Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan was born in 1981 in Malmö, Sweden. He received his first pair of football boots at the age of five and it was obvious even at this early age that he had the potential to become an extraordinary footballer. He grew up in the infamous neighbourhood Rosengård known for being one of Sweden's roughest areas, but this did not hinder him. After playing for a local Swedish Club for a couple of years he transferred to Malmö FF in his teens, and it was here he started to pursue a career as a professional footballer. Zlatan progressed through Malmö FF's youth academy and his breakthrough at senior level came during the 1999-2000 season when he played for Malmö FF's first team under coach Roland Andersson. Zlatan surprised Sweden with his superb technique and great goal scoring ability. As a determined 18 year-old he had already at this point decided that he was going to play for Sweden in the World Cup 2002 in Japan and Korea. After being perused by top Clubs all over the world, Zlatan f