Since bursting onto the larger footballing landscape after signing for Ajax during the 2001/2002 season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has enjoyed success wherever he has moved. The Swedish superstar has his fair share of critics, who oftentimes point out his tendency to move from club to club after every couple of years, among other things.
However, one thing even the most anti-Ibrahimovic fan, writer, or pundit will have to agree on is that winning silverware in four different countries - the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France - is no easy feat. Yet, despite accumulating an impressive 12 domestic titles (ten if one discounts the two that were taken away from Juventus as a result of the Calciopoli scandal), there is one trophy that has continually eluded him for over a decade: the most coveted club prize in European football.
One major prize that Ibrahimovic has sought, but still has yet to win: the Champions League
Although Ibrahimovic has donned the kit of some of the continent's biggest clubs - including Barcelona, Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Ajax, and now PSG - he has never been able to guide his team to the finals. The furthest he has ever gone was reaching the semi-finals during the 2009/2010 edition in which Barcelona were knocked out by his former club Inter. These years of frustration for the 34-year-old star have given rise to a running gag that had made the rounds on the Internet: in essence, "when Ibra leaves a club, they win the Champions League".
For instance, in 2009, the big Swede traded Inter for Barcelona, only to see the Nerazzurri win the title in 2010. He then left Camp Nou to return to Italy, this time with Milan, and the Blaugrana were crowned champions of Europe at the end of the 2010/2011 season. Now, this is obviously just an unfortunate coincidence, but it certainly gives his critics more ammunition as in the past he has been portrayed as a "small game" player, one who has continually flopped when the pressure gets ramped up on the big stage.
Frustration: Ibrahimovic has yet to even feature in a UCL final, let alone set foot on the winners' podium
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Currently in his fourth season with French powerhouse PSG, Ibrahimovic has, of course, been instrumental in Les Parisiens enjoying their recent dominance, and they are on track to make it a fourth straight Ligue 1 title. However, in each of his past three seasons, he has been unable to inspire the team past the quarter-finals, where they have been dumped out by Barcelona (twice) and their upcoming opponents in this season's round of 16 - Chelsea - once.
In speaking of Chelsea, we now arrive at another source of criticism of the powerful attacker: his performances against English teams. His four-goal haul for Sweden to down England did silence sections of the British press who have long had nothing but harsh words regarding his showings as a footballer, but he is nonetheless still not held in the highest regard by those in the UK.
Do his detractors have a point? Let's take a look at something that cannot be disputed - sheer numbers and stats - and then one can decide for one's own self.
Starts out strong...then fades? And what's up with Ibra's English hoodoo?
Since making his Champions League debut with Ajax in a third round qualifying match on August 8, 2001, Ibrahimovic has made a total of 116 appearances (120 if one includes qualifying games) in European football's premier continental competition. Over that period of time, the Malmo-born attacker has scored a total of 46 goals, which averages out to a bit more than a goal every three games.
Not an output for anyone to really scoff at: the PSG star is currently tied for eighth on the list of all-time top goalscorers, alongside Karim Benzema and retired Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi. In terms of players still playing today, only five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi as well as Cristiano Ronaldo have done better, with 82 and 89 goals respectively.
38 of Ibrahimovic's goals have come in the group stages. When it comes to the knock-out rounds, his stats and numbers do take a hit: the PSG ace has scored, to date, eight goals in 37 appearances. This, naturally, has given his most vehement critics plenty of ammunition to describe him as a player who starts out strong, but disappears when his club needs him.
Meanwhile, his record against English clubs, which, due to the format of the Champions League - are teams that are pretty much impossible to avoid - is not encouraging, to say the least. Before scoring PSG's first goal against Chelsea last month, Ibrahimovic had netted a total of three goals in matches versus Premier League outfits. And all of these goals were against Arsenal: two for Barcelona during the 2009/2010 quarter-finals and one for Milan in the 2011/2012 round of 16.
Not good reading for one if one is a fan of Ibrahimovic. However, let's take a quick look at his frustrating record - team-wise - in the Champions League, starting with the 2002/2003 season with Ajax (photo courtesy of the Daily Mail):
As any reader will see, he has had to come up against some pretty tough opponents, with Barcelona repeatedly being the side to end his European ambitions. Given that the Blaugrana are currently the reigning champions, a meeting with the La Liga powerhouse seems almost inevitable at some point for PSG if they can see off Chelsea in the second leg of their round of 16 tie on Wednesday.
A year ago, Ibrahimovic had a night to forget in London after being sent off in the first half at Stamford Bridge. This time, he will certainly be gunning for revenge as he will have two objectives in mind. First, of course, is to inspire Les Parisiens into the quarter-finals, and beyond, which is something they have failed to do in his past three seasons in the French capital. The second, will be a bit more personal: to score on English soil for the first time in nearly six years; the last time he managed to do so was on March 31, 2010.
So, will Zlatan Ibrahimovic achieve both these objectives on Wednesday evening? We will have to wait and see.
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