Ibrahimović, Zlatan (1981-…), was a Swedish professional soccer player. Soccer is called football in much of the world. Ibrahimović was one of the game’s best strikers. In soccer, a striker is an inside forward principally responsible for scoring. For a discussion of soccer positions and formations, see Soccer (Players and officials). Ibrahimović—known for his physicality, shooting ability, and volatile personality—was sometimes known by the nicknames “Ibra” or “Ibracadabra.”
Ibrahimović was born on Oct. 3, 1981, to Bosniak-Croatian parents in the Swedish city of Malmö. Ibrahimović grew up in Rosengård, a poor Malmö neighborhood. He excelled at soccer as a youth, but his behavior often got him into trouble. He dropped out of school to pursue a professional soccer career.
Ibrahimović began his professional career with Malmö Fotbollförening in 1999. In 2001, he transferred to Ajax Amsterdam. There, he established himself as one of Europe’s top players. Ibrahimović transferred to Juventus FC in Turin, Italy, in 2004. FC stands for football club. In 2005, he was named Sweden’s Footballer of the Year, an award he won several more times.
In 2006, Ibrahimović signed with Italy’s FC Internazionale Milano (commonly known as Inter Milan). He changed pro clubs again in 2009, joining Spain’s FC Barcelona (commonly known as Barça). Ibrahimović moved yet again in 2010, this time to AC Milan in Italy. AC stands for associazione calcio, or football association. In 2012, Ibrahimović moved to Paris Saint-Germain FC. There, he became the first player to score for six different clubs in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League. The Champions League is an annual tournament among Europe’s top professional clubs. In 2016, Ibrahimović signed as a free agent with Manchester United FC in the United Kingdom. In 2018, he moved to the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer in the United States. Ibrahimović returned to AC Milan in 2020.
From 2001 to 2016, Ibrahimović also played for the Swedish national team, commonly known as the Blågult (Blue-Yellow). He played for Sweden in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Ibrahimović became Sweden’s team captain in 2012. He scored eight goals in Sweden’s qualifying matches leading up to the 2014 World Cup, but the Blågult failed to make the tournament. Ibrahimović retired from the Swedish national team in 2016. However, he returned to play in a few games for Sweden in 2022 and 2023. Ibrahimović retired from playing soccer in 2023.
