Yes, the whole “lion” nickname is a bit childish and the third person quotes are, honestly, horribly outmoded, but are you going to be the one to tell Zlatan Ibrahimovic? I do not think so.
The 39-year-old (yes, thirty-nine) is one of the strongest characters in football, and it wouldn’t be out of place for him to finally hold a WWE Championship at some point. What makes it so polarizing and one that we keep talking about is the fact that it again so good at soccer. Like, obscenely good.
Many saw an ACL injury suffered at Manchester United in 2017 as the lion was finally tamed, especially when his next step was to travel to the United States at LA Galaxy. No disrespect for MLS, but let’s call a spade a spade, here – it’s often a nursing home with nice kits and great weather.
Ibrahimovic didn’t see him like that, however. It was just a vacation for him, and he was back in Europe with AC Milan in January 2020 after 53 goals in 58 games for the American side. He has since continued to defy the odds and prove himself to be truly one of a kind, proving himself to be the veteran mainstay that complements a revived and young Milan side.
After two months on the board, Ibrahimovic scored a brace on his return to the starting XI in a 2-0 win over Cagliari to send Milan back to the top of Serie A. The club’s top scorer so far this season, the brace means Ibrahimovic has found the net in nine straight starts for the first time playing in the top five European leagues of his career. Because he hadn’t broken enough records already.
9 – Zlatan #Ibrahimovic found the net in nine consecutive starts for the first time in his career in the Top 5 of the European leagues. Titan.#CagliariMilan # Series A pic.twitter.com/6tZMRezgEf
– OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 18, 2021
Oh, what is it – you want another record statistic? Then go.
The brace also means Ibrahimovic has scored a professional goal in each of the past 23 years. Sitting somewhere between ridiculously good and ‘Christ is a long time’ is a statistic that continues to prove how talented the Swede is.
Love him or hate him for his larger than life character, there is no denying that he supports him and more with his consistently striking performances no matter where he plays football.
Now all we need is to see him in a two-man attacking partnership with new co-worker Mario Mandzukic to create a tag team that Vince McMahon would be proud of.
