I was the hero who returned. I was the football star, but also the frightened kid in the tunnel again, the one who thought he’d make it if he just ran fast enough. I was everything all at once, and I’m telling you, a hundred memories came flooding back.
I remembered Dad in his headphones and his workman’s dungarees, and the empty fridge and the beer cans, but also how he carried my bed on his back, mile after mile, and watched over me in hospital. I remembered Mum’s face when she came home from her cleaning jobs, and her hug when we headed off to the World Cup in Japan. I remembered my first football boots, the ones I’d bought for 59.90 kronor in the discount supermarket next to the tomatoes and the vegetables, and I remembered my dreams of becoming the most all-round footballer I could, and I thought: I made that dream come true, and it wouldn’t have happened without all the great players and coaches I’d played with and I felt grateful. There was Rosengård. There was the tunnel. In the distance I heard a train going over the bridge. Somebody was pointing at me.
A woman in a headscarf came up and wanted to have her picture taken with me, and I smiled at her. People started to gather round me. It was a fairy tale, and I was Zlatan Ibrahimović.
CAREER TIMELINE
1999
Taken up into Malmö FF’s first squad.
Allsvenskan league debut, scores one goal.
Malmö FF relegated to Superettan.
2000–2001
Scores 12 goals for Malmö FF in the Superettan.
Debut with Swedish national side.
Purchased by Ajax.
Returns to Allsvenskan with Malmö FF, scores three goals.
2001–2002
Debut with Ajax, scores six goals in league.
Scores two goals in UEFA Cup.
Scores one goal in Dutch Cup.
Wins league title with Ajax.
Wins Dutch Cup with Ajax.
Second round of World Cup.
2002–2003
Wins Supercup with Ajax.
Scores 13 goals for Ajax in league.
Scores five goals in Champions League.
Scores three goals in Dutch Cup.
2003–2004
Scores 13 goals for Ajax in league.
Scores one goal in Champions League qualifier.
Scores one goal in Champions League.
Wins league title with Ajax.
Euro 2004 quarter-final.
2004–2005
Scores three goals for Ajax in league.
Scores goal of the year, as chosen by Eurosport viewers.
Sold to Juventus.
Scores 16 goals for Juventus in league.
Wins Scudetto with Juventus.
Voted player of the year at Juventus.
Voted best foreign player in Italian league.
Voted best forward in Sweden.
Wins Swedish Guldbollen award.
2005–2006
Scores seven goals for Juventus in league.
Scores three goals in Champions League.
Wins Scudetto with Juventus.
Second round of World Cup.
2006–2007
Sold to Inter Milan.
Wins Supercup with Inter.
Scores 15 goals for Inter in league.
Wins Scudetto with Inter.
Voted best forward in Sweden.
Wins Swedish Guldbollen award.
2007–2008
Scores 17 goals for Inter Milan in league.
Scores five goals in Champions League.
Wins Scudetto with Inter.
Selected for UEFA team.
Voted best foreign player in Italian league.
Voted player of the year in Italian league.
Voted male sports personality of the year in Sweden.
Wins Jerring Prize in Sweden.
Voted best forward in Sweden.
Wins Swedish Guldbollen award.
2008–2009
Wins the Supercup with Inter Milan.
Scores 25 goals for Inter in league.
Scores one goal in Champions League.
Scores three goals in Italian cup.
Wins Scudetto with Inter.
Wins Italian goal-scoring title.
Scores the best goal of the year in Italian league.
Voted best foreign player in Italian league.
Voted player of the year in Italian league.
Voted best forward in Sweden.
Wins Swedish Guldbollen award.
2009–2010
Sold to Barcelona.
Wins Supercup with Barcelona.
Wins UEFA Supercup.
World champion club team with Barcelona.
Scores 16 goals for Barcelona in league.
Scores four goals in Champions League.
Scores one goal in Spanish Cup.
Wins league title with Barcelona.
Selected for UEFA team.
Voted male sports personality of the year in Sweden.
Voted best forward in Sweden.
Wins Swedish Guldbollen award.
2010–2011
Scores one goal and wins the Supercup with Barcelona.
Sold to AC Milan.
Scores 14 goals for Milan in league.
Scores four goals in Champions League.
Scores three goals in Italian Cup.
Wins Scudetto with Milan.
Scores one goal and wins the Supercup with Milan in August 2011.
SWEDISH NATIONAL TEAM
69 international matches and 28 goals.
To be continued …
Me and Sanela on Dad's Opel.
"Welcome home Zlatan"
Dad and me, Vincent and Maxi in Dad’s flat.
The inauguration of Zlatan Court in Rosengård.
You can take a guy out of Rosengård, but you can never take Rosengård out of a guy
Malmö FF:s boys' team
MBI:s boys' team
With Ronaldinho.
With Gattuso in Milan.
Celebrating with Maxwell in Ajax.
With Messi in Barcelona.
Me and Patrick Vieira.
Capocannoniere in Serie A.
With Thierry Henry in Barcelona.
With Pelé.
With Adriano.
With Moggi and Maxi.
With Moratti.
In the stands with Berlusconi, Galliani, and Mino.
In my house in Diemen.
With Richard Dahan in the national team.
With José Mourinho.
Mourinho suddenly turns up behind me and Guardiola during Champions League semifinals.
With Erik Hamrén.
Zlatan Camp, a football school for girls and boys.
”Welcome Maximilian” – the Ultras celebrate Maxi’s birth.
Doctor Ibrahimovic at Maxi’s birth.
Me, Helena and Maxi.
Helena, from the photo shoot with Elle.
At home in Malmö.
Returning to Milan. Me, Mino, Vincent, and Maxi.
Hoffa eating pizza.
At home in Malmö with Trustor.
PHOTO CREDITS
Bild 2-5 Efrem Raimondi
Bild 6 Håkan Röjder / Sydsvenskan / Scanpix
Bild 8 Håkan Röjder / Sydsvenskan / Scanpix
Bild 12 Nike
BIld 14 FC Internazionale
Bild 18 Luca Bruno / AP / Scanpix
Bild 19 Gustau Nacarino / Reuters / Scanpix
Bild 20 Leif R Jansson / Scanpix
Bild 21 FC Internazionale
Bild 23 FC Internazionale
Bild 24 Allesandro Garofalo
/ Scanpix
Bild 26 Janerik Henriksson / Scanpix
Bild 27 Bildbyrån
Bild 33 Bildbyrån
Bild 29 Marcus Ericsson / Bildbyrån
Bild 30 Andreas Hillergren / Scanpix
Bild 31 Christer Wahlgren / KVP / Scanpix
Bild 34 Jasper Juinen / Getty
Bild 37 Eric Broms
Bild 42 Giuseppe Cacace / AFP / Scanpix
BIld 49 MAX Magazine
Other photos are from private archives. The publisher has endeavoured to locate the rights holders of all published photos. In the event of any omission the publisher requests the affected rights holders contact the publisher to remedy the oversight.
DAVID LAGERCRANTZ made his debut as an author in 1997 with Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey about the Swedish mountaineer Göran Kropp, which became an international bestseller. Since then he has devoted his career to writing about geniuses and exceptional people who go against the flow and blaze their own trails.
David Lagercrantz achieved critical and commercial success with a novel based on the life of the computer pioneer Alan Turing. He has written several other works of fiction and non-fiction, and he also lectures on creative writing.
Copyright
www.albertbonniersforlag.se
E-bok 1.0 ISBN 978-91-0-012741-1
ISBN Printed version 978-91-0-012653-7
© David Lagercrantz and Zlatan Ibrahimović 2011
English translation © Ruth Urbom 2012
Coverphoto Eric Broms
Coverdesign Nina Ullmaja/John Eyre
The font is licensed under SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1.
I Am Zlatan Page 36
