PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ended his football career.
Now he deserves a real thanks from the Swedish people.
The Swedish national team breaks the silence and reveals the planned tribute to “Ibra”.
A 24-year era has ended when Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended his football career for good. He has played his very last club team match and thus also international match and he leaves a big void behind him.
Zlatan’s career
There were a total of 62 goals and 122 international matches for the Swedish national team, and with that, “Ibra” is Swedish football’s all-time leading scorer on the men’s side. Ever since the farewell, there has been a lot of speculation about a well-deserved farewell for Zlatan at home on Swedish soil.
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The Swedish national team has also opened the door to pay attention to the twelve-time Ballon d’Or winner in a very special way after his long and successful playing career. But it became clear early on that Ibrahimovic will not be dismissed during the next match against New Zealand.
– It was short on time. If you want to thank players, you have to do it properly and in a good way, confirms the national team manager Stefan Pettersson for the Football Channel.
READ MORE: Fredrik Reinfeldt’s honest words about Zlatan after his retirement from football: “He has personified it”
Thanks from “Ibra”
Blågult wants to give Zlatan a dignified farewell in front of a packed Friends Arena and the applause of the Swedish people for the 41-year-old. Just like when Andreas Granqvist, Mikael Lustig and Sebastian Larsson ended his national team career in 2021.
– You must ensure that it is a good memorial moment and that the player is recognized in a good way. As far as I know, it was the first time that it was done properly now with Sebastian Larsson, Andreas Granqvist, Marcus Berg, Gustav Svensson and Mikael Lustig. We look at what we did then and see if we can maybe screw it up somewhere. There are a few of us who are doing it, says Pettersson in the interview.
– I think we should pay attention to players who have done a lot for Swedish national team football and have been around for a long time and have performed well. They had these five players that we said goodbye to last time and Zlatan has a pretty good CV in the national team. So it will be great fun.
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The national team now plans to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic a break in connection with the home match against Austria on September 12.
– It is a home game this autumn. It’s a match where it would fit well for sure. But I don’t want to lock in on anything until we’ve talked to him. But it will be one of the matches this autumn, says national team manager Stefan Pettersson to the football site.
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