Euro 2012 Players to Watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 24, 2012

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Let's be honest here: When we think of the Swedish national team, most of us picture Zlatan Ibrahimovic and 10 others.

That's not as much of a hit on the Swedish national team's quality as it is a testament to Ibrahimovic's quality. Sweden's national team actually has a number of talented and capable players—Kim Kallstrom, Sebastian Larsson, etc.—but Ibrahimovic is clearly a cut above his teammates.

What makes Ibrahimovic so incredible, and why do we think he'll be a player to watch in Euro 2012? Read ahead to find out.

In Numbers

Ibrahimovic has scored 29 goals in 75 appearances for Sweden, which at first glance does not look very impressive.

The truth is that Ibrahimovic has never been able to guide his team to success, and being surrounded by players not good enough to compete with the best national teams has limited his goal-scoring.

In addition, Ibrahimovic has boycotted international duty and retired temporarily when the national team failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Club-wise, though, Ibrahimovic has been a much more dangerous striker, and this year was his best career year, even though it ended without silverware.



Ibrahimovic scored a career-high 35 goals and recorded a career-high 14 assists in 44 matches. If he shows his Milan form with Sweden, the Swedes may just be able to cause a couple of upsets against their more favored opponents in Group D.

What to Expect

Ibrahimovic scored five goals in Euro 2012 qualifying, but those five goals came in only two of the 10 qualifying matches of Sweden, indicating that Ibrahimovic still very much blows hot and cold for his national team.

It's hard to anticipate what Ibrahimovic will show up for the competition in Poland and Ukraine, but I expect he'll get off to a good start against a Ukraine defense weaker than most in the competition. 

Whether he c...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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