Malmö FF (Sweden),
Ajax FC (Netherlands), Juventus (Italy)
Honours
2003 Dutch
SuperCup winner (Ajax) 2004 Dutch League Champions (Ajax) 2002 Dutch Cup winner (Ajax)
Biography
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (born October 3, 1981 in Malmö) is a Swedish
international striker currently playing for Juventus in Italian
Serie A.
Son of Bosnian immigrants, father Sefik (who is a Bosniak) and
mother Jurka (who is a Croat), he started playing football at
the age of 10. He first started professional soccer with the
Swedish club Malmö FF in the 1999-2000 season. During his stay
at the club, Arsène Wenger tried to persuade him to join Arsenal
but Malmö did not allow a transfer to occur.
Other than Wenger, Leo Beenhakker was also interested in
Ibrahimovic after observing the striker practicing in Spain.
Beenhakker went back to Amsterdam and on March 22, 2001, a deal
between Ajax and Malmö regarding Ibrahimovic's transfer to
Amsterdam was announced and in July of the same year, he joined
Ajax for €7.8 million.
Under manager Co Adriaanse, Ibrahimovic did not get much
exposure. His fortune started to change with the arrival of
Ronald Koeman. Since Koeman's arrival, Ibrahimovic has
consistently been chosen in Ajax's starting lineup.
Ibrahimovic was included in the Swedish national team that
competed in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan and has been a
regular face in the national team since then. He also played in
Euro 2004.
On August 31, 2004, the final day of the summer transfer window,
Ibrahimovic moved from Ajax to Juventus for a €16 million
transfer fee.
