Is Zlatan the closest to God we will ever be?
Two and half years ago God (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) welcomed the King (LeBron James) to his city, Los Angeles. This week these two GOAT’s got into it about politics but since we’re all tired of politics lets focus on why we love them for what they do best and go deeper into why the almost 40 year old soccer player is closer to God than we think.
As a life long fan of AFC Ajax I became familiar with Zlatan in his early years of his career. He signed for Ajax because Arsène Wenger of Arsenal wanted him to try out during the summer, however Zlatan at just 19-years old told Arsène Zlatan doesn’t do auditions so he came to Amsterdam. This very tall and skinny guy didn’t look like the average soccer player, except maybe for the kick-and-rush tactics used in the Premier League back in those days. But during one of his first games in the Amsterdam Tournament, he showed first signs of his incredible confidence and technical skills by pulling of an ‘Akka’ resulting in a Liverpool defender literally getting on his knee. Where Zlatan gained extra confidence by showing off this move and introducing himself to the fans, the other guy probably left his self-esteem on the field and according to Zlatan ‘went for a hotdog’. No-one heard from him ever since and we all became huge fans of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from that moment on.
I was touched by the incredible amount of self-esteem this young guy carried along combined with the technique you’d never seen at a player of his posture. The fans at Ajax are definitely not the easiest (expecting a lot) but he didn’t care much. He was just like this and everyone just had to deal with it. And he was for certain that we will all love him after we have seen him play a little longer. And he was right (duh), it didn’t take long before we all loved him for who he was. This year it will be twenty years ago when Ajax signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but he still does what he does best: being Zlatan. Oh and scoring lots of goals. Of course.
Zlatan went on to Italy and played for Juventus and Inter Milan, winning several league titles with both teams. After a very successful campaign FC Barcelona was the next stop, but even though he also won the Primera Division he never felt like he could be the real Zlatan. Coach Pep Guardiola and Zlatan didn’t really understood each other. Zlatan tried to fit in but never felt happy. In his autobiography he called himself Boring Zlatan, since he couldn’t be himself and had to adjust into something he wasn’t. According to Zlatan Guardiola used him as a Fiat instead of a Ferrari. Zlatan went back to Italy and played for the other Milan squad, AC Milan, and continued winning his 8th straight league title.
After a couple of years he joined Paris Saint-Germain and won 4 more league titles. His legacy grew enormous during this period with many goals, prices and unforgettable quotes. He didn’t know much about the players in the Ligue 1 but he assured the journalist everyone in the league knew who Zlatan was. During these years his status also took flight. Arriving as king, leaving as a legend before coming the God of Manchester (United). In Manchester Zlatan we actually found out about why he is so tremendous and extraordinary: Zlatan isn’t human, he’s a Lion.
After two years in Manchester he went on to the MLS and moved to Los Angeles, for what most of us thought his Final Chapter. In his announcement he welcomed the city of LA to Zlatan and at some point you would think this type of overestimating yourself must come back to you. It probably would have for all of us normal people but it simply won’t come back to Zlatan. In his debut match Zlatan came on the pitch while trailing their biggest rivalry LAFC. Six minutes later he scores one of the most incredible goals you’ll ever see: a half volley just over midfield to tie the game. And did it end there? No, of course not. Zlatan scored the winning goal in injury time. LA Galaxy beat LAFC 4–3 on March 31st 2018.
Personally I prefer great athletes who are a little humble about their performances, but with Zlatan everything is allowed. The bigger the better. However I truly wonder if Zlatan ever has a bad day, just like the rest of us. He must have been at least a little insecure about recovering from the torn ACL at age 35, although the only thing he shared with us were powerful motivational video clips of his incredible quick rehabilitation. Or shouldn’t he just feel any sadness when Manchester United played the Europe League final in his home country Sweden? After all, a big European price is the only thing missing on his resumé.
Even though I sometimes wonder if he has any of these emotions, I also don’t want them to be true. Because Zlatan is Zlatan. Zlatan is not human like all of us, Zlatan is a Lion. Zlatan went from a street fighter in Malmo, to the young prince of Amsterdam, the King of Paris and ending up like God in Los Angeles. Zlatan didn’t end his career in Los Angeles like most players his age when going to the MLS, he came back to Europe and makes AC Milan look good again after a many horrible years for the club. He’s scoring goals at age 39 like never before and comparing himself to a fine wine which only gets better by age. He was challenged by COVID-19, but without hesitation Zlatan told the world it was a bad idea of the virus doing so. He beat the virus without symptoms but he’s also telling the rest of us to be smart about it and not challenge the virus because we, the people, we are not Zlatan.
We can only pray to God that he will return from his early retirement of the Swedish national team to be a star at the European Championship just one more time this summer. And in this case, praying to God means praying to Zlatan.
