In September 2003, Sweden won a penalty in a European preliminary match against San Marino. The team's chief penalty taker, Sherström, prepares to take the penalty.
However, 21-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a different opinion. He won the penalty back, and he snatched the opportunity and hit a solid penalty to make it 5-0. However, no one wanted to celebrate with him because he disobeyed orders and put himself above the team.
This approach is very unSwedish, but very Ibrahimovic, and is one of the biggest highlights of his long and illustrious career.
Ibrahimovic is arrogant and arrogant and does not like to follow the rules. As a child, he said he would be the best player in the world, stealing bicycles and throwing eggs at windows; He joked about having a gun in his bag while passing through security at the airport and pretended to be a police officer to arrest what he and his friends saw as "prostitutes" — in reality, a pastor trying to help sex workers.
Ibrahimovic, whose parents are from Yugoslavia, grew up in Sweden but always felt like he didn't fit into the country. In his autobiography, I Am Zlatan, he revealed: "I am small, have a big nose, speak inarticulately, and have been in speech therapy. A woman came to me at school and taught me how to pronounce the letter 's'. I was deeply ashamed and I felt compelled to prove myself. ”
He proved himself on the pitch and excelled from an early age. He started playing for his hometown club FBK Balkans. He is said to have jumped to a U-12 tournament at the age of 10, but was penalized on the bench for not following the rules. At half-time, the team was 4-0 down and the coach decided to let Ibrahimovic play, and in the end they won 8-5, all eight goals scored by him.
He is overflowing with talent, but his attitude is not right, and sometimes he is too lazy to be outrageous. When he was running with his teammates in Malmö, he would drag himself to the end, find an opportunity to jump on the bus, get off again, and wait for his teammates to come over before rejoining the team.
But he eventually kicked out, he was extremely competitive and determined, and he just wanted to be himself.
He was a role model for his team-mates at the end of his career – starting at PSG. Verratti once said: "At PSG, it's impressive to see him training like an 18-year-old. He is also a role model in the dressing room. He was a leader. Sometimes, just when you see his training attitude, you want to push yourself again. ”
Former PSG assistant coach Clement told The Guardian in 2014 that Ibrahimovic was "a phenomenal player" with a particularly good attitude to training.
"He was really silly to me in one training session," Clement said, "and he played England in a big four [in November 2012] and got into a barb. Within a few days of his return, he immediately returned to a state of full blood. We only had a small percentage of players back and could only play 5v5, and I've never seen a player train like this, the intensity is too high. He kicks with his head and kicks, all kinds of goals, just like an official game. ”
For a long time, Ibrahimovic was a top 10 player in football. He may not be as consistent throughout the season as Mero, but he's more spectacular. He has won the Eredivisie, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 titles and scored countless unforgettable fairy balls.
Off the field, he sometimes faints. When a debate broke out in Sweden about why a male player was rewarded with a car when he broke a record, but a female player did not, Ibrahimovic said that comparing men's and women's football was "ridiculous" and that female footballers could get "a bicycle with his autograph". He often called himself "God" and also told LeBron James that athletes should stay away from politics.
He doesn't really have to say that because his performance on the pitch is enough for the audience to remember him.
His career can be summed up in numbers – goals, assists and trophies – but his most important achievements cannot be measured in numbers.