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Taking a trip down memory lane to look at 10 of the best goal scored by the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement from football, bringing an end to his 24-year-long career filled with goals, trophies and many wonderful moments and achievements.
The 41-year-old Swede said his goodbyes to the beautiful game in an emotional farewell at San Siro after AC Milan’s last game of the season, a 3-1 win at home to Hellas Verona.
Between 1999 and 2023, Ibrahimovic scored 573 goals for nine clubs and his country Sweden, a lot of them were memorable and spectacular to say the least, making it a near-impossible task to narrow down.
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Here are 10 of the most memorable goals scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic which will forever be remembered and associated with the Swedish legend in no particular order.
10 memorable goals scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Stunning 35-yard overhead kick against England
This is not a ranking but if it was, this ridiculous goal would be number one in Zlatan’s collection without a doubt, it is spectacular even by his own lofty high standards.
On November 14, 2012, Ibrahimovic scored all four goals for Sweden in a 4-2 win against England in an international friendly game at the Friends Arena which in itself is a great achievement but all anyone remembers from that game is the fourth goal.
With Sweden already leading 3-2, England goalkeeper Joe Hart rushed out to clear a loose ball by heading it away from danger, no one can blame him for not anticipating what happened next.
Zlatan ran backwards, chasing down the headed clearance and returning the ball back over the helpless Hart with a fierce overhead kick from an awkward angle, 35 yards out.
Not only is it probably the best goal of Ibrahimovic’s career, it is quite possibly one of the best goals in the history of the sport.
MLS debut goal
36-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined LA Galaxy in March 2018 in a move many thought to be signalling his decline and inability to continue at a high level but the legendary striker soon proved that to be untrue.
Zlatan had taken out a full-page ad in the LA Times newspaper to announce his arrival in the MLS but it took him just six minutes to properly introduce himself to his new fans on the pitch.
The Galaxy were trailing 3-2 at home to city rivals LAFC when Ibrahimovic came off the bench in the 71st minute for his debut.
Just six minutes later, he levelled the scoreline with a 40-yard volley, catching out LAFC goalkeeper Charlie Lyon. Of course, he went on to score the winning goal as well with a 91st-minute header in typical Zlatan fashion but the first goal is all anyone remembers five years later.
Solo run for Ajax against NAC Breda
Ibrahimovic is known for his aerial and acrobatic abilities which makes what he did for Ajax against NAC Breda in a 6-2 Eredivisie win on August 22, 2004, even more special.
The lanky forward had already scored and Ajax were leading 4-1 when Zlatan took the ball in the 76th minute and dribbled past the entire NAC Breda defence like a man possessed by Lionel Messi and finishing it off by rolling the ball into an unguarded net.
Nine days later, Juventus paid €16 million to sign him due to his exploits at Ajax, including that goal which was his last for the Dutch giants.
Mid-air backheel flick against Italy
The description of this goal seems outrageous but it still does not do justice to the incredible feat Zlatan achieved for Sweden against Italy in Euro 2004.
The Swedes trailed in the group-stage game up until the 85th minute when Ibrahimovic reacted ingeniously to a loose ball from a corner kick. Running away from goal, he leapt in the air with his back to goal and then flicked the ball with his heel looping over the confused Gigi Buffon to score the equaliser despite Christian Vieri’s best efforts to prevent it with a goalline clearance.
Backheel kung-fu kick against Marseille
On October 7, 2012, Ibrahimovic scored a brace for PSG in a 2-2 draw away at Marseille, the first of which was a typical Zlatan goal.
He connected to a corner kick by Maxwell with a fierce first-time shot in the 23rd minute but what was peculiar about this shot was the immaculate technique applied, a kung-fu style heel kick past the helpless Mandanda.
Two minutes later Ibrahimovic put PSG in front with a long-range direct freekick which was good enough to earn an honourable mention in this list.
Backheel kung-fu kick against Monaco
About a year later, on September 22, 2013, Ibrahimovic repeated the trick with another backheel kung-fu kick, this time against Monaco to open the scoring in the fourth minute for PSG in a 1-1 draw.
Maxwell was once again the provider with another sumptuous cross and Zlatan connected with maximum force and style from close range to score the memorable goal.
Scorpion kick against Bastia
Standing between two Bastia defenders and watching the ball drop from the air after Lucas Mouraa’s initial cross had taken a massive deflection, not many could have predicted what Zlatan Ibrahimovic would do next.
The king of improvisation simply stretched his right foot backwards and backheeled the ball past the goalkeeper who was left in awe along with the rest of the spectators.
Scorpion kick against Bologna
Fans of Zlatan would not have been too surprised though as the maverick had done this before with an even more difficult scorpion kick for Inter Milan against Bologna back in October 2008.
Adriano put in a cross which was quite frankly a bad one but Ibrahimovic made magic out of it by adjusting his body quickly and connecting with the heel of his right foot to direct the ball into the net and open the scoring for Inter in a 2-1 win.
Stunning strike against Anderlecht
On October 23, 2013, Ibrahimovic ruined Anderlecht’s day by scoring four goals in a Champions League group stage game which PSG won 5-0 away from home.
His third goal clinched the hattrick in stunning fashion, with a long-range shot that can be best described as thunderous.
Scissor kick for Sweden against France
Sweden only won one game in a disappointing Euro 2012 campaign but they made sure to sign out with a flourish as Zlatan opened the scoring in a 2-0 win against France with a typical goal.
Sebastian Larsson put in a cross from the right and Zlatan reacted in a way only he could with an acrobatic horizontal strike from just inside the box to give Sweden the lead after 64 minutes.
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