Introducing...Zlatan (- Muslim soccer gangsta comin straight outta Malmö!)

www.thelocal.se ^ | 02/12/2007 | Paul O'Mahony

[WesternCulture]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the most spectacular soccer players ever, comes from the infamous, Muslim dominated area of Rosengård in Malmö, Sweden's third biggest city.

He presently plays for the major European club of Inter Milan and has formerly been contracted by Juventus, Ajax and Malmö FF among others.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, known as "Ibra" to Italian soccer fans, is one of the very few Muslim immigrants from the Malmö region who've made major success in any area of life (another exception is Hip hop artist Timbuktu - not especially well known in the US though).

Many Rosengård Muslims strive to isolate themselves from the rest of Swedish society and are often dependent on welfare, in contrast to several Muslim immigrants in other parts of Sweden, for instance those living in Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city after Stockholm) of which many have found work, for instance in big industries like Volvo.

While many Conservative Christians would say the best thing for a Christian nation is to not allow any Muslim immigration whatsoever, people like Zlatan Ibrahimovic could undeniably serve as a positive role model to young children growing up in an environment like Rosengård.

The worst scenario, in the case of Sweden and the rest of Europe, is that of a growing number of young Muslims who feel they are despised and discriminated against by native Westerners and therefore develop a desire to isolate themselves from Western ways of life.

Individuals like successful soccer players don't make a big difference perhaps, but undeniably they often make better role models than fanatical suicide bombers.

The article:

"Introducing...Zlatan

Introducing...is The Local's weekly look at the lives, loves and reputations of Sweden's celebrity set. This week, football's golden boy, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Introducing...Zlatan Published: 12th February 2007 16:12 CET Online: http://www.thelocal.se/6383/

Introducing...is The Local's weekly look at the lives, loves and reputations of Sweden's celebrity set. This week, football's golden boy, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the golden boy of Swedish football. In fact, he's so precious that his name even translates as Golden Son of Ibrahim. Raised by a Bosnian father and Croatian mother in Malmö's immigrant suburbs, he has made the journey from Sweden's most maligned neighbourhood to the centre of the footballing world. But some would say he's more fool's gold than 24 carat.

The blighters! Why would they say that?

Because he is one of those players whose moments of genius are tempered by periods of infuriating mediocrity. On a bad day he might only awaken from his unproductive stupour to fell an opponent with a malicious and well-timed lunge.

But when his footballing brain is fully switched on he has a fleetness of foot that can make even the most expert defender seem like a feckless amateur. In fact the Swede's unpredictability has led to one Italian journalist famously describing him as "half ballerina, half gangster".

Sounds a bit like Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs.

You mean "Diddy"? Just because he produces dance music doesn't make him a ballerina. But there is a tenuous link there actually. P. Diddy Daddy is a keen Arsenal supporter, the same club that once tried to lure a young Zlatan to London.

Tenuous indeed. Where did he go instead?

His first major club in Sweden was Malmö FF: once a giant of European football, now prone to losing to Swiss teams nobody has ever heard of. But it was a good apprenticeship for the rangy youngster and he was soon being ogled by a big Dutchman called Leo Beenhakker, who negotiated a transfer to Ajax of Amsterdam in 2001, when Zlatan was 20 years old.

Do people really call him Zlatan or are you just being overly familiar?

No, in Sweden people know him as Zlatan. But, just like Diddy, he has accumulated a veritable cornucopia of alter egos over the years, especially since his move to Italy a few seasons ago.

Why, what do they call him there?

Mostly Ibra. But Il Mago and Il Genio are also common currency. And then there's the magic spell once invoked by Turin prisoners.

What sort of hocus pocus did they engage in?

When Zlatan played for Juventus the team would regularly train beside a prison on the outskirts of the city. While waiting with great anticipation for a ball to sail over the wall the prisoners would regularly begin chanting the name Ibracadabra.

Ah, those magical moments when sport rubs shoulders with crime. But he has left Turin now, has he?

Yes. His former club, the grand old lady of Italian football, was transformed into a wrinkled wreck last season when it was heavily implicated in a major match fixing scandal. Zlatan eventually jumped ship when the Serie A champions had their title stripped from them and were ignominiously dumped into Serie B.

Where did he go instead?

He moved on to Europe's fashion capital to play for Inter Milan, a club with seemingly limitless resources and ambition. If his time at Juventus ranged from the sublime to the indifferent, his start at Inter has been sensational. Zlatan has been instrumental in placing the club way beyond the grasp off the chasing pack.

What about the national team?

Good question. We currently find ourselves in the midst of 'the great snub'. A few months ago Zlatan and a couple of other players were a bit naughty, going out to a nightclub and missing their curfew on the eve of a European qualifying match against Liechtenstein.

The cheek! They'd need to be on top form against the mighty Liechtensteiners.

Exactly. And the coach didn't like it one bit. He sent the brazen millionaires home without so much as supper and the team played the game without them. The other two later mumbled their apologies and came slinking back into the fold, but Zlatan preferred to burn the bridge than rebuild it.

Are they ever going to kiss and make up?

Who knows? With his typically sharp tongue he once bemoaned the fact that his rampant individualism was out of place in a team that thrives on the power of the collective. The coach has said that he would be made welcome should he choose to return, but so far there are no signs that Zlatan is ready to pull on the yellow jersey again.

Speaking of cycling, couldn't he do a Lance Armstrong and come back stronger than ever?

It's not out of the question. He would certainly love more opportunities to silence his detractors. Like Armstrong, Zlatan has had a fractious relationship with the press. And he has not been shy about letting some Swedish journalists know what he thinks of them.

Is he not popular here then?

Depends who you talk to. He has a disarming, mile-wide smile and a sense of fun that endear him to a lot of people.

The smile of an assassin maybe?

Well, his favourite movie is Scarface and there is a touch of the Pacinos about his grin. But sometimes he lets the gentle ballerina shine through. Last year for example he took part in an evening's entertainment on TV4 in aid of UNICEF. He took penalties against actor Mikael Persbrandt on the streets of Sao Paolo.

Ah, Persbrandt. Another man with press problems. Has Zlatan ever sued a Swedish tabloid for libel?

No, but he's only 25. Give him time.

Paul O'Mahony"

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Ping to the Swedish Ping List.

[WesternCulture]

Impressive example of his skills:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WMESo0rMA9o&mode=related&search=

More of stunning performance by Zlatan is found in this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1767282/posts

[oilfieldtrash]

He has a croatian mother and a bosnian muslim father. His name is Zlatan, which is not a muslim name. I wonder if he has ever been to a mosque. I doubt it.

[WesternCulture]

To me "Ibrahimovic" sounds very Muslim, as "Ibrahim" is what Muslims call the biblical patriarch Abraham.

I don't think Zlatan or his father are deep believers in the Muslim faith. But I don't think it's wrong to say Zlatan is of Muslim origin.

The most important thing however, is that, especially young, people of Rosengård identify with Zlatan and experience he's successful and admired by lots of native Swedes.

Whatever one thinks of Muslim/Non European Immigration to Europe, the last thing Europeans desires are Muslim ghettos consisting of people who are outspoken antagonists of Western values like democracy, education and economical progress.

In Sweden, many people are concerned about Rosengård, Malmö, as Muslims actually move to this area from other parts of Sweden because they don't wish to mix with infidels.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is interesting in this context as his career points to existing opportunities OUTSIDE the Muslim ghetto of isolation and alienation that is Rosengård, a strange oddity in the midst of Scandinavian prosperity (In general, the Malmö-Copenhagen-Helsingborg conurbation, also known as The Oresund Region, is in fact one of the richest and most well educated regions of Europe).

[Mentat]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a brilliant player, when he makes the effort to be one. However, during all of 2006 he did not play well at all in the national team and certainly not during the World Cup, in which Sweden advanced to the knock-out rounds but lost to home team Germany.

There are other good Swedish football players. Not as good as Zlatan in his best moments, but definitely a lot better than an uninterested Zlatan.

The other two players that defied the curfew have realised that they were wrong and want to play in the national team again, and have been picked for the team too. Zlatan was picked to play but wasn't interested. In my opinion, either a _very_ immature behaviour or he is simply not interested in representing his country. In that case the country will do better without him.

[WesternCulture]

Basically, I don't think Zlatan is uninterested in representing Sweden.

The underlying problem is rather that he seems to have a problem with authorities, with people acting bossy. Guess that phenomena is very common among coaches.

Furthermore, he seems to take things far too personal, just look at his relation to media.

I think you can't give a player like Maradona or Zlatan too much of strict, specific orders. They can do the impossible, they can lift a whole team, but they are not basically model team players (but not necessarily the opposite of team players. Calling Zlatan "selfish", like some people have done in the past, I regard to be unfair).

[oilfieldtrash]

I know about Malmo, I just moved to Houston after living in Norway for 18 years.

[WesternCulture]

"I know about Malmo, I just moved to Houston after living in Norway for 18 years."

- What then is your general impression of Malmö/Rosengård/Muslim Immigrants to Sweden?

Don't hold back.