FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the man with the golden boots and he does seem to have found the Midas touch when it comes to scoring important goals for his country.
He hit the headlines with an incredible strike against Italy in the 2004 UEFA European Championship as Sweden advanced to the quarter-finals. He followed that performance by leading Sweden to the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ by scoring eight goals in ten qualifying matches.

However, what really sets the 24-year-old striker apart from his compatriots is his personality. “I don’t think there has ever been a Swedish player who is as confident in himself as Zlatan,” said international team-mate Niclas Alexandersson.

“It really is different from a lot of Swedes. We don’t like to say we’re the favorites to win or things like that, but Zlatan is very confident and he has the ability to back it up. He has done tremendously well.”

Ibrahimovic came to prominence when he agreed a Swedish-record €7.8m transfer to Ajax in 2000. He spent three seasons with them in the Netherlands, where we won a Dutch Cup and Eridivisie title.

He scored the winning goal in the 2002 Dutch Cup final and when Juventus came calling, few were surprised and he moved to Italy for €19m in 2004. Ibrahimovic, by now known to all simply as ‘Zlatan’, quickly cemented his place in the first team and he won the Italian league title with Juventus in 2005.

His performances in the qualifiers for Germany 2006 convinced people he really could do it all. He finished third in scoring overall in Europe and national manager Lars Lagerback is naturally delighted to have him in his side. Lagerback said: “Zlatan is big and strong and has an almost un-Swedish technique: He can dribble as well as shoot, and his mobility and team play are extremely good.”

Ibrahimovic made his international debut on 31 January 2001 in a scoreless draw against the Faroe Islands and, up to early 2006, had scored 16 goals from 38 games for his country. Swedish football recognised the brash youngster in 2005, naming him their player and forward of the year and a man with that much talent should finish his career with a lot more titles to his name.

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UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

Occasionally irrational and hot-tempered, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an enigmatic striker who possesses skill in abundance. His fine technique and ability to retain possession make him a useful foil, although scoring remains his primary focus.

National team
A place in the Sweden squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals marked his arrival on the international scene at the tender age of 20, Ibrahimovic having made his debut against the Faroe Islands in January 2001. A substitute in UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying, he claimed a starting place alongside Henrik Larsson in Portugal as Sweden reached the last eight, scoring against Bulgaria and, stunningly, Italy to help take his team through. Remains a key compenent of their World Cup qualifying side.

Club
Born in 1981 and a prodigiously talented youngster, Ibrahimovic joined his hometown club Malmö FF in 1995 after starting his career with amateur side FBK Balkan. In 2000 Arsenal FC tried to sign him, but it was AFC Ajax who won the battle for his signature, bringing him to the Netherlands for a record €7.8m fee.

2001: Ibrahimovic grabbed the winning goal in the 2002 Dutch Cup final and scored four UEFA Champions League goals in 2002/03 and ten in the league as Ajax finished second. The following year, despite missing three months of the season following groin surgery, the Swede struck 13 goals in 16 games as Ajax wrested back the Eredivisie title from PSV Eindhoven.

2004/05: Having scored a memorable solo goal against NAC Breda in what turned out to be his penultimate Ajax appearance, he signed for Juventus FC in a €19m transfer on 31 August 2004 and struck 16 Serie A goals as Juve won the Italian title for the 28th time.

Did you know?
After previously wearing his first name Zlatan on the back of his shirt, he opted for Ibrahimovic at the start of 2004/05 as a sign of gratitude to his father.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

UEFA EURO 2004™ player's profile

Occasionally irrational and hot-tempered, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an enigmatic striker who possesses skill in abundance. His fine technique and ability to retain possession make him a useful foil, although scoring remains his primary focus.

National team
A place in the Sweden squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals marked his arrival on the international scene at the tender age of 20 having previously made his debut against the Faroe Islands in January 2001.

UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying
Tommy Söderberg and Lars Lagerbäck continued to nurture Ibrahimovic's talent by using him sporadically, but to great effect. The striker scored twice in his only full outing against San Marino having already registered a crucial equaliser against Hungary at the Råsunda.

Club
Born in 1981 and a prodigiously talented youngster, Ibrahimovic joined his hometown club, Malmö FF, in 1995 after starting his career with the amateur side FBK Balkan. In 2000 Arsenal FC tried to sign him - manager Arsène Wenger going as far as giving him a No9 shirt with his name on the back.

2001: But it was Ajax who won the battle for his signature, bringing him to the Netherlands for a record €7.8m fee. In October 2001, he was banned for five matches for elbowing the FC Groningen defender Melchior Schoenmakers. Still, there would be a happy ending to 2001/02 for the giant striker, Ibrahimovic grabbing the headlines with the winning goal in the 2002 Dutch Cup final. He scored four times in 13 UEFA Champions League outings in 2002/03 and ten in the league as Ajax finished second.

2003/04: Despite missing three months of the season following groin surgery, Ibrahimovic struck 13 goals in 16 games as Ajax wrested back the Eredivisie title from PSV Eindhoven.

Did you know?
His eleventh-minute strike against Olympique Lyonnais on 17 September 2003 was the first of that season's opening group stage.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

BBC's UEFA EURO 2004 player's profile

A talented but often temperamental striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the one player capable bringing a touch of the unexpected to the Swedish attack.

Born in Malmo to a Bosnian father and Croatian mother, Ibrahimovic joined his home-town club aged 14 and was quickly identified as an outstanding prospect.

He became Sweden's most expensive football export when he joined Ajax for £5.5m in 2001 and his form at the Amsterdam Arena has seen him linked with big-money to moves to AC Milan and Barcelona.

Despite his tall size, Ibrahimovic is also deceptively quick and possesses outstanding technique.

A fiery character on and off the pitch, he was given a five-match ban for elbowing an opponent in his first season with Ajax and has compared himself to Muhammad Ali, claiming only injury can prevent him becoming the world's greatest player.

Used sparingly by Sweden at the last World Cup, Euro 2004 gives Ibrahimovic the perfect opportunity to showcase his prodigious talents.

©bbc.co.uk 2004. All rights reserved.