PHOTO: Bildbyrån + TT Nyhetsbyrån
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been praised by many over the years.
Now comes another tribute – from an unexpected direction.
– What Zlatan represents is beyond football, says celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson in the program “Kickin’ it”.
In June la Zlatan Ibrahimovic the football boots on the shelf, but before that he had an incredible football career. “Ibra” won a total of twelve Golden Balls over the years and is seen as – if not the best – one of the best Swedish footballers of all time.
Beyonce comparison
Plays in several of the biggest clubs, twelve league titles, and 121 matches in the Swedish national team and much more mean that Zlatan’s career can be summed up as a very successful one. But not everyone always believed that Ibra would succeed. As a young, cocky guy with tough financial conditions, the odds were against him.
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But Zlatan came out the other side, and has been widely praised for it. Also by the celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson when he was asked in a program if Ibra is loved in Sweden.
– Of course, by half the population. The other half – they don’t get the point. It’s almost like asking “do you like Beyonce”. It’s beyond music, and it’s beyond football, it’s a cultural phenomenon. Because he has an immigrant background, he represents more than sports. You can’t see Zlatan as just an athlete, says Samuelsson in the CBS program “Kickin’ it”.
Ibrahimovic is praised
The Swedish-American chef is also asked how Henrik Larsson stands among the Swedish people.
– All Swedes love Henrik, because he was a fantastic footballer and he stayed in the box of being a fantastic footballer and didn’t talk about much else. He gave them so many great moments, but Zlatan seems on a completely different level. For children with an immigrant background, he is everything, because he gave them an identity in a way that is difficult to explain – it is beyond football, says Marcus Samuelsson in the interview.
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Zlatan was brought up in Malmö FF and has inaugurated “Zlatan Court” at home in Rosengård. Ibrahimovic has done a lot of charity work, but Samuelsson expects there will be more soon.
– To come from a tough background and still succeed… Give it ten years and Zlatan will come back a little more and do more charity work hopefully, and then I think it will reach that more beloved level. Right now, his mentality is still that of a player.
READ MORE: Marcus Allbäck’s brutally honest words about Zlatan Ibrahimovic – reveals the truth about their relationship: “Completely false”
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