Zlatan Ibrahimovic couldn’t help himself. Having watched his country, his former teammates, secure one of their greatest ever triumphs, seeing off Italy in the San Siro to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the striker tweeted a picture of the winning side. The caption read ‘Zweden.’
In that moment, Ibrahimovic made Sweden’s qualification about himself. He took ownership of it despite the fact he played no part in their success, retiring from international duty last year. Subsequently, national team manager Janne Andersson’s post-match press conference didn’t kick off with a question about his team’s achievement, but on the possibility of Ibrahimovic returning to the fold.
“This is incredible!” he exclaimed in exasperation. “This player [Ibrahimovic] has just stopped to play with Sweden one year and a half ago and we are still here talking about him. Gosh, we need to talk about the great players we have in this team I believe.” Andersson’s frustration was tangible and completely understandable.
Sweden have actually improved as a side since the retirement of Ibrahimovic, with Andersson forging them into an effective unit. “When Ibrahimovic was here with us we played a different style of football," he continued after the aggregate win in Milan. “Considering that he has decided to leave international football, he is a great champion, but we had to adapt and found another style.” The Scandinavians are no longer a one-man team, as they were with Ibrahimovic leading the line. They are better off without the Manchester United striker, not that he seems to recognise that.
But this sort of behaviour has become customary for Ibrahimovic. His quality as a player is in no doubt, winning league titles all over Europe, proving himself in almost every major league. But over the past five years or so, Ibrahimovic has become a caricature of himself. A cartoon character.
It’s evident in the ‘Dare to Zlatan’ catchphrase that has come to define him. What started as a marketing tagline purely to shift boots and apparel has become a tedious mantra by which the Swede seems to live his life. Scoring a goal? Dare to Zlatan. Working out in the gym? Dare to Zlatan. Making a cup of tea? Dare to Zlatan.
Of course, Ibrahimovic has long been one for self-indulgence and self-interest. His autobiography ‘I, Zlatan’ was a 352-page exercise in self-indulgence, released when the striker was just 30 years old. Why? So he could howl at the moon with complaints about Pep Guardiola, boosting his own stature with tales that would make Kim Jong-un blush.
Some might make the point that the 36-year-old backs it up. That his chest beating is justified given all that he has achieved in the game. But he increasingly seems only interested in himself. From his tweets about Sweden’s World Cup qualification to his policy of tweeting signing news from his own social media channels first, all that matters is Zlatan.
This is in contrast to the way Ibrahimovic mentored Paul Pogba at Manchester United last season, providing the Old Trafford dressing room with some much-needed leadership. He might be a different sort of person to those who know him, but to those of us who don’t, his act has grown tedious. Unnecessary. Who exactly did his tweet on Monday night serve besides himself?
Ibrahimovic sees himself as some sort of footballing Chuck Norris, and while Chuck Norris jokes were amusing for a while, the joke lost its punchline some time ago. The same is happening with Ibrahimovic. The hilarity, if it was ever really there, is wearing off.
