Zlatan Ibrahimovic's chance for European glory has arrived

PARIS, FRANCE – APRIL 2: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG celebrates his goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes stadium

Holland. Italy. Spain. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has conquered all these countries, winning league titles as well as domestic cups alongside them in each of these countries. It has become a sort of trademark with Zlatan, as his current record is 8 league titles in the last 9 years in 3 different countries. However, one trophy has always eluded the Swedish captain – the Champions League.

The one thorn in his successful career has been in Europe, with his closest chance of European glory coming with Barcelona. However, the Catalans were knocked out by Ibra’s former team, Inter Milan, in the semifinals in 2010.

He’ll be 32 before this year ends; and while that’s not exactly old, time is running out for Zlatan as he aims for the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle – and PSG‘s 2-2 draw with Barcelona and the events which occurred along with it have opened up a tunnel of light for the PSG talisman, giving him his best chance of attaining European glory.

Things looked bleak when Xavi scored in the 89th minute through a penalty to give the Catalans a 2-1 lead away from home after Ibrahimovic had equalized for Le Parisiens. However, a Blaise Matuidi equalizer in the dying seconds has given Ancelotti’s men a lot of hope.

Not only are PSG still in the tie, but there are also other factors which give the French side hope against the best team in the world. Lionel Messi is injured, probably for the next 3 weeks, which has become something of a rarity these past few years. Along with this, Javier Mascherano is reportedly out for 6 weeks, adding to Barcelona’s defensive crisis as captain Carles Puyol and Adriano are already out for the season.

With either Alex Song – who has notably played less than Abou Diaby this calendar year – or Marc Bartra possibly partnering Gerard Pique, the Barcelona defence, already looking very leaky, will probably be at its weakest in a Champions League game for some time. Ibrahimovic and company must surely bring their A-game, as scoring at the Nou Camp hasn’t looked easier.

More than anything though, the absence of Messi will be crucial as not many teams in the Champions League have had the privilege of not playing against the Argentine, especially at this stage. Whether it’s David Villa who plays centrally or Cesc Fabregas, both lack the ability to drop deep and make their own goalscoring chances for themselves like Messi.

The last three times Barcelona have been knocked out of the Champions League, the winners have gone on to win the competition. This statistic should instil a degree of confidence in the PSG squad. For Ibrahimovic, it would be only three more games until European glory. And he’ll be doing it in style, beating the team in which he probably had the worst time at on the way to the final.