page_title: Zlatan Ibrahimović
section_title: Style of play
hierarchical_section_title: Zlatan Ibrahimović / Style of play
caption_attribution_description: English: Zlatan Ibrahimović goal celebretion at the Euro 2012 match against France
context_page_description: Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club A.C. Milan. Ibrahimović is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation. He is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, having won 31 trophies in his career. He has scored over 550 career goals, and has scored in each of the last four decades.
  Ibrahimović began his career at Malmö FF in 1999, and signed for Ajax two years later. At Ajax, Ibrahimović gained a reputation as one of the most promising forwards in Europe, and departed two years later to sign for Juventus. He excelled in Serie A in a strike partnership with David Trezeguet, before joining domestic rivals Inter Milan in 2006, where he won the Capocannoniere in 2008–09 and won three consecutive Serie A titles. In the summer of 2009, he moved to Barcelona in one of the world's most expensive transfers, before returning to Italy the following season, joining Milan. With them, he won another Serie A title in the 2010–11 season, before joining Paris Saint-Germain in July 2012.
context_section_description: Ibrahimović has been described by ESPN as being "good in the air, quick, tall, strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts some of the best finishing, vision, passing and ball control around." A versatile and well-rounded footballer, from a tactical standpoint, Ibrahimović is capable of playing anywhere along the front line, due to his ability to both create and score goals for his team, although he is most often deployed as a striker, due to his composure and eye for goal. He has also functioned in a more creative playmaking role at times, as a supporting forward or even as a number 10, in particular in his later career, after losing some of his pace and stamina with age; this deeper position allows him to drop into midfield to pick up the ball, where he can utilise his technical ability, vision, passing, and movement to create space and provide assists for teammates.
  While naturally right-footed, Ibrahimović is a powerful and accurate striker of the ball from both inside or outside the penalty area with either foot, and is also known for his accuracy from penalties and dead ball situations. An accurate finisher with his head as well as with his feet, his height, elevation, and strength often give him an advantage at winning aerial challenges, and also allow him to function as a "target man"; despite his large stature, Ibrahimović is uncommonly agile for a player of his size, and his athleticism and ability in the air have seen him score several goals from acrobatic strikes and volleys throughout his career, which earned him the monicker Ibracadabra in the Italian media. In spite of his size and physique, Ibrahimović possesses excellent technique and ball control, which, coupled with his balance, power, and physicality, enables him to hold up the ball well with his back to goal, retain possession, and link up with other players; he has also been praised by pundits for his creativity and dribbling skills. Although he is not gifted with exceptional pace, in particular over shorter distances, which became more evident in his later career as he slowed down with age, he is also a quick player and a fast sprinter, who possessed significant acceleration in his youth, and was able to clock top speeds over 30km/h even into his 30s.
  Considered to be a highly talented player in his youth, due to his prolific goalscoring, consistency, and spectacular strikes, Ibrahimović came to be regarded by many in the sport to be one of the best players in the world during his prime, and as one of the greatest and most complete strikers of his generation; he has also drawn praise from managers and teammates for his leadership and longevity, as well as his fitness, professionalism, and dedication in training. Regarding his work-ethic, his former Juventus, Fabio Capello commented in 2016: "At the beginning of his first spell at Juventus [...] I noticed that he was weaker than I thought when he had to kick the ball and was not very strong in the air. Ibrahimovic [sic] loved making assists more than scoring goals. I wanted him to become more ruthless in front of goal and improve his finishing. He had the same technical skills as Van Basten and I made him watch some videos of him to improve his finishing. I told him to watch Van Basten's movements inside the area and the way he used to score goals. Ibra got it straight away; I think results are out there to prove it. He is a very humble guy and he worked every day to improve. He’s proud of himself too, he loves being the best."
  Although Ibrahimović has been criticised at times in the media for being inconsistent in high pressure situations, and for his limited work-rate and poor performances in big matches, in particular in his youth, throughout his career he has scored in some of the biggest matches in football; these include the Derby della Madonnina and the Derby d'Italia in Italy, El Clásico, El Otro Clásico, and the Catalan Derbi barceloní in Spain, Le Classique in France, De Klassieker and De Topper in the Netherlands, and the Manchester Derby and North-West Derby in Engla
caption: Ibrahimović celebrates after scoring with an acrobatic volley against France in June 2012. Like his idol Ronaldo, Zlatan often celebrates scoring a goal with both arms outstretched.[296]
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