World Cup 2018: Everything you

Sweden’s forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic smiles before attending the Russia 2018 World Cup Group F football match between Germany and Mexico at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 17, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / YURI CORTEZ

World Cup 2018: Everything you need to know about Zlatan Ibrahimović

He might not be playing at the World Cup, but boy is he missed.

World Cup 2018: Everything you

Sweden’s forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic smiles before attending the Russia 2018 World Cup Group F football match between Germany and Mexico at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 17, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / YURI CORTEZ

Additional reporting by AFP.

With over 100 caps to his name for Sweden, Zlatan Ibrahimović is one of the most recognised names in world soccer. But he’s not at the World Cup.

What a shame. Still, there’s nothing like a bit of #ZlatanFacts to make your night… is there?

He has played for nine clubs in his career

Zlatan started his professional career at Swedish club, Malmö FF, and his spell lasted only for two seasons before Dutch giants, Ajax Amsterdam snatched him in 2001.

That was the beginning of his decorated career as he left Amsterdam for Turin where he joined Juventus and then Inter Milan followed before his move to Catalonia to join Barcelona.

As if he had not done enough in Italy, he joined AC Milan and that was followed by a move to big spenders, PSG. After PSG, he went to try his luck in the premier league and joined Man United, before making a move to the MLS and signed for LA Galaxy, where he’s currently playing.

He wears his heart on the sleeve

If anything Zlatan did in his career is spoiling us with beautiful goals and also giving journalists so much to write about.

“When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas. [Pep] Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat.”

That’s what Zlatan had to say about his single season at Barcelona where he endured a difficult relationship with Pep Guardiola.

“It’s true I don’t know much about the players here, but they definitely know who I am.”

Quotable as ever, that’s what he had to say when arriving at PSG.

He is PSG’s second all-time top goal scorer

 Wherever Zlatan goes, he leaves a mark. At PSG, he scored 156 goals and only Edinson Cavani has more with 170.

Literary Roth of God

Most footballer’s autobiographies generally don’t provide much insight or indeed entertainment but Ibrahimovic’s ‘I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ unsurprisingly bucked the trend.

Not often in such tomes will you read anecdotes such as this about his companion and mother of his childen Helena Seger: “She came from a model family from Lindesberg, one of those families where they say, ‘Darling, would you please pass me the milk?’, whereas we at table mostly we just hurled death threats at each other.”

Indeed one critic compared it to US literary legend Philip Roth’s fictional biography Portnoy’s Complaint, both about growing up as immigrants.

Carrot and stick approach needed for Ibracadabra magic

Ibrahimovic is such a contrary character that his coach at a previous club AC Milan Massimiliano Allegri says he needs constant attention if he is to be temperamentally ready to produce his magic turn on the pitch.

“With him, you have to use both the stick and the carrot,” he was quoted in The Guardian in 2012.

“Ibra is a strong personality and needs to be relaxed at times, while in other occasions he has to be stimulated, otherwise he falls asleep.” Swedish national coach Erik Hamren called him out when he retired from international football in 2009 telling him do come back but not as the depressed donkey Eeyore but as Winnie The Pooh.”

Bikes, bed and docks

No one can begrudge Ibrahimovic his riches given he has fought hard to rise to the top and at one point would have stuck with working on the docks in Malmo rather than attempting to carve out a football career. His youth team manager at the time persuaded him to stick with the ‘beautiful game’.

Not that he needed a father figure. Despite his Bosnian caretaker dad splitting from his Croatian mother when he was just two he spent more time with his dad Sefik, who nevertheless was badly affected by the Balkan War even though he had left Bosnia years before.

Ibrahimovic – who during his youth once stole a bicycle to get himself to training – related to The Guardian in 2014 a moving story about his impoverished father shelling out for a bed from IKEA for him. However, they had no way of getting it back home.

“We carried it home between us. It’s fantastic what we did. I had time with my mother but I really lived with my father. One time he gave all his salary so I could travel to a training camp. He couldn’t pay the rent but he did that.”

Opponents pay homage to ‘God’

Fair to say Ibrahimovic through his exploits, his superstar appeal and lively temperament lit up a pretty moribund Ligue 1 for the past few seasons.

To such an extent that even opposing clubs felt compelled to offer their ‘thanks’ for his presence, even if he hurt them by scoring goals against them. Such a case was Toulouse, who would have pleased him with the divine being they compared him to given his penchant for adorning himself with epithets in 2014.

“Today is your birthday, 33, the age of Christ, your son. Happy birthday and long live the Z! Despite the perverse pleasure you took scoring goals against us the last two seasons, we are not vindictive. We want to thank you. For everything.”