Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish football player of Bosnian[2] and Croatian[2] parentage who plays as a striker for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona and the Swedish national team.
Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 90's under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame and popularity in the Italian top flight while having a striking partnership with Alessandro Del Piero. After playing for the bianconeri, he made his move to league giants Internazionale in 2006. His record breaking performances led him to awards such as the Oscar del calcio, the Guldbollen, and being named in the 2007 UEFA Team of the Year. In the summer of 2009, Ibracadabra transferred to Barcelona, while continuing to break records and receive awards.
As of February 2009, Ibrahimović, along with Kaká, were the highest salaried football players in the world with an annual pay of €9 million.[3] Ibrahimović won the Capocannoniere on 31 May 2009 with 25 domestic goals during the season. He has been named as one of the best players of his generation by being nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or due to his playing style, technique, and goal scoring abilities.[4] Ibrahimović currently holds the record for the third highest transfer fee in football history, with a total of €69 million for his transfer from Internazionale to Barcelona.
Twice footballing manager of the year, José Mourinho, said in an interview to The Sun on 5 March 2009, “I think there are four outstanding players in the world - Ibrahimović, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kaká. At the moment, I think I have the best in the four - the best player in the world [Zlatan Ibrahimović].” [5]
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.[12]
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Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 90's under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame and popularity in the Italian top flight while having a striking partnership with Alessandro Del Piero. After playing for the bianconeri, he made his move to league giants Internazionale in 2006. His record breaking performances led him to awards such as the Oscar del calcio, the Guldbollen, and being named in the 2007 UEFA Team of the Year. In the summer of 2009, Ibracadabra transferred to Barcelona, while continuing to break records and receive awards.
As of February 2009, Ibrahimović, along with Kaká, were the highest salaried football players in the world with an annual pay of €9 million.[3] Ibrahimović won the Capocannoniere on 31 May 2009 with 25 domestic goals during the season. He has been named as one of the best players of his generation by being nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or due to his playing style, technique, and goal scoring abilities.[4] Ibrahimović currently holds the record for the third highest transfer fee in football history, with a total of €69 million for his transfer from Internazionale to Barcelona.
Twice footballing manager of the year, José Mourinho, said in an interview to The Sun on 5 March 2009, “I think there are four outstanding players in the world - Ibrahimović, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kaká. At the moment, I think I have the best in the four - the best player in the world [Zlatan Ibrahimović].” [5]
Early life
Ibrahimović was born in Malmö to a Bosnian father, Šefik Ibrahimović, and a Croatian mother, Jurka Gravić,[2] who emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. 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 football at the age of six, alternating between local junior clubs Malmö BI and FBK Balkan[6][7]. He has stated in an interview that while his team was down 4-0 during halftime, he came on as a substitute for his Balkan youth team and dramatically scored eight goals. While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF.[7] 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.[8] Ibrahimović successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade, and though he was admitted to Borgarskolan, he soon dropped out of high school to focus on his football career.Club career
Malmö FF (1996-2001)
Ibrahimović signed his first contract with his 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. Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade Ibrahimović to join, while Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker also expressed interest in the player after watching him in a training match against Norwegian side Moss FK.[9] 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 €7.8 million.[10]Ajax (2001-2004)
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 perennial French champions Olympique Lyonnais in his Champions League debut on 17 September 2002. He scored four Champions League goals overall as Ajax fell to AC Milan in the quarter-finals. In his final season with Ajax, Ibrahimović's profile rose when he scored a breathtaking goal against NAC Breda on 22 August 2004, a goal that was eventually voted the "Goal of the Year" by Eurosport viewers.[11] He netted only once in the 2003-04 Champions League (against Celta de Vigo on 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.[12]
