Zlatan makes supremely Zlatan return to Malmo
November 26, 2015
It’s been a date Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been looking forward to since the Champions League draw was made, and really for the last 14 years — playing against his first club, Malmo FF, in his hometown of Malmo. Zlatan spoke of the importance of the occasion to him and he booked the main square so everyone could watch.
But it wasn’t just Zlatan who was excited. The night before the match, the city’s tallest building had a giant, neon blue Z at the top of it and a local sponsor put up posters of Zlatan to welcome him home.
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Once the Swedbank Stadion filled, every PSG player was booed. Except one.
It took PSG just three minutes to score the first goal and they took a 2–0 lead into halftime. Then, four minutes after the break, the inevitable happened. Zlatan got his goal.
Knowing that he had the whole town watching (at his expense), Zlatan’s celebration was noticeably subdued.
Plenty of fans at Zlatan's fan zone, watching the man himself help Paris put on a fine show… #UCL pic.twitter.com/cGTtPlDBAG
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 25, 2015
PSG went on to win 5–0. Zlatan was substituted in the 85th minute so he could walk off to rousing ovation and chants of “Super Zlatan.”
From the Guardian:
“It was a great moment for me and my family. This is where everything started,” said Ibrahimovic, who left Malmo in 2001 to join Ajax. “I got goose bumps. It felt like I was home.”
A truly Zlorious evening.
