In tribute to Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring his 500th career goal, we celebrate with a list of his top 10.
Ibrakadabra, Mr Charisma, Zlatan, call him however you want, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most unique personalities you’ll ever find on a football pitch. He combines that with talent beyond imagination for a player his size. From audacious lobs to free-kick rockets, from backheels to mesmerizing solo efforts, his list of top 10 goals has it all. Let’s start the countdown.
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Ibrahimovic’s stint with Barcelona wasn’t memorable only for his dispute with head coach Pep Guardiola, evidenced by this thunderous free-kick against Zaragoza.
“It almost snapped the keeper’s hands off,” – Pep Guardiola
“The power he gets on shots is frightening.” – Victor Valdes
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Lobs are something which comes from within Zlatan. His instincts tell him when is the right moment to embarrass the keeper. Case and point…
“Rosati wasn’t really off his line,” said Allegri. “But the slightest of misjudgments and Zlatan will punish you. He’s a unique player.” – Massimiliano Allegri
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Another day, another masterful free kick. Stoppage time, 30 meters out, 109 km/h, boom!
“I didn’t know what had happened until I got home and saw the replay,”
“I was there [on the pitch], but it was too quick to see.” – Fiorentina left-back Juan Vargas
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Backheel flick against no other than Gigi Buffon to take Sweden past Italy in the 2004 European Championship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPUjULpNtSI
“He did something exceptional and they celebrated a lot because they went into the next round at our expense.” – Gianluigi Buffon
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The best out of Ibra’s four goals in PSG’s 5-0 beatdown of Anderlecht in the 2013/14 Champions League.
“…the whole stadium stood up and was clapping,”
“I was a little taken [back] by the moment. It was a special feeling.”
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Euro 2012 Goal of the Tournament – Zlatan Ibrahimovic hands France first loss in 24 matches and first win for Sweden over the same opponent in 43 years.
“That’s not even a chance to any other player.” – Laurent Blanc
- Virtuoso and contortionist – all in one. Ibrahimovic does the unthinkable, stunning Bologna’s goalkeeper and Giuseppe Meazza’s crowd.
“No normal human would have even thought of trying to score from there,” – Inter right-back Maicon
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Friendly games are usually not the place where you find breathtaking goals, but when it comes to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, inspiration can come any day. Lo and behold, an overhead kick for the ages:
“That’s the best goal I’ve seen live,” – Steven Gerrard
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The newest addition to the list and the reason for it – Ibrakadabra’s 500th career goal.
“It’s not the first time I’ve gotten a standing ovation [as an away player],”
“Obviously it’s not good to lose, but I’m happy for Toronto because they’ll be remembered as my 500th victim.”
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This is a thing of beauty and not only Ibra’s best goal but one of the best individual efforts ever. NAC Breda’s players were dropping like bowling pins.
“I received the ball with a defender on my back,”
“Another tried to challenge me, but I kept the ball from both. Then I turned and saw the goal. I was going towards the goal dribbling past players – ‘bam, bam, bam’ – as I searched for a moment to shoot. It didn’t come, so I kept on going past different players. Then I was past the goalkeeper.”
“I decided to go backwards to get a better angle to score. I went past the same player again. I used to play with him, but I didn’t realize it! He said to me, ‘Zlatan, I thought we were friends.’ I apologized because I didn’t realize it was a former team-mate. It was my best goal.”
It sure was. Simply spectacular! All hail King Zlatan!!!
