An emotional night in Solna. How else could we describe the occasion that happened before the friendly match between Sweden and Serbia, the match that was completely in the background? What, or better said, who can be more important than the national team’s football match, you wonder? Well, the answer is simple. The man who became the synonym for Swedish football, the Swedish all-time leading goalscorer, the legend – Zlatan Ibrahimovic.People in Sweden have waited impatiently for a long time for a proper opportunity to say farewell to their idol and the player who will be remembered, not only in Sweden, but in the entire world, and finally got the chance to do that. Even though Zlatan retired a year ago, today, he made it official in his country, in front of his compatriots. As befits, he wanted to say goodbye to the beautiful game and the adored yellow jersey in the place where it all began and thus complete the whole circle of his career.❤ Zlatan Ibrahimovic was thanked by the Swedish national team this evening for the first time since his retirement 🇸🇪📽 @SwedeStats pic.twitter.com/2NXotzKv95— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) June 8, 2024 The crowd first greeted Ibra in the 10th minute, as a symbol of the greatest “No. 10” in the history of Swedish football. It was also a bit in Zlatan’s style. He didn’t even have to go to the pitch to say goodbye to it. He watched the match from the stands, and, since Sweden was losing 3-0, he even started gesturing that he could come on as a substitute. And who would dare think that Ibra wouldn’t score?!Ibrahimovic was celebrated by the Swedish fans for the first time since his retirement during Sweden’s friendly against Serbia today at Friends Arena pic.twitter.com/zoTvcWSuGm— Milan Eye (@MilanEye) June 8, 2024 A bunch of famous faces from Swedish public life and football were there to thank Ibracadabra, who was sitting in the ceremonial box with his wife Helena and eldest son Maximilian. Next to them, there was the Swedish royal family, former footballers, and former coaches Kurt Hamrin, Tommy Söderberg, and Lars Lagerbäck… And in the stands, there were also musicians, hockey players, Zlatan’s best friends among footballers Danijel Majstorović and Alexander Östlund, a bunch of former teammates like Marcus Allbäck, Patrik Andersson, Kim Källström, Anders Svensson… After the match, the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) organized a ceremony and officially thanked the greatest football player in Sweden’s history. Despite the convincing defeat, the audience did not move from their seats and waited for the climax of today’s program.Zlatan Ibrahimovic 👑 pic.twitter.com/H77cNXSGnu— 🇸🇪 (@SwedeStats) June 8, 2024 About ten minutes after the game, the lights turned down, and it was clear that the Swedish football deity was coming onto the pitch. Inserts from the film about Zlatan’s career appeared on the big screens, and a thunderous ovation followed. “What’s up, Swedes?” Ibrahimović blurted out in his own style at the beginning of his speech and continued:”I see you missed me. Especially on the field. I missed you too. The moments when I wore the Sweden jersey are my favourite ones in my career. I wore it with love and pride. 25 years ago I said I would be the best of all time, many people laughed at me then, but 25 years later I stand here and tell you that I am the best of all time. I can only tell the younger generation not to be afraid to dream. If you don’t have the strength to dream big, look at my path and find inspiration in it. I am living proof that nothing is impossible, no matter where you come from. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support. I had the honour to be the captain of this team. I get butterflies in my stomach now when I think about it… I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Go Sweden, I love you!”After the speech, he ran a lap of honour around the stadium and once again received a standing ovation from the audience. A magnificent career has come to an end. That career started in Zlatan’s hometown, Malmö, after which he played for giants such as Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan (two spells), Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Los Angeles Galaxy. In Milan, he said goodbye upon winning the title. He wore Sweden’s jersey 122 times and scored 62 goals, some of which are anthological, such as the one in a friendly match against England, which is considered one of the best goals ever.14/11/12 – Sweden vs England “Oh my god, an insane goal! I’ve just seen the most insane goal I have ever seen on a football pitch! Incredible! Incredible, Zlatan Ibrahimovic! World, World Class!”pic.twitter.com/IkHNc28Djq— My Greatest 11 (@MyGreatest11) November 14, 2022 And it will forever remain the one thing that set Ibra apart from all the other players in football history. Although he played in the era of Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and did not win everything they did, did not break all those records and win individual awards, he was better than them in at least one way. No footballer in this century scored more spectacular goals than Zlatan Ibrahimovic.##NAJAVA_MECA_8151609##
