Zlatan Ibrahimovic: The lone ranger

KIEV, UKRAINE – JUNE 15: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden and Steven Gerrard of England in action during the UEFA EURO 2012 group D match between Sweden and England at The Olympic Stadium on June 15, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Five years ago, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was making headlines around the globe for his goalscoring feats in the Serie A, I had nonchalantly asked my friend about his nationality. “Sweden”, he said. “LOL. Dude, you are joking, aren’t you?”, I scoffed at him. He vehemently argued in support of his answer, and I agreed to disagree. So, when I reached home, I googled him, and was surprised to learn that my friend was correct. In the land of the ‘ssons’ and the ‘bjorns’, there is a ‘vic’.

And five years later, I am still as surprised as I was back then. Because it is weird to see 10 players whose names are relatively unknown on the European football scene (Larsson and Elmander being the exception), standing along side Ibrahimovic. He stands out from the rest like a cactus in a rose garden, not only because of what he has achieved, but also because of what he can do. Frankly, I think that he is a misfit in the Swedish national football team. He is simply too good to be in the team.

Zlatan’s dad was a Bosnian, his mom was a Croatian, but he chose to play for the country of his birth instead. Croatia had publicly expressed their interest in bringing Ibra to play for their national team. Aah Zlatan! Why didn’t you choose Croatia? They have Modric, Srna, Kranjcar, Jelavic and many more quality players. You could have had the comforts of creativity, with the midfield and the wings creating more chances for you.

Although Sweden is a fairly okay team, it never fails to underwhelm us every time they play. Except Seb Larsson, nobody produces a eye-catching performance. And Ibrahimovic, restricted by his team-mates, has no option but to play the short passes and lay the ball off to the wingers, hoping for something good to come out of it. For a person who is used to having world-class players around him; players who would make incisive runs; players who could be relied on; players who could support him when he is up against the strongest defence; Ibrahimovic deserves better than Sweden.

And Zlatan obviously finds it difficult to carry the entire team on his shoulders. He is expected to conjure up moments of magic every time he is on the field. More often than not, he does win the match for his team with impressive displays. But against tougher teams with stubborn defences (England, France etc), he is marked out of the game, with a dozen players surrounding him as soon as he gets the ball.

Rest assured, Zlatan Ibrahimovic can exit Euro 2012 with his head held high. Against both Ukraine and England, he was the only player who appeared to pose a threat to the opposition defense.