The Swedish forward labelled himself as a conqueror, but he never reached the heights he insists he did in the U.S.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been called many things throughout his illustrious career, and many of those have famously come from his own mouth.
The Swedish megastar has called himself a lion, a legend and a conqueror but, by and large, he has lived up to those labels. He ran roughshod in Italy. He shone in Spain. He dominated in France. He became an icon in his native Sweden. He even won two trophies despite playing for less than a season at Manchester United.
No matter what team you support or where you are from, you must acknowledge that Ibrahimovic is a giant of the game.
On Wednesday, Ibrahimovic concluded his latest “conquest”, announcing his departure from the LA Galaxy after less than two seasons in MLS .
“I came, I saw, I conquered,” he said. “Thank you LA Galaxy for making me feel alive again. To the Galaxy fans – you wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. You are welcome. The story continues…Now go back to watch baseball.”
Los Angeles did, in fact, get plenty of Zlatan. They got the goals, the ego, the quips and aura. The Galaxy, and MLS as a whole, benefitted from his presence. But, as he departs the league, he leaves a legacy far more incomplete than he would admit. A conqueror? Not so much.
For nearly his entire time in the league, the veteran was among the best forwards in MLS. The numbers prove that. He scored 52 goals in 56 regular-season games, an incredible haul for any player, let alone one that joined on the heels of a major injury.
Those goals, those performances, brought about a resurgence in LA. Before Zlatan’s arrival, the Galaxy were a team lagging behind. They were a team struggling with identity. Ibrahimovic’s signing turned the tide, and reignited a team that was very much in need of a spark.
Zlatan promised goals, and he delivered. He promised relevancy, and he delivered that too. He also promised domination; on that, he did not produce.
Ibrahimovic’s career has been built on winning league titles everywhere he has gone, but he failed to deliver on that in MLS. In his first season, his Galaxy failed to make the playoffs. In his second, the Galaxy were knocked out by crosstown rivals Los Angeles FC.
He leaves MLS having played in just two postseason matches, scoring in neither of them. He departs trophy-less, despite playing on a team with the second-highest payroll in the league and a certain habit for stretching the rules when it comes to loading a roster with star power.
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