Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Birthday : 1981/10/03
Full name : Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Place of Birth : Malmo, Sweden
Height : 1.92 m (6 ft 31⁄2 in)
Weight : -
Position : Striker
Nickname(s) : Ibra
Lives in : Milan

Club information

Current club : Inter Milan (2006 - present)

Previous clubs:

# Juventus (2004-2006)
# AFC Ajax (2001, 2004)
# Malmo FF (1999-2001)

National team : Sweden

Facts & Background

About Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born on October 3, 1981 in Malmo, Sweden. He started his professional career in 1999 with hometown club Malmo FF. In 2001, he was transferred to AFC Ajax for a record €7.8 million fee, the highest ever paid to a Swedish club. He spent 3 years in Eredivisie, wining the league title twice. In 2004, during the last day of the transfer window, he signed to Juventus for a €19 million fee. When Juventus were relegated to Serie B after the Calciopoli scandal, Ibrahimovic moved to Internazionale for € 24.8 million, signing a four-year contract on August 26, 2006. He is also the main striker of Sweden National Team.
Background

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born on October 3, 1981 in Malmo, Sweden and comes from a family of Bosnian descent. He grew up in Rosengard, one of the toughest neighbourhood of Malmo.He started playing football when he was 8 years old for local club Malmö Anadolu Bl. At the age of 10, he moved to FBK Balkan, and was playing with children up to 2 years older. Once, his team was losing 5-0 in the first half. Ibrahimovic came on as a substitute, and scored 8 goals.

In 1995, he signed with hometown club Malmo FF, dropping out high school, and joined the Senior team in 1999. In 2001, he was transferred to AFC Ajax for a record €7.8 million fee, the highest ever paid to a Swedish club! Actually, Arsenal was trying to sign him up, but the transfer was not allowed by his club, Malmo FF. He spent 3 years in Eredivisie, wining the league title twice, before being transferred to Juventus in 2004 for a €19 million fee. When Juventus were relegated to Serie B after the Calciopoli scandal, Ibrahimovic moved to Internazionale for € 24.8 million, signing a four-year contract on August 26, 2006


Club Football

Malmo FF (1995-2001)

Ibrahimovic joined Malmo Youth Centre in 1995, and started to play with the senior team in 1999. Malmo were relegated, finishing 13th in the league, which was the first time in 63 seasons! They returned to the first division the following year.

In 2001, Arsenal was trying to sign Ibrahimovic up, but Malmo did not allow the transfer. Finally, on March 22, 2001, he joined AFC Ajax for a record €7.8 million fee, the highest ever paid to a Swedish club! He scored a total of 16 goals in 40 appearances.

AFC Ajax (2001-2004)

For his first season in Eredivisie, Ibrahimovic’s integration was really difficult. In October 2001, he was suspended for 5 matches after he hit the FC Groningen defender Melchior Schoenmakers with his elbow. However, he scored 6 goals in 26 league appearances and won his first league title. He also won the 2002 KNVB Cup by scoring the wining goal in the final, and the 2002 Johan Cruijff Shield.

The next season, Ibrahimovic was playing in his first Champions League. On September 17, 2002, he scored his first 2 European goal in a 2-1 victory over Lyon. Even if Ajax were eliminated in the quarter-finals against AC Milan, his first European season was very successful, scoring 4 goals in 13 games. In Eredivisie, he scored 13 times in 25 games, as Ajax finished at the second place.

Ibrahimovic showed his real and amazing potential in his last season with Ajax. On August 22, 2003, he scored a wonderful goal against NAC Breda, after he got rid of 6 players. His goal was voted Goal of the Year by Eurosport. He scored 13 goals in 23 appearances, leading his team to win the league title.

On August 31, 2004, he was sold to Juventus for a €19 million transfer fee.

Juventus (2004-2006)

As soon as he arrived in his new club, Ibrahimovic was in the starting line-up, due in part to main striker David Trezeguet’s injuries, and scored 16 goals in 35 appearances. He was voted the fans' player of the season in 2004-05, and on November 14, 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen, the best Swedish footballer of the year. He also won his first Serie A title.

His second year in the club was quite different. Fighting to keep his place in the starting line-up against Alessandro Del Piero, he was playing more amd more on the sidelines, improving his assists and his physical strength. He started in 35 games and scored 7 goals, and for the second year in a row, he won the league title. In Champions League, he scored 3 goals in 9 matches.

However, in May 2006, the Calciopoli scandal was discovered, and Juventus lost their 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 league titles, and were relegated to Serie B. Ibrahimovic decided to move and on August 10, 2006, he signed a four-year contract with Internazionale for € 24.8 million.

Internazionale (2006-present)

For his first season with Inter, Ibrahimovic scored 15 goals in 27 appearances, leading his team to win their first Scudetto (league title) since 1989, after 17 consecutive league wins. The same season, he won the Italian Supercup, and scored 2 goals in the Champions League’s group stage against PSV Eindhoven, his first European goals since December 2005. On September 16, 2007, he played his 100th Serie A match.

In the 2007-2008 season, he already has a personal record of 14 goals in 20 appearances in Serie A, and scored 5 goals in 6 Champions League’s matches.


International Football

Ibrahimovic started his international career on on January 31, 2001 in a friendly against Faeroe Islands. His first international competition was the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but Senegal eliminated them.

In Euro 2004, he netted a penalty against Bulgaria, and did an impressive match against Italia by scoring a wonderful equaliser in the last minute. However, Sweden lost against Netherlands in a shootout after Ibrahimovic missed his penalty. He didn’t score any goals in the 2006 World Cup, even though he was the top scorer of the qualifications with 8 goals in 10 matches.

He didn’t play the first 3 Euro 2008 qualifiers against Liechtenstein, Iceland and Spain after having an argument with his coach. However, he returned for Sweden’s loss against Northern Ireland on March 28, 2007. On November 12, 2007, he was named 2007 Swedish Golden Ball. He has scored 18 goals in 49 matches with his national team.

Awards and Honours

AFC Ajax • Eredivisie: 2001-2002, 2003-2004 • KNVB Cup: 2002 • Johan Cruijff Shield: 2002

Juventus • Serie A: 2004-2005, 2005-2006 • Italian Supercup:Runner-Up: 2005

Internazionale de Milan • Serie A: 2006-2007 • Italian Supercup: 2006 • Italian Cup:Runner-Up: 2007

Personal Info

Ibrahimovc comes from a Bosnian descent. His father Sefik was born in Bijeljina and his mother Zadar in Tuzla. He grew up in Rosengard, one of the toughest neighbourhood of Malmo.

Ibrahimovic is also well-known for his short-temper. On September 4, 2006, 2 days before the qualifier against Liechtenstein, he left the team’s hotel with his team-mates Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg and they all went to a night club. They were all sent home by Sweden’s manager and didn’t play the match. Ibrahimović felt that it was unjust and refused to take part in the next 2 qualifiers against Spain and Northern Ireland.


Wife / Girlfriend

Helena Seger
Ibrahimovic and wife Helena Seger have a son named Maximilian, who was born on September 22, 2006. Their second child was born on January, 2008.

Source = www.oleole.com