Information about the football player Zlatan in English. Zlatan Ibrahimovic: biography and personal life of a football player (photo). National team career

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an unpredictable forward in the football arena, famous for his numerous goals and short temper. Zlatan is also considered one of the most successful athletes of the 21st century: in honor of his name, a new word even appeared in the Swedish language (which, by the way, was adopted at the official level) - “zlatanera”, which means “to dominate”.

His track record includes many achievements. He became footballer of the year 11 times in Sweden, three times in Italy. And in 2013 he was awarded the FIFA Ferenc Puskás Prize. The award is given to the player who scores the most beautiful goal of the year.

Childhood and youth

The great athlete was born in 1981 in Malmo, Sweden. The boy's parents were adherents of different religions: father Shefik Ibrahimovic professed Islam, and mother Jurka Gravic professed Christianity. Zlatan is of mixed ethnicity - Bosnian Croat.

Because of these facts, implausible information about the football player’s religion appeared in the media, but Zlatan himself does not consider himself to be of any faith. As the forward admits, his parents’ relationship did not work out: they divorced when the future football star was 2 years old, so Ibrahimovic lived with his mother, who was strict in raising her son and sometimes beat him with wooden spoons for disobedience. Zlatan often missed his father because he was fun to be with.

In Malmö, where Zlatan spent his childhood, there was a real ghetto: the streets were crowded with displaced people, so fights, showdowns or theft were common occurrences. Zlatan himself stole things due to the fact that his bicycle was once “stolen”. Moreover, these were not only all sorts of little things and sweets, but also the same bicycles. Therefore, as the guy admits, if it weren’t for football, most likely he would have become a criminal and wandered around prisons.

The forward's favorite subject at school was mathematics, which was so easy for Zlatan that he often didn't even take notes for the teacher: the solution came through logical thinking and pictures in his head. Therefore, the athlete compares the school subject with football. However, he did not look like a diligent student: Ibrahimovic was kicked out of an Italian lesson, after which he declared that he would learn the language after becoming champion.

Ibracadabra’s love for football (the player’s nickname) appeared in his youth: when the boy was six years old, he was given a pair of football boots, and at the age of 8 he played in the “Balkan” team, which consisted of Balkan immigrants. There the leadership qualities of the future forward began to emerge. Later, at the age of 12, the boy moved to the Malmö team, where he spent his best childhood years: first he played for 4 years in the youth team, and then moved to the main team.

In addition to football, as a child Zlatan was interested in martial arts - he even retained a black belt in taekwondo.

The football player has many nicknames - “Ibra”, “Ibracadabra”. And Zlatan himself does not hesitate to call himself a “living legend.”

Football

Ibrahimovic amazed fans with his brilliant play on the football field, so he was soon noticed, but refused the offer from the owner of Arsenal, but since 2001 he began to collaborate with the Dutch football club Ajax. Here Ibra spent 3 years, but after 6 months at the Amsterdam club he was disqualified for 5 matches for aggressive behavior on the field - hitting an opponent in the face with his elbow. But it was at Ajax that Ibrahimovic won the championship, and in 2004 Zlatan scored the best goal of the year.

After a successful start at Ajax, the footballer moved to the Italian club Juventus, which paid a lot of money for the player - €19 million. While Ibracadabra, while at Juventus, scored goals against his opponents, he was named the best foreign player in the Italian championship, and the athlete was awarded the Swedish title of best football player of the year.

However, in Turin, the football player’s career never took off; for example, in the first season, in 45 matches, he managed to score only 16 goals. Despite the fact that the Real Madrid club offered €70 million for Zlatan, the Italians gave Zlatan another chance, but the game at Juventus did not become successful.

In 2006, Zlatan moved to FC Inter, a team he supported as a child. The new football club paid much less for the player than Real offered - €25 million. In the black and blue uniform of the new football club, Zlatan became a real European star. During his 3 years at Inter, Ibra became the top scorer in Serie A and managed to score 66 goals, thanks to which Internazionale Milan became the leader in Italy - three championships and two Super Cups were won in 2008-2009.

However, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has long acquired a reputation as an athlete who does not sit still, but constantly moves forward: after the Milan team, the forward tries himself in the Spanish Barcelona, ​​which offered €46 million for the forward. The Swede made his debut in the match for the Spanish Super Cup, in which the fans remembered an effective pass to . But it was difficult for the footballer to come to terms with the fact that he was not the main attacking force of the Spanish club.

Zlatan stayed in Barcelona for 1 year and managed to show himself as a daring player on the football field, he even had to miss 10 matches.

The conflict between the athlete and his coach Pepe Guardiola contributed to his departure from Barcelona. The guy admits that the envious Pepe was his worst enemy. However, FC Barcelona does not regret the appearance of such an obstinate and complex player in the team: during his stay at the club with Zlatan, the Italian championship and two Super Cups were won; out of 41 matches, Ibra managed to score 21 goals.

During his stay at Barcelona, ​​Ibrahimovic became involved in a scandalous and piquant situation. Photographers posted a photo online of him and his teammate (the singer’s husband) tenderly hugging each other near a car. The footballers were immediately dubbed lovers. But he did not stand on ceremony when answering journalists’ questions and did not choose his expressions, so soon the talk about his unconventional orientation faded away.

In 2010, Ibrahimovic became a player of FC Milan, which, due to his brilliant play, bought the contract with the player from Barcelona. The Italians needed a strong striker, and Zlatan did his job, winning the championship and the Super Cup.

However, Milan had financial difficulties, and while Internazionale fought for the forward, this club immediately accepted PSG's offer.

And Ibrahimovic himself does not like to “stay too long” in one team, so he happily joined the French club’s national team. In the Paris national team, the career of 31-year-old Zlatan took off: he broke his own record, scoring 30 goals in his first season, and also earned the title of top scorer in France. Some football fans believe that Ibra achieved heights not only because of his desire to win, but also because of his physical qualities: the 195 cm tall, 95 kg guy has incredible flexibility.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a player with a daring character in the football arena, but this does not prevent the young man from having high personal qualities. The forward is a philanthropist and participates in charity events. In 2015, during a match, Zlatan took off his jersey, and on the body of the famous striker, in addition to the well-known tattoos, those around him saw 50 inscriptions with the names of starving children. This is how Ibrahimovic attracted public attention to a global problem.

In addition to football, Ibra is involved in his own business projects, and, according to him, they bring him the same pleasure as sports. Moreover, the athlete does not need additional income; he can easily buy the hotel in which he lives and several houses in the area. But when his startups (for example, a line of perfumes and clothing) come to fruition, Zlatan experiences true happiness. He also signed a contract with Nike and regularly appears on the covers of men's magazines.

In 2016, Zlatan Ibrahimovic officially announced that he was leaving the PSG football club.

Then in his "Instagram" the footballer announced his move to English Manchester United. He successfully started his career at the new club. But in April 2017, during a game, he landed unsuccessfully on his knee and was unable to finish the match. And later it became known that Ibrahimovic had serious damage to the knee ligaments, and this injury unsettled the footballer for the rest of the season.

The media are increasingly talking about the fact that Zlatan will no longer appear on the field at all, supposedly this will end his career as a football player. But Ibra himself denied all the rumors; on Instagram he wrote that he was not going to give up and would return even stronger than before. In May, he underwent surgery in America.

In August, he extended his contract at Manchester United for another year, and in November he entered the field after a long post-operative rehabilitation. But, unfortunately for the club’s fans, he never won either the Premier League or the Champions League with the Red Devils.

Of course, such a talented player could not help but be invited to the Swedish national team. His debut took place in 2001, he was 19 years old at that time. He played in four European Championships and two World Championships, and became the top scorer in the history of the Swedish national team - Ibrahimovic scored 62 goals. He announced his retirement from the national team in June 2016.

Personal life

The name Zlatan itself is so popular that stamps are issued with the athlete’s face, and he was awarded a place of honor on the Walk of Fame in Malmö. In his free time, the athlete worked on his own autobiographical book, “I am Zlatan,” which was published in 2011. And in 2015, the football player starred in the film “Zlatan: The Beginning,” which tells the biography of the great striker.

In addition to the fact that Ibrahimovic is an outstanding athlete and businessman, he is an erudite person, for example, he knows 5 languages ​​perfectly. The only odd thing about Ibra is that the forward likes to refer to himself in the third person. It is also known that the football player does not like journalists and often mocks them. Zlatan is also a devoted fan of the Brazilian and is not shy about it.

Zlatan is not only interested in his football career; Ibrahimovic has a family. His wife was Helena Seger, who is 11 years older than the football player. She is a specialist in economics and finance. The woman worked as a marketing manager, first at Swatch, and then at Fly Me airline.

They met back in 2002. Their meeting cannot be called romantic. It happened in the parking lot - he parked his Ferrari in front of her Mercedes, thereby blocking her exit. In an interview, she admitted that when she saw his “giant nose and gold watch,” her mood immediately soured.

Helena gave birth to Zlatan two sons - Maximilian and Vincent. He does not like to share family photos on his official Instagram, posting mostly what happens on the football field.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic now

On March 22, 2018, the official website of Manchester United announced the termination of the contract with Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Probably the reason for this decision was the player’s long absence, which led to the club signing a contract with Everton in the summer of 2017. As a result, Ibrahimovic became a free agent. He immediately received an offer from several clubs from China and the USA.

Soon the football player announced that he would now play for the American football club Los Angeles Galaxy. But an interesting fact is that the forward’s salary in the new team was $1.5 million per year. And this is 18 times less than he was paid in England ($27 million per year).

Awards

• 2002, 2004 – Champion of the Netherlands (as part of Ajax)
• 2007, 2008, 2009 – Champion of Italy (as part of Internazionale)
• 2009 – Winner of the UEFA Super Cup (with Barcelona)
• 2009 – Winner of the Club World Cup (with Barcelona)
• 2010 – Champion of Spain (with Barcelona)
• 2011 – Italian Champion (with Milan)
• 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 – Champion of France (with Paris Saint-Germain)
• 2017 – Winner of the UEFA Europa League (with Manchester United)

It is difficult to imagine modern football without Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish forward is an authority among fans of all clubs. He amazes people not only with his outstanding football game, but also with his image of an overly self-confident person. However, not everyone knows what lies behind his excessive self-confidence. We present to your attention a list of interesting facts about Ibrahimovic that few people know:

1. Ibra’s childhood took place in a criminal area and was very poor. In order not to stand out among his peers in material terms, Zlatan sometimes had to commit illegal actions. Unable to pay the fare, the Swedish striker stole bicycles throughout the area to get to school or the training ground. And once, while playing for the Malmö youth team, he stole a bicycle from the assistant coach, for which he was very harshly punished.

2. A poor childhood influenced Ibrahimovic's character. Despite the fact that he is now one of the highest paid players on the planet, he never forgets about his difficult early years. He participates in the World Food Program to fight hunger.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the only football player who has his own word in the dictionary, derived from his name. Several years ago, the Swedish State Language Council added the word to the national dictionary - Zlataner, which means dominating on and off the field. This word perfectly characterizes such qualities of Ibra as perseverance and desire to defeat any opponent.

4. Ibra’s idol was the Brazilian Ronaldo. It is to him that Zlatan owes his technique, because after watching enough videos with the “nibbler’s” feints, the Swedish boy went to his yard, where he tried to repeat the movements of his idol and practice the resulting elements on his peers.

5. At a young age, the talented Swedish striker was one step away from moving to Arsenal. But Arsene Wenger did not take the self-confident boy into the team right away, but only invited him to try out, playing one or two matches before signing the contract. To which the ambitious forward replied: “No, Zlatan doesn’t go to auditions!”

6. One of the few coaches whose opinion is truly authoritative for Ibra is Jose Mourinho. Perhaps this was the decisive reason for Zlatan’s move to Manchester United in the summer of 2016.

7. Zlatan loves to spend his free time playing Playstation and watching movies with his family. His favorite movie is “Scarface” with Al Pacino. The Swede says that he watches this film several times a year.

8. Thanks to martial arts training, in particular taekwondo, Ibrahimovic is a very flexible and athletic player, even despite his impressive size. The lessons were not in vain, and to this day they help Zlatan score unique goals.

9. As many people know, Ibrahimovic calls himself “god.” And not to be unfounded, he bought himself a church in the center of Stockholm. After lengthy renovations, the church turned into residential apartments for the football player.

10. Zlatan is so popular that an entire search engine like Google was created in his honor. The system was named Zlatan. It was developed by Swedish marketers. And today, since the creation of the search engine, it has already been used several hundred thousand times.

Like everything in the world, football also develops, changes and acquires new features. New positions on the field are appearing, such as, for example, the “false nine” - a player who plays the role of a striker, but at the same time is a “free artist”. However, this is not that the team needs a good battering forward who can independently create a dangerous moment and realize it on his own. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is just such a footballer, and today you are unlikely to find a striker who would be better than him.

early years

The future football genius was born in 1981 in Sweden, in the city of Malmo, while his father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian. Because of this, there are sometimes false reports that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a Muslim, but this is not the case. The footballer himself has admitted more than once that he does not consider himself to be a member of any of the existing religions. But this did not stop him from becoming a brilliant player. Zlatan Ibrahimovic began his career in his hometown, in the club of the same name, Malmo. There he graduated from the football academy, played for the youth teams of this club, and then signed his first professional contract with him at the age of 17. Ibrahimovic played for Malmo for only two years - such talent could not be ignored, and 19-year-old Zlatan moved to Holland, to Ajax Amsterdam, which has always been famous for working with youth. The Dutch paid almost 8 million euros for the Swede - an impressive sum at the time for such a young player. For three seasons, the young Swede honed his skills on the fields of Holland and, of course, appeared all over the world - he significantly contributed to Ajax winning two Dutch championships. Of course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic immediately said goodbye to Amsterdam when he received a tempting offer from Italy.

The publication

16 million euros - that’s exactly what Juventus of Turin paid for the 22-year-old Swede, and, as it turned out later, they didn’t regret it at all. During his time at Juventus, Zlatan Ibrahimovic himself was named the best foreign player of the Italian championship, as well as the best footballer of the year in Sweden. And even though he was unable to achieve victory in the Italian Championship with Juventus during his two years there, the “old lady” is not offended by him. After all, Zlatan flashed to the whole world, showed himself and already in 2006 he moved to Inter - only they paid 9 million euros more for the Swede than Juventus.

The beginning of the epic

It was with this transfer that conversations began that Zlatan and loyalty to the club are incompatible things. Many football players play for one club for 10 years, some spend their entire career in one place, but Zlatan was not interested in this - he initially wanted to always move forward and achieve more.

Therefore, he accepted Inter's offer in 2006 - and became practically a legend of this club. Over the three years of playing in the black and blue camp, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored almost 70 goals - all these three years Inter became the champion of Italy. Moreover, the Swedish forward was probably the only player of the Italian club who managed to win 4 Super Cups during his three years at the club. The footballer has a biography full of significant marks: Zlatan Ibrahimovic was recognized as the best foreign player in Serie A for the second time, was named the best player of the championship, twice became footballer of the year in Italy, three times - footballer of the year in his homeland, in Sweden, and in 2007 was even awarded the title Sweden's best athlete. And after three years of hard work, the only club Ibra wanted to get to was the great Barcelona.

Mismatch of characters

Inter management did not want to let go of a player who had literally created success for them, but Ibrahimovic's desire to play in Barcelona, ​​as well as the amount that the Catalan club paid for the striker, was so high that Inter gave up.

And in 2009, the Swedish football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic became a player of the best club in the world, which paid 69.5 million euros for this transfer. But what a mistake it was - the forward spent only one successful season at the Catalan club, but his appearance there coincided with the beginning of the era of Guardiola and Messi. Ibrahimovic, who wanted to see a real man in his coach, strong, with character, did not find these traits in Josep Guardiola, which is why conflicts began to occur in the club, because Ibra was always famous for his obnoxious character. But the real reason that the 70 million dollar purchase turned out to be useless for the club was the fact that Lionel Messi, a player who is now considered the best football player of our time, came into his own at Barcelona. Messi wanted to play in Ibrahimovic's position, and Guardiola indulged his “golden boy” in every possible way, which Zlatan could not bear. Therefore, a year later he was sent on a one-year loan to Milan.

Return to Italy

Milan paid 6 million euros for Ibrahimovic, while he received the right to buy the player at the end of the season with the addition of another 24 million. The Rossoneri were in dire need of a strong forward, and Ibrahimovic was exactly what the Italians needed. In the first season after Ibra arrived, Milan won the Italian Championship and then the Italian Super Cup. Naturally, Milan decided to buy the rights to the forward, and although Ibra did not bring the club victory in the Italian arena, he became the top scorer in Serie A. It is worth noting that both years spent in Milan, Ibrahimovic was recognized as the best player of the year in Sweden. The fans loved Ibra and he in turn loved playing for the club, but the Milan fairy tale came to an end in 2012.

New challenge

No matter how much Ibrahimovic loved Milan, he still stuck to his course in life, so when an offer came from the French PSG, bought by a rich sheikh, Ibra could not resist. Milan could not resist either - while Inter fought to the last for the Swedish striker, the black-and-reds immediately accepted the offer of the French club, which was ready to pay 21 million euros. The club needed this money, as it was in dire financial condition, so the issue was not resolved for a long time, and Ibrahimovic started the new season wearing a PSG T-shirt. Here he is spending his second season, and in the first, as in the case of Milan, Zlatan led his club to the championship. Again he was named the best footballer of the year in Sweden, which surprised no one, and also became the top scorer of the championship, scoring 30 goals in 34 matches. At 32 years old, Ibrahimovic still poses a serious threat to opposition defenders and goalkeepers at any level.

National team career

In addition to playing for various clubs, Ibrahimovic also played for the Swedish national team. Unfortunately, this team is not so strong and has little to show on the international stage, but Ibrahimovic has added strength and power in attack all these years. During his career, Zlatan took part in two World Cups and two European Championships. In total, he played 63 official matches, scoring 32 goals - with these indicators, the national team captain is one of the best football players in the history of Sweden.

I am Zlatan

Many people speak badly about Ibrahimovic, mentioning his selfishness and bad character, but in ordinary life, which is far from football, he is not at all as scary as he is portrayed. A close-knit family lives in Paris: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his wife Helen, who is an actress and model, as well as 7-year-old Maximilian and 6-year-old Vincent - two sons who were born to the couple when Zlatan played for Inter. Among his friends, Ibra is the life of the party, an open and selfless person. Well, in 2011, the autobiography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, called “I am Zlatan,” was published - it describes both the football and personal life of the Swede.

In family Zlatan Ibrahimovic There is a cult of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's legs. In one interview, he told a revealing story: “When I come home from matches, I take off my shoes and lie down on the sofa. My feet don't look good, they're broken and they smell bad. But this shouldn't bother anyone. I tell my wife that my legs need to be loved, they have brought us wealth.” Zlatan loves his legs. So much so that he posted this photo on his Instagram.

Now it's all over - the cruciate ligaments and meniscus are damaged. The club does not specify the recovery time frame, Gianluca Di Marzio speaks of eight months, and the optimistic prognosis for such damage is six months. But this is for young players, and Zlatan is 35 years old. Normal people in such cases end their careers and leave to applause. But that is why this option is not for Zlatan.

How it all happened

“Zlatan is tired, very tired. He was constantly in the starting lineup and was constantly on the field for the entire match. He needs rest,” these were the words three days before the very match with Anderlecht in which the Swede was injured. He played the whole match again (pretty mediocre, didn't move much, missed a couple of chances), and in the last minute he jumped for the ball and landed horribly.

Just looking at the picture, one could suspect the worst. The unnatural bend of the knee resembled an injury Kurta Zuma, because of which the young defender missed nine months. “Nothing is certain, but I have a bad feeling,” Mourinho remarked immediately after the game. And the next day he sadly stated: “We are in a terrible situation. We lost Zlatan Rojo, we have a lot of injuries, and every player counts. Zlatan will be out for a long time."

A beautiful ending that won't happen

The Europa League is very important for Manchester United. Mourinho said this about 10 times in different terms (he was probably trying to get through to the team). And Zlatan spoke about this in his own style: “The Europa League turned into the Champions League when I entered the field.” This tournament is important for him personally: the Europa League final will be held in Stockholm, at the Friends Arena, where there is a statue of Ibrahimovic. Considering that negotiations on a new contract with Manchester United have dragged on, the Swede is expected in MLS, and Jose has already wished him good luck in the media. It seemed that everything was heading towards a beautiful parting. With trophy and statue.

In response to his injury, a hashtag appeared on Twitter: “Zlatan is not suffering from injury - Zlatan is suffering from injury.”

When it became clear that all this would not happen, for two days the media was choked with news that Zlatan would end his career. Well, it's so natural. The footballer himself put an end to the rumors. He treated us to another close-up of his legs and uncompromising accompanying text.

“I will spend some time without football. But I will overcome this and come back even stronger. I'll decide when it's time to stop. See you soon". In fact, he simply could not do otherwise.

A beautiful ending that will

In recent years, Ibrahimovic has worked on his image not only on the field, but also off it. He bought a church and turned it into a house. He told the Swedish journalist that he was talking to God. He took a photo with the King of Sweden and captioned the photo: “The King recognized the King.” If any other pathetic football player allowed himself so much pathos - from Nicolas Anelka before Mario Balotelli, - it would cause a wave of hatred. The reason why Zlatan gets away with it: his achievements on the field live up to the big words. He pulled PSG and pulled Manchester United. Few thought that he would become not the leader of the dressing room and the joker, but the main striking force in Manchester for the entire season. The best scorer and at the same time the best assistant of the team. And at the same time - a lightning rod that attracts attention and gives the team the right to make mistakes. United have not always been good this season, but at least Jose does not have to mask his weaknesses alone - he has an assistant who provokes and immediately protects his teammates.

The Champions League is calling Jose. Why does Manchester United need to win the Europa League?

A quick reminder of the reasons why Manchester United are serious about the Europa League.

"Be patient. You always talk about Marcus, but he has plenty of time ahead. Do not hurry. What you noticed only now, the team has known for a long time. Marcus has enormous talent, but that’s no reason to put all the responsibility on him at this age.” This is Zlatan's answer to the start of the young footballer's goal drought.

Zlatan managed to fashion himself into the perfect winner. This is already a label that has stuck to him. It’s not just a talented footballer who stays young – that’s too banal. And a footballer who is getting younger over the years (“I’m like Benjamin Button,” says Ibra). Trendsetter of coolness. The joke about the Europa League turning into the Champions League is just a reflection of the jokes of his fans. In response to his injury, a hashtag appeared on Twitter: “Zlatan is not suffering from injury - Zlatan is suffering from injury.” For years, he straightforwardly followed his line, which can be briefly expressed in the words “no one or nothing is cooler than me.” And now, when this has become an axiom, you need to live up to your image. It’s normal to end your career at 35 due to a serious injury, but it’s not good.

Zlatan managed to fashion himself into the perfect winner. This is already a label that has stuck to him.

Ibra found himself a doctor - this is a doctor Freddy Fu, head of the department of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medicine and a specialist in orthopedics. And this is the person with whose participation the skeleton of Australopithecus Lucy was restored. He dealt with bones that were a million years old. What about 35-year-old bundles? Moreover, the football player has another advantage: his body does not correspond to his age at all. His wife also talks about this Helena Seger.

Perhaps after Zlatan returns, the whole team will play on him to make it easier for him to score. Perhaps he will come out for about 30 minutes. But he will absolutely accurately determine the outcome of a couple of matches, score a few goals and wait for the moment to leave beautifully and loudly. He needs this to remain himself.

One of the most formidable strikers of recent times, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still a bright and extraordinary personality.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

• Country: Sweden.
• Position – forward.
• Born: October 3, 1981.
• Height: 195 cm.
• Weight: 95 kg.

Biography and career of a football player

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born in the Swedish city of Malmo. His parents come from the former Yugoslavia: his father Shefik is a Bosnian Slav-Muslim, his mother Jurka Gravic is a Croatian, and there were also gypsies in his family. So Ibrahimovic’s nationality is quite difficult to determine, as is his religion. However, Zlatan himself professes Catholicism.

His parents divorced when Zlatan was two years old, and the child remained with his mother.

As a child, Zlatan played for a team where children of Balkan emigrants played, where representatives of Malmö noticed him. In addition to football, Ibrahimovic was involved in martial arts - kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, which also affected his football technique. But I will return to this issue later.

"Malmo"

1999-2001

At the age of 12, Ibrahimovic found himself in the system of this football club, and five years later he made his debut for the main team. The debut could not be called successful - in six matches Zlatan was able to score only once, and Malmö was relegated from the top division of Swedish football for the first time in 63 years.

However, the next year, 2000, Ibrahimovic became Malmö's main player, and his 12 goals helped the club return to the elite. As a result, the Arsenal coaching staff drew attention to Zlatan, inviting him to a trial. It was then that the forward’s obstinate character emerged - Ibra was outraged by the fact that he was not immediately signed to a contract and refused to go to London.

"Ajax"

2001-2004

But Ajax did not bargain and paid almost 8 million euros for the forward, which became a record for a football player from Sweden. This period of his career turned out to be quite successful: Ibrahimovic won two championships and the Dutch Cup with the Amsterdam team, and appeared in the main European club tournament. In the 2002-2003 Champions League, Ajax reached the quarter-finals, and Ibra's double against Lyon brought the club a difficult 2-1 victory and a ticket to the second group round.

In total, he scored 48 goals for Ajax in 110 official matches. One of them, scored in August 2004 in the Erdivize match, was recognized as the goal of 2004 - having beaten half the opposing team, including the goalkeeper, the forward rolled the ball into an empty net.

While playing for Ajax, Ibra received his first long disqualification - five matches for hitting an opponent in the face with his elbow.

Juventus

2004-2006

In August 2004, Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Juventus, who paid 16 million euros for his transfer. Already in the first season, Ibrahimovic became the team's top scorer in the championship, and Juve won the Scudetto. The then Juventus coach Fabio Capello claimed that Ibrahimovic's style of play reminded him of Ibrahimovic, whose goal recordings he showed the Swede as a visual aid.

However, the following year Zlatan is forced out of the squad, having missed too many games due to injuries in the 2004-2005 season. Ibra becomes the champion of Italy for the second time in a row, but this time his contribution to the overall victory is less significant - only 10 goals in all tournaments.

Perhaps he would have remained at the club, and, in the end, would have won the competition against Trezeguet, but the Calciopoli corruption scandal broke out and Juventus was sent to Serie B. Ibrahimovic didn’t want to play there, and I can’t blame him for that. Zlatan was young, full of energy, and nothing connected him with Juventus except contractual obligations.

"Inter"

2006-2009

Inter took best advantage of the results of Calciopoli. He not only strengthened himself at the expense of Juventus (he moved to Milan together with Ibrahimovic), but also established his hegemony in Serie A for a long time.

It was in the Nerazzurri that Zlatan finally emerged as a world-class player. Powerful, physically strong, with a well-placed strike, he, at the same time, had excellent technique, in general, he was an ideal striker who could do everything on the field. And his childhood training in martial arts developed Ibrahimovic’s excellent ability to control his body, and he sometimes scored goals from the most incredible positions.

Speaking about his style of play, Ibrahimovic, with his characteristic modesty, coined the term “Zlatan Style”.

At Inter, Zlatan scored a lot and consistently, and in the 2008-2009 season he became the top scorer in Serie A. Then Inter won the third Scudetto in a row (not counting the “technical” championship in 2006).

In general, Ibrahimovic was happy with everything at the Milan club, except for one thing - the team was repeatedly eliminated from the Champions League long before the decisive stages.

Barcelona

2009-2010

It was the desire to win the Champions League, as many believed, that was the reason for Ibra’s move to Barcelona, ​​although the Catalans did not stand up for the price, paying about 50 million euros for the transfer and giving Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto’o to Inter.

During his year in Spain, Ibrahimovic won five trophies and was a regular starter, scoring 21 goals in 45 matches. But even after such a fantastic season, he left Barcelona, ​​falling out with head coach Pep Guardiola. There is nothing to be done, Zlatan is already used to being the main star in the team, but at Barca he could not be one, if only because Leo Messi was there.

However, Ibrahimovic himself, as always, explained everything in his own way:

“How did Guardiola use me at Barcelona? Just imagine buying a Ferrari, but driving it like a Fiat.

"Milan"

2010-2012

But in Milan, where Ibra moved on loan, the footballer was valued, and Massimiliano Allegri completely trusted the Swedish forward. And he fully justified this trust - in the championship alone, Zlatan scored 14 goals and gave 11 assists.

Milan bought their leader from Barcelona, ​​and the following season Ibrahimovic became the top scorer of the Italian Championship with 28 goals. Only this time the Rossoneri did not reach the title, falling behind Juventus by four points.

There is an interesting story according to which Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure from Milan was influenced by his conversation with, who advised the Swede to change his hairstyle. Indeed, playing in a club where the president interferes in such matters is quite difficult. However, I am not sure of the authenticity of this story.

"Paris Saint Germain"

2012-2016

Qatari money came to Paris in 2011, but Paris-Saint-Germain, despite powerful reinforcements, was unable to win the championship title. The then coach of the Parisians explained the need to acquire Zlatan as follows:

“Why do I need Ibrahimovic? It’s simple – as long as I build the team, he will ensure results.”

Papa Carlo was staring at the water: in four years with Ibrahimovic, PSG established itself as the hegemon of French club football, winning 12 national trophies, including four championship titles. Zlatan himself became the top scorer of the French Championship three times, and also became the top scorer in the history of PSG - 156 goals.

True, a year and a half later, Andison Cavani surpassed him in this indicator, but the Swede needed 180 matches to achieve such a number of goals, and the Uruguayan – 229.

It is noteworthy that immediately after Ibrahimovic’s departure, Paris-Saint-Germain gave away the championship title, as well as. I don’t know if PSG would have been able to win the Champions League then, but it certainly wouldn’t have been possible to leave the tournament weakly after a 4-0 home win. Zlatan wouldn't allow it.

"Manchester United"

2016-2018

Before the start of the 2016-2017 season, Ibrahimovic moved to Manchester United as a free agent. I transferred, in fact, for what I transferred to PSG. Jose Mourinho began work on creating a new team, and to ensure current results, there is simply no better player than Ibrahimovic.

Ibra once again did not disappoint - he regularly scored in all tournaments, becoming the team's top scorer (28 goals in 44 matches) and helped Manchester United win three cup tournaments: the League Cup, the Super Cup and the Europa League.

But at the end of the season, the 35-year-old Swede suffered a serious injury - a torn ligament. 9 out of 10 football players at that age with such an injury would stop playing. But not Ibra! He trained mercilessly, forced his recovery time, returned earlier than expected, and commented on his return in his own style:

“It’s just that lions recover faster than people!”

And you know, I have no reason not to believe him.

However, shortly after this, in March 2018, Manchester United announced the termination of the contract with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. As sad as it is to say, the decision is quite logical - Romelu Lukaku started playing in the team during this time. Of course, in terms of improvisation and football intelligence, Ibra will give the Belgian 100 points ahead, but age, age.

But leaving Zlatan as a rotation player is fraught with danger - it is unknown how he would react to this, and given his authority and charisma, you can cause big problems in the locker room.

"Los Angeles Galaxy"

2018–present

Almost immediately it was announced that Ibrahimovic had signed a contract with Los Angeles Galaxy. The Swede greeted his new club in his own style: he bought a page in a reputable publication « Los Angeles Times" (the 4th largest US newspaper in circulation), where it posted the inscription: "Dear Los Angeles. Welcome!” and signed his autograph below.

Zlatan confirmed such a shocking start with action: in his debut match for the club against Los Angeles FC, he came on as a substitute in the 71st minute with the score 1:3. Six minutes after appearing on the field (the score by that time had already become 2:3), Ibrahimovic threw the goalkeeper with a smart shot from 35 meters, and already in stoppage time he scored his second goal of the match, bringing the Galaxy a 4:3 victory.

Team Sweden

2001-2016

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a choice: he could play for the national teams of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden. As a result, the choice fell on the latter - Zlatan Ibrahimovic played for Tre Kronur for a decade and a half, played 116 matches in which he scored 62 goals (a record figure).

As part of it, Zlatan took part in two world and four European championships, but only in half of them (2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and 2006 World Cup) the Swedes managed to overcome the group stage.

Of his goals for the national team, two were especially memorable: against Buffon at the 2004 European Championship, Ibrahimovic scored with a spectacular backheel kick (this goal allowed the Swedes to reach the quarter-finals), and in a friendly match against England in November 2012, Ibra scored with an overhead scissor kick from outside the penalty area. By the way, in that match, he made “poker”.

In June 2016, Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from the Swedish national team. On the eve of the 2018 World Cup, information appeared that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was returning to the national team, but this turned out to be an ordinary “duck”.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's titles

Team

1. Two-time Dutch champion.
2. Winner of the Dutch Cup.
3. Dutch Super Cup winner.
4. Six-time Italian champion.
5. Three-time winner of the Italian Super Cup.
6. Champion of Spain.
7. Two-time winner of the Spanish Super Cup.
8. Four-time French champion.
9. Two-time winner of the French Cup.
10. Three-time winner of the French League Cup.
11. Three-time winner of the French Super Cup.
12. English League Cup winner.
13. Winner of the English Super Cup.
14. Winner of the UEFA Super Cup.
15. Winner of the Europa League.
16. Winner of the Club World Championship.

Individual

1. The best football player in Sweden 2005, 2007 – 2016 (11 times).
2. Italian Footballer of the Year 2007, 2008 and 2010.
3. The best football player of the French championship in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
4. Top scorer of the Italian Championship in the 2008-2009 and 2011-2012 seasons.
5. Top scorer of the French Championship in the 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2015-2016 seasons.

Family and personal life of Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's wife, Swedish actress and fashion model Helen Seger, is 11 years older than him. The couple has two sons - Maximilian and Vincent.

Quotes from Zlatan Ibrahimovic

In the course of my story, I already turned to Ibra’s quotes, but since the Swede never went into his pocket for words, I considered it necessary to devote a separate section to his statements.

This is how Zlatan responded to a journalist’s question about his allegedly unconventional sexual orientation:

“Baby, come to my house, and don’t forget to bring your sister with you. I'll show you who's gay!"

About myself, beloved:

“I can play in eleven positions because a good player can play in any position.”

How Zlatan saw himself:

“Who could I compare myself to? With Muhammad Ali. When he said his opponent would go down in the fourth round, he did it.”

About Lionel Messi and his Ballons d'Or:

“Yes, Messi already has four Ballon d’Ors, but I can easily buy chocolates from the machine without standing on the box.”

About the joker Balotelli:

"Balotelli told me: 'I'm cooler than you.' I thought he was joking. And he really thought so...”

And Zlatan made such a “modest” speech, as usual, at a celebration dedicated to the inclusion of his name in the Walk of Fame of his hometown of Malmo:

“This is a huge honor for me, it means that I have done something important during my career. They usually say that until we die we cannot become legends, but I am a living legend – at least in Malmö.”

A pick with about who is the coolest in Manchester;

“Eric Cantona was the king of Manchester, I will become his God!”

About how he made his wife happy:

“What will I give my wife for her birthday? Why give her anything? She also has Zlatan.”

Well, I’ll end with Zlatan’s pearl after the Swedish national team did not make it to the 2014 World Cup:

“Without me, there will be no one to watch at this World Championship, so you don’t have to watch it at all.”

• As a child, Zlatan had to endure attacks from peers who teased him because of his big nose.
• And even as a child, Ibra wanted to become a hockey player, which is very important for Sweden, but his parents did not have enough money for expensive equipment. After all, football is a very accessible sport!
• Ibrahimovic is the only player to score in the Champions League for six teams and for seven in UEFA club competitions.

• Another unique record of Zlatan is that he scored in his debut matches in the championships of England, Spain, Italy, France, the USA and the Champions League.
• In terms of the number of red cards in the last named tournament, Ibrahimovic shares first place with the Dutchman - 4 each.
• The Swede has never been known for his restraint on the field - in his career, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has often sorted things out with his opponents, and sometimes it even came to blows.
• For eight years in a row (from 2004 to 2011), Zlatan Ibrahimovic consistently became the national champion with Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and Milan. If not for the misfire with Milan in the 2011-2012 season, the number of consecutive championships won by Ibrahimovic would have been 13, because After that, he became French champions four times in a row with PSG.
• Ibrahimovic's goal against CSKA Moscow in a Champions League match in November 2005 was used as screensavers for tournament matches.
• "Zlatanera" is a new word introduced into the Swedish language because of Zlatan and means "total dominance".

• “I am Zlatan” is the title of the footballer’s autobiographical book, co-written with David Lagercrantz.
• “Zlatan. The Beginning" is a documentary about a football player.
• Ibrahimovic is a big car lover; he has more than a dozen expensive cars in his collection.
• He also loves tattoos, they are on Ibra’s body (on his arms, on his back, on his stomach). 11. One of the tattoos is a kind of “family code” of Ibrahimovic - the dates of birth of the football player’s father, brothers and sons are indicated on the wrist.
• As part of the World Food Programme, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is actively involved in the fight against hunger.
• In January 2014, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's boots were sold at a charity auction for 22 thousand euros. Zlatan donated all the proceeds from the auction (other things of the forward were sold there) to a fund to help sick children.
• In Malmö, Ibrahimovic's name is immortalized on the city's Walk of Fame.
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fluent in five languages: Swedish, Bosnian, English, Spanish and Italian.
• The musical group “Sanjin & Youthman” wrote and performed a fairly popular song about Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

• In 2017, Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the hero of a computer game where he performs feats in space.
• Ibrahimovic is also known as a perfumer - in 2015 he created a line of perfumes for men, which, naturally, he called “Zlatan”.
• Ibrahimovic also launched his own sportswear brand, A-Z.
• Contrary to popular belief, Zlatan Ibrahimovic does not have a black belt in taekwondo, karate or any other form of martial arts. More precisely, there is a belt, but Zlatan received it not for his sporting merits, but as a gift from the Italian taekwondo player Mauro Sarmiento.

Well, now Zlatan delights the overseas audience with his play. I wonder what he will do after he finally quits football?