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How Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the internet once again

Zlatan Ibrahimovic recently completed a move to the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer in what was not a major surprise for many football fans. Ibrahimovic soon confirmed the news himself in the most Zlatan way possible in the LA Times. 

In the following days, Ibrahimovic created promotional videos and held press conferences, making comical statements such as: “LA, welcome to Zlatan” and “The lion is hungry”. His best quote had to be his self-comparisons to the fictional character Benjamin Button to play down age concerns.

The excitement around Los Angeles could not have been any higher, since Ibrahimovic’s arrival came just before the first ever game between the Galaxy and the newly formed side Los Angeles FC in a matched titled #ElTrafico (if you’ve ever driven in Los Angeles, you understand).

Following a serious knee injury late last season and a lack of match action in his final months at Manchester United, Ibrahimovic started on the bench as a precaution. When he finally went in as a substitution in the 71st minute, his side was  losing 3-1 to their new crosstown rivals.

After helping his team haul one goal back, Ibrahimovic scored two goals himself in dramatic fashion to win the game. Ibrahimovic proved, once again, that he could back up his words and show everyone that he can still produce thrilling goals.

 

Soon afterwards, Ibrahimovic had everyone talking.

 

https://twitter.com/AleBedoya17/status/980183567065022464

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/980192513276370945

Even his agent had some fun with it:

The Swedish striker has now improved his debut record by scoring in his first games in Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League, Champions League and now the MLS.

According to Google trends, the 36-year-old Ibrahimovic reached peak popular interest around the globe after the game ended. From his native country of Sweden being the most popular search, all the way to countries like Pakistan and Japan.

After the game Ibrahimovic told reporters: “I can imagine LAFC winning 3-0 then losing 4-3 so it’s not easy. But if they hd Zlatan it would be the opposite.”

Never change Zlatan. Never change.

 

 

 

 

Feature Image: Flickr

Author

  • Louis Olvera

    Louis grew up in a small town of Mexico called Ensenada in the state of Baja California. He now resides in San Diego, California. He completed his undergraduate degree at Seton Hall University located in South Orange, New Jersey with a focus on Broadcast Journalism. His broadcasting courses ranged in television and film but Louis’ main focus has always been with sportscasting. He was able to join clubs in the university like Pirate TV and Pirate Sports Network and be a major contributor and correspondent. His work consisted of creating digital content for Seton Hall University sports teams. Louis narrated, reported, produced, directed, and wrote for multiple matches and studio programs. In the summer of 2017, Louis wrote post match reports and opinion pieces on the Mexican National Team on the sports website TheAOSN.com during the FIFA Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Louis is now completing an MA in International Sports Journalism at St Mary’s University Twickenham. He is pursuing to improve his all around skills in sports journalism to one day achieve his goal in the broadcasting world.