro 2008 qualifier against Liechtenstein on September 6, 2006, but two days before the match, he violated team curfew by leaving the hotel with teammates Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg and attending a nightclub. Though neither of the players consumed any alcohol, they were nonetheless all sent home by coach Lars Lagerbäck as punishment and did not take part in the match. Mellberg and Wilhelmsson did not appeal the coach's decision, but Ibrahimović felt that it was unjust and therefore refused to take part in Sweden's next qualifiers against Iceland and Spain. He also skipped a friendly against Egypt on February 7, 2007, but ended his self-imposed boycott a month later^[3], and returned for Sweden's loss to Northern Ireland on March 28. He went scoreless in all twelve qualifying matches; his one goal was disallowed for offside in a 3-0 loss to Spain on November 17. On November 12, 2007, Ibrahimović was awarded the 2007 Swedish Golden Ball as the country's top player of the year.

Ibrahimović ended his international goal drought, which had lasted for over two years, against Greece in Sweden's Euro 2008 opener on June 10, 2008, and the next match against Spain four days later. He finished the tournament with the two goals as Sweden were eliminated in the group stage.

Personal life

Zlatan and his wife, Helena Seger, have two sons, Maximilian and Vincent.^[4]

Career statistics

Honours

With the Swedish national team:

• Represented Sweden in the FIFA World Cup
  • Appearances: 2002, 2006
• Represented Sweden in the European Championship
  • Appearances: 2004, 2008

With Internazionale FC:

• Italian Serie A: 2006-07, 2007-08
• Italian Super Cup : 2006, 2008

With Juventus F.C.:

• Italian Serie A: 2004-05, 2005-06 (revoked due to Calciopoli scandal)

With Ajax Amsterdam:

• Eredivisie champions: 2001-02, 2003-04
• KNVB Cup: 2001-02

Personal Honours:

• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2005
• Guldbollen: 2005, 2007
• Jerringpriset: 2007 (Sweden's Sports Personality of the Year)
• Swedish Male Athlete of the Year: 2007
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2007
• UEFA Euro 2008 - Man of the Match: Group D - Greece vs. Sweden

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Zlatan Ibrahimović

• Zlatan Ibrahimović at the Internet Movie Database
• The Big Interview: Zlatan Ibrahimović - The Sunday Times - Football

Zlatan Ibrahimović - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e Sweden squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Hedman • 2 Mellberg • 3 P. Andersson • 4 Mjällby • 5 Michael Svensson • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 A. Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Allbäck • 11 Larsson • 12 Kihlstedt • 13 Antonelius • 14 Edman • 15 Jakobsson • 16 Lučić • 17 Magnus Svensson • 18 Jonson • 19 Farnerud • 20 D. Andersson • 21 Ibrahimović • 22 A. Andersson • 23 Isaksson • Coach: Lagerbäck & Söderberg v • d • e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Isaksson • 2 Lučić • 3 Mellberg • 4 Mjällby • 5 Edman • 6 Linderoth • 7 Nilsson • 8 Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Larsson • 12 Hedman • 13 Hansson • 14 Östlund • 15 Jakobsson • 16 Källström • 17 Andersson • 18 Jonson • 19 Farnerud • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Wahlstedt • 23 Kihlstedt • Coach: Lagerbäck & Söderberg v • d • e Sweden squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Isaksson • 2 Nilsson • 3 Mellberg • 4 Lučić • 5 Edman • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 A. Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Larsson • 12 Alvbåge • 13 Hansson • 14 Stenman • 15 K. Svensson • 16 Källström • 17 Elmander • 18 Jonson • 19 Andersson • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Rosenberg • 23 Shaaban • Coach: Lagerbäck v • d • e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Isaksson • 2 Nilsson • 3 Mellberg • 4 Hansson • 5 Stoor • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Elmander • 12 Shaaban • 13 Wiland • 14 Majstorović • 15 Granqvist • 16 Källström • 17 H. Larsson • 18 S. Larsson • 19 Andersson • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Rosenberg • 23 Dorsin • Coach: Lagerbäck v • d • e F.C. Internazionale Milano – current squad 1 Toldo • 2 Córdoba • 4 Zanetti • 5 Stanković • 6 Maxwell • 7 Figo • 8 Ibrahimović • 9 Cruz • 10 Adriano • 11 Jiménez • 12 Júlio César • 13 Maicon • 14 Vieira • 15 Dacourt • 16 Burdisso • 18 Crespo • 19 Cambiasso • 20 Muntari • 22 Orlandoni • 23 Materazzi • 24 Rivas • 25 Samuel • 26 Chivu • 33 Mancini • 36 Bolzoni • 45 Balotelli • 77 Quaresma • Coach: Mourinho Preceded by Kaká Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 2005 Succeeded by Kaká & David Suazo Preceded by Henrik Larsson Swedish Football player of the year 2005 Succeeded by Fredrik Ljungberg Preceded by Fredrik Ljungberg Swedish Football player of the year 2007 Succeeded by Incumbent