A man who calls himself the future of his national football team at the age of 41 is not short of chutzpah.
But then modesty has never really been Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s thing. If you put the guy in a room with Charles Darwin, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr and asked who had made the biggest contribution to civilisation, he’d raise his hand and state: “I am Zlatan.”
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Some of it is an act of course — bravado is currency to a footballer who has genuinely referred to himself as a god.
But there are 40-stone silverback gorillas who don’t carry themselves with as much bombast as the man who once reportedly said: “I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am.”
At one time, he did indeed edge close to footballing perfection, like in 2008-09 when he top scored in Serie A with 25 goals to help Inter Milan win the title, or 2013 when he finished fourth in the Ballon D’or, or 2015-16 when he scored 50 goals in 51 appearances for PSG as he approached his 35th birthday.
Were it not for Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, he would have been in the conversation to be the greatest player of his era.
His goals, his gorgeous technique and his outrageous imagination have been three attributes prominent through his illustrious career, but now he’s added longevity to his skill set.
After knee surgery and only a handful of appearances for Milan this season, the years have appeared to be finally catching up with Ibrahimovic. Yet here he is, after a year away, back in the Sweden setup for the start of their European Championship qualification campaign. Why?
“I’m not here for charity,” he says on the eve of Sweden’s opening fixture against Belgium. “I’m here to play my game and pride, and bring results from my performance.
“If I feel good and I’m selected by the coach, I will help the team and the country to do my best.
“I think at my age you cannot think of future, you think present… even if I’m the past, present and the future.”
Unsurprisingly, given his lack of minutes (just 144 this season since returning from injury last month and not given a place in Milan’s Champions League squad) he isn’t selected by the coach (Janne Andersson, who has been in charge since Ibrahimovic first retired from internationals in 2016) and has to settle for a place on the bench.
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Sweden may lack substantial quality in defence and midfield but they do possess a new generation of young, sprightly attacking talents in English-based players Dejan Kulusevski, Alexander Isak, Anthony Elanga and Viktor Gyokeres, plus the winger Jesper Karlsson who has scored 36 goals for AZ in the Netherlands in two and a half seasons. All five players are aged 20 to 24.
Ibrahimovic’s return has generally been welcomed in Sweden — his feats for the national team (record goalscorer with 62) and his global superstar status may never be matched by a Swedish player — but it comes with caveats. Can he still make a difference in a squad which has players who weren’t even born when won his first cap in 2001?
“He’ll help more from a mentality aspect,” Sweden fan Ludvig says outside the Friends Arena, which was baptised by Ibrahimovic when he scored one of the most outrageous goals of the modern era — a 30-yard overhead kick against England — when it opened in 2012.
📆 ON THIS DAY: In 2012, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four goals vs England including this ridiculous bicycle kick. pic.twitter.com/sgV7PF2FJe
— Tifo Football (@TifoFootball_) November 14, 2017
“I think he’ll give the team a lot of confidence. We have a lot of young players like Kulusevski and Isak — they’ve grown up watching Zlatan and now they’ll have the opportunity to play with their idol.
“Is he a hero in Sweden? It depends… if you’ve seen the statue in Malmo (repeatedly vandalised by Malmo fans after Ibrahimovic bought a stake in Hammarby) then you’ll know there are people who hate him. Some people love him. Personally, I’m a Milan fan as well, I really like him.”
Opinion on Ibrahimovic isn’t restricted to football matters. His support for the Qatar World Cup sits uneasily in a country which was one of the loudest global voices to oppose the tournament being hosted there. The Swedish FA pulled out of a training camp in Qatar at the start of last year due to concerns over migrant worker rights, while Swedish league officials signed an Amnesty International protest to give a “red card to FIFA” for the same reasons.
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Contrast that with Ibrahimovic (he attended the final), who glowed with praise for Qatar as a nation, not just a tournament host, when asked about the World Cup during a press conference last week.
“Fantastic, it was awesome,” he said, “My family and I were there for two days. The organisation? Ten points. The matches? Ten points. The audience? Ten points. The food? Ten points. The trip? Ten points. The World Cup? Everything was 10 points.”
He then raised his eyebrows, not once, not twice, but, well, many times in the universal sign language of “that’s a saucy statement isn’t it” and jiggled his head.
“What do you want to hear, something else?” he asked the reporter.
Ibrahimovic went on to say: “Qatar as a country, I think it is a system that works. Are there drugs? No. Is there crime? No. Is there crime in Sweden? Yes, very much. Drugs? Yes.
“Qatar’s system works. The Swedish system? It works, but if it works 100 per cent, I don’t know.”
Negatively comparing Sweden with Qatar? Safe to say it didn’t go down well in his homeland.
Sweden fan Per wasn’t surprised at the comment but said that didn’t make them easier to stomach for a lot of people.
“Qatar paid his wages for a long time so he’s not going to bite the hand that feeds him,” he says.
“But Swedes are not exactly fans of Qatar or the World Cup being there. Zlatan is adored as a footballer in Sweden, but not so much for the things he says. He’s not exactly politically correct sometimes.
“And with the team, there isn’t a desperate need for him as there are some good young players, but I don’t doubt that he will lift them with his presence.”
Ludvig agrees, saying: “Well we have Isak, Kulusevski, Gyokeres, also hopefully Karlsson soon, who’s doing really well in the Netherlands.
“On the field, where Zlatan mostly contributes now is in the air and from set pieces. I don’t think he’ll be doing a lot of running. Tonight we’re counting on the Belgians being old.”
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By the 73rd minute Sweden, 2-0 down, were counting on a man six years older than any Belgian on the field (35-year-old Jan Vertonghen) to rescue them from defeat.
Manager Andersson had paired Isak with Kulusevski up front in his favoured 4-4-2 formation and, while Kulusevski is at his creative, string-pulling best, dancing into the box from deep or out wide, creating chances and almost scoring with a shot cleared off the line, Isak has done zilch. One tame shot, only eight of 14 passes completed.
When Ibrahimovic gets the nod, he whips off his training top (revealing an Adonis-like physique that belies his age) and generates the loudest cheer of the night.
Due to retirement and the pandemic, this is his first Sweden appearance in front of his home public for seven years, when he played in a 3-0 friendly win over Wales, sharing the pitch with players like Kim Kallstrom, James Collins and Sebastian Larsson who have all since retired. All three are younger than Ibrahimovic. Sweden’s goalkeeper that day, Andreas Isaksson who shares a birth date with him, hung up his gloves five years ago.
Ibrahimovic retired from Sweden duty after Euro 2016 (they finished bottom of their group) aged 34, which seems like a fairly standard retirement age for an international, particularly one with pressing club commitments (since then Ibrahimovic has played for Manchester United, LA Galaxy and AC Milan).
Manager Andersson resisted a clamour to recall him for the 2018 World Cup (he seemed willing to play but Sweden excelled without him, reaching the quarter-finals where they were knocked out by England) but there was a surprise about-turn in 2021 when Ibrahimovic came back for the Qatar World Cup qualifiers, or “The return of the God” as he tweeted.
He became Sweden’s oldest international and set a couple of goals up against Georgia and Kosovo in games played in empty stadiums due to the pandemic, but didn’t score, then missed the Euros that summer through injury, then played just 11 minutes off the bench when Poland beat them to reach Qatar in a play-off.
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Then, with knee surgery sidelining him for most of the past year, that appeared to be that for Ibrahimovic and Sweden. Until last week, when Andersson called yet again on a player whose international career started when Brookside was still on air and Bob the Builder was in the charts.
At 10.13pm local time, he’s back once again, waiting to come on and strutting on the sideline in a style that peacocks take years to perfect.
There’s a buzz around the stadium, people are on their feet… even commentators are applauding. It takes three minutes for the ball to go out of play when a clearance is whooped at. It’s time — and a booming roar from 50,000 people greets his grand entrance. He nonchalantly jogs into the centre forward position, while fellow new sub, poor Viktor Claesson, barely gets a single clap.
With just 18 minutes to make an impact in a vastly inferior Sweden outfit (Kulusevski aside) looking well beaten, it’s asking a lot of a bloke who’ll hit 50 in 2031 to conjure two goals against the team ranked fourth in the world.
So how does he do? Well, as Ludvig predicted, there isn’t a lot of running, but there is more of a contribution than Isak managed via the form of a few smart flick-ons, which find their targets, as he uses his strength and cunning to get the edge on Leicester’s Wout Faes. Again, as Ludvig called, it’s mostly in the air that Ibrahimovic can make a difference.
In fact, he almost becomes Sweden’s oldest goalscorer (he’s already their oldest-ever player) but sends a header too close to Thibaut Courtois. The only other moment of note comes when he chests down a Kulusevski cross and shapes to shoot… but his touch is too heavy. He slaps his hands in frustration. The magic isn’t quite there. But after barely any football since last May, that’s to be expected.
In Italy, this game was billed as Romelu Lukaku v Ibrahimovic, the strikers of Inter Milan v AC Milan going head to head but, in reality, it’s no contest. Lukaku, 12 years Ibrahimovic’s junior, scores a hat-trick and Belgium win comfortably. Sweden’s games against Austria in a group also containing Azerbaijan and Estonia (the top two qualify) now take on even greater importance.
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Will Ibrahimovic play in them? If Sweden qualify for the Euros in Germany next year, can he really enjoy one (surely) final swansong on the international stage aged 42?
If he does, he’ll become the oldest player in the tournament’s history (the record is currently held by ex-Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly at 40 years and 86 days). If he scores, he’ll become the oldest goalscorer at a Euros by a whole four years (Austria’s Ivica Vastic was 38 when he scored at Euro 2008). He also became Serie A’s oldest-ever goalscorer at the weekend.
But do Sweden want him around, or should they move on with the next generation? It’s a similar debate to that seen in Portugal with Ronaldo, albeit at least publicly Ibrahimovic is seemingly far more accepting of playing a supporting role.
Judging on the reception he received at the Friends Arena, but also on his mini cameo, he’s wanted and he still has something to offer.
Almost two hours after the final whistle has blown, a Ukrainian man who moved to Sweden two years ago is waiting impatiently by the stadium gates. All he wants is a picture of his hero.
“I want a photo with Zlatan,” he says. “There are not many players like him in the history of football.”
You cannot argue with that. And there’s still life in the old dog/God yet.
(Top Photo: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
