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Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 38-years-old but it looks like he still has a lot of years left in his tank. 'The Lion' is still roaring despite him having been marked as going into his twilight years almost five years back.
In fact, you couldn't fault anyone for thinking that Ibrahimovic's days as one of Europe's finest strikers had come to an end after he secured a move to the MLS which is where a lot of players choose to end their careers at.
However, the Swede chose to return to AC Milan and has had quite a galvanizing effect at the club and has transformed them from a mid-table side to a team that can browbeat the top 4. Famous for pulling off the outrageous and the nearly inconceivable, there is just no one like Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
On that note, let's take a look at five attributes that make Zlatan Ibrahimovic a deadly striker.
#5 Endurance
You don't become hailed as a generational talent because you had one good season or a couple. That's what separates the Michus from the Zlatans. When Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Manchester United in 2016, it was seen as the final chapter in an illustrious career.
Zlatan scored 17 goals from 28 appearances for Manchester United in the Premier League before picking up an injury and being forced to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines. He did that at the age of 34 in one of the most physically demanding leagues in the planet.
Zlatan then moved on to the MLS where he was the star at Los Angeles Galaxy for two seasons, scoring a whopping 53 goals from 58 appearances. Now he's back in Europe and making headlines for the Rossoneri and since making his move in the 2020 winter transfer window, Zlatan has scored 10 goals from 16 starts in the Serie A.
He continues to clock incredible numbers and his age certainly doesn't seems to have slowed him down. Almost all the strikers that were around when he had started out are now retired but Zlatan keeps going because he is an elite athlete.
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic's incredible athleticism
Take a look at Zlatan Ibrahimovic's career highlights reel and you'll find some absolutely ridiculous goals. He used to attend Taekwondo classes as a kid and has an honorary black belt in it and this has made him an adversary like no other to defenders.
It's hard to say how exactly Zlatan is going to poke the ball home as he has often scored goals in unprecedented ways. For example, take a look at this.
He also made headlines scoring this Puskas winner in 2012 against England.
Not a lot of players can boast of packing unique skills in their armoury but Zlatan Ibrahimovic certainly can. To put it simply, he is not only a great goalscorer and but also a scorer of great goals. His acrobatic displays have earned him the moniker Ibracadabra in the Italian media.
#3 Build
Standing at 195 cms, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a towering presence on the field and as a striker, it enables him to do two things by being dominant aerially. First of all, he has the obvious advantage of rising above defenders to head the ball home.
Secondly, his gait and strength makes him a great target-man. Zlatan can hold the ball up well and when his team is struggling to dominate the proceedings in midfield, he can offer an alternate route via long balls to make incursions into the final third.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most powerful strikers of the 21st century and it is hard to shake him off the ball. In fact, there are few defenders who can go toe-to-toe with the Swede.
#2 Passing and vision
To say that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is just a good goalscorer would, in fact, be quite reductive. The 38-year-old is an excellent footballer all-round. Though he has been largely fielded as a striker, he has played in all positions across the frontline and has even filled in as a creative playmaker in the latter stages of his career.
Zlatan was never famous for his pace, particularly over short distances. As such, he has moulded his game around it and thanks to his excellent ball retention skills and vision, he often assumes the role of a playmaker who can release other players into space.
This adeptness that gives him a great understanding of the game and has enabled him to be incredible with his movement off the ball. The partnership that he struck with Paul Pogba at Manchester United is a recent example of how well he can combine with other players and sniff out opportunities.
#1 Composure
In addition to the obvious finishing ability and elite mentality, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest strikers in the game thanks to incredible composure ability to keep his cool in front of goal.
Fabio Capello had remarked about how he once asked Zlatan Ibrahimovic to watch videos of Van Basten to improve his finishing and the Swede started taking to it almost immediately.
"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."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made sure that his performances on the field has to keep up with all the hype he creates around himself away from it. At 38-years-old, he continues to keep it up and that is, in no small part, thanks to his ability to remain unfazed in the face of challenges.
