That Ajax one where it looks like playing Fifa on amateur.
Zlatan
- Thread starter FujiVice
- Start date
Couple come to mind, but there was one during his Ajax days. It was as if he’s playing a computer game on amateur difficulty!
Well, since no one mentioned it yet... Italy 2004! So beautiful!
But all good shouts
But all good shouts
There was one freekick at Barcelona against Zaragoza, I think, that was equal to CR7's Portsmouth goal in 2006. They just hit the ball with full power.
People mention the 39 too much as the remarkable thing here but what’s more incredible to me is:
• The last time AC Milan were top in Feb was 2011, a decade ago and the Serie A POTY that season?
• Since then he had an ACL injury aged 34, semi retired for 3 years in the US and now, one decade after their last title, he’s their top scorer again and they are top of the league.
It’s absolutely ridiculous.
• The last time AC Milan were top in Feb was 2011, a decade ago and the Serie A POTY that season?
• Since then he had an ACL injury aged 34, semi retired for 3 years in the US and now, one decade after their last title, he’s their top scorer again and they are top of the league.
It’s absolutely ridiculous.
He doesn't rely on pace, but rather his strength and intelligence. Don't see those attributes fading anytime soon. I'd love to see him play a few years into his 40's.
That Anderlecht one, it's insane how he reacts so fast to the ball coming his way and strikes it with perfect mix of speed power and accuracy
Zlatan's last game in a Ajax shirt before leaving for Italy and he produces this fantastic solo number. The year was 2004 and it marked the beginning of an era in Serie A where he struggled a bit during his first 2 yr spell at Juventus. Following that up with a 3 yr stint at Inter where he played imo his best football of his whole career. Having followed his career since his Malmo years, and being a Manc, I could never understand how little people knew about him in the UK. That changed however when he came to Utd, even though he was nowhere near the same level he had reached in Italy.
Last edited:
If it wasn't for that ACL injury, we probably don't buy Lukaku that summer
One of the best players I have ever seen without a doubt!
Fell in love with the guy when he moved to Inter where he stated to add goals to his all-round game which was already world-class then. When Tevez left I wanted Aguero (we know what happened with him) or Zlatan to be the striker we bought in. Instead we get Michael fricking Owen on a free and Zlatan goes to Barca! This was when he was 26/27, which is crazy to think as he is now approaching 40. I know he probably wouldn't have suited the type of striker SAF would have wanted but I just felt he was too good of a striker to just ignore.
I know his stint at Barca didn't workout but I always ask myself, what if he came to United instead at that time? He always had the quality and personality to succeed at United and I'm sure he would have if he joined a decade ago. When he eventually did join us, even thought he was 34 at the time, I was just buzzing that he joined the club as it was a long-time dream of mine to see him in a United shirt!
Really hope he leads AC Milan to the Serie A title and have 1 more season at the top which will take him past the age of 40!
but wouldn't it be awesome if he was to bow out of the game as a Serie A winner with Milan, a club who hasn't won the league in over a decade??
Fell in love with the guy when he moved to Inter where he stated to add goals to his all-round game which was already world-class then. When Tevez left I wanted Aguero (we know what happened with him) or Zlatan to be the striker we bought in. Instead we get Michael fricking Owen on a free and Zlatan goes to Barca! This was when he was 26/27, which is crazy to think as he is now approaching 40. I know he probably wouldn't have suited the type of striker SAF would have wanted but I just felt he was too good of a striker to just ignore.
I know his stint at Barca didn't workout but I always ask myself, what if he came to United instead at that time? He always had the quality and personality to succeed at United and I'm sure he would have if he joined a decade ago. When he eventually did join us, even thought he was 34 at the time, I was just buzzing that he joined the club as it was a long-time dream of mine to see him in a United shirt!
Really hope he leads AC Milan to the Serie A title and have 1 more season at the top which will take him past the age of 40!
but wouldn't it be awesome if he was to bow out of the game as a Serie A winner with Milan, a club who hasn't won the league in over a decade??So many goals come to mind but it probably has to be the overhead kick against England purely because of the uniqueness of it!
One of the best players I have ever seen without a doubt!
Fell in love with the guy when he moved to Inter where he stated to add goals to his all-round game which was already world-class then. When Tevez left I wanted Aguero (we know what happened with him) or Zlatan to be the striker we bought in. Instead we get Michael fricking Owen on a free and Zlatan goes to Barca! This was when he was 26/27, which is crazy to think as he is now approaching 40. I know he probably wouldn't have suited the type of striker SAF would have wanted but I just felt he was too good of a striker to just ignore.
I know his stint at Barca didn't workout but I always ask myself, what if he came to United instead at that time? He always had the quality and personality to succeed at United and I'm sure he would have if he joined a decade ago. When he eventually did join us, even thought he was 34 at the time, I was just buzzing that he joined the club as it was a long-time dream of mine to see him in a United shirt!
Really hope he leads AC Milan to the Serie A title and have 1 more season at the top which will take him past the age of 40!
he was astonishingly expensive when he went to Barca. Eto plus £40m. Don’t think we could have come close to affording him.
the missed opportunity was probably when he went to PSG.
his longevity is ridiculous, especially as he’s such a big guy.
Well we could afford him as we just had sold Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m but we have owners who like to put that money in their back pockets and it's never to be seen again!
Hence why we only got Michael Owen on a free to replace Tevez and Valencia for £15m to replace Ronaldo. No way in hell would they have signed had Fergie been allowed to reinvest the Ronaldo money into the playing squad! If he was allowed, he would have definitely gone for an Aguero or Zlatan instead of Owen. Valencia even though he wasn't too bad at first, there would have been better options out there if he was allowed to spend...
doesn’t matter why we couldn’t afford him - we couldn’t at the time.
it’s a shame we didn’t get him earlier.
IF Messi and Ronaldo didn't exist, we'd be talking about this guy one of the best players on his generation. Unfortunately for all extremely talented players of this generation, they've been overshadowed by Messi and Ronaldo who are aguably the best players of all time.
It's amazing how many leagues he conquered, really. Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Italy again, France, England (although in the league cup, not the PL, he scored the goals in that final) then back to Italy again...
For some reason he was never at his peak in champions league games though...
Someone mentioned that if Messi and Ronaldo didn't exist, we'd be talking about Zlatan as one of this generation's greatest.
Why Zlatan never became as good as these two though ? He definitely has the same work ethic as them. I always struggled to understand why he didn't reach their heights.
Why Zlatan never became as good as these two though ? He definitely has the same work ethic as them. I always struggled to understand why he didn't reach their heights.
Swap deal for Martial
After what they just achieved with a 43 yr old Tom Brady, the owners might just be considering that, or Ronnie.
After what they just achieved with a 43 yr old Tom Brady, the owners might just be considering that, or Ronnie.
Theyd both out score Martial anyway.
Its probably a good point. Zlatan hasn’t done a great deal in European competition though has he?
Not only have Messi and Ronaldo been two of the best players of all time, but they have almost unparalleled consistency in the modern game.
to not reach those heights, is no slight.
Pace and acceleration.
As a young Ajax fan (I was 14 at the time) this is definitely my favourite Zlatan goal.. The first one, the video starts with it!
He has a very rough first season at Ajax where he was criticized a lot. This was the first Champions League game in his second season and in my experience.. When he scored this goal he really finally 'arrived'.
Im not sure it would have worked if Zlatan came to United rather than Barca. He's had a nomadic career with a specific connection to Italy, at that stage in his career he probably would of had a selfish outlook and moved on quickly.
He gave 4 years to psg, that would have been the stage to get him.
He gave 4 years to psg, that would have been the stage to get him.
Most likely the Ajax one where he take piss at whole opponents defense dribbling all by himself, one of the most beautiful solo goal ever scored.
His 30 yard bicycle lob against England was also quite decent.
Anyone think he is abit underrated though? Surely everyone knows he is good player, but he was never once considered as top 3 players in world. And over past decades most people he really wouldn’t have him as their top 5 either
Ajax days - Always thought he was one of the most skillful and technical talent around. The solo goals he scored for Ajax, and he was also featured in famous Nike ad competing with Ronaldo and narrated by Cantona, where he has showcased some of the most amazing freestyle moves he’s got.
Juventus days - scored quite a few goals and won 2 league titles but got revoked. Peak season -16 goals.
Inter days - one of very top players over there, scored quite a number of goals, won 3 league titles. Peak season - 29 goals
Barca days - worst move of his career as he couldn’t quite work with well Messi in the team. Still won the league and with decent goal return. Peak season - 21 goals
Milan days - individually he has had some of his best season there and won league title too. Peak season - 35 goals
PSG days - he has some insane goal return during his time in PSG, won 4 titles there, overall scored 155 goals in 180 games. Even peak Neymar or Mbapoe couldn’t do any better than him there. Peak season - 50 goals
Man Utd days - he came here as 35 years old veteran player, in his first season here he scored 28 goals for us, it’s our best record for any striker in past 9 years, since RVP. Was unlucky with serious injuries during 2nd season, if he wasn’t injured and stay with us in following years, I wouldn’t be surprised if he keep on consistently scoring 20-30 goals and end up as our top scorer every season up to now. Peak season - 28 goals.
US days - supposed to be his retiring years. Scored 53 goals in 58 games, maintains very good form throughout. Peak season - 31 goals
Return to Milan - He is 39 already, but scored 16 goals in 17 games so far this season. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like that in my time. Amazing. Peak season - 16 goals+ (current)
Overall he had won 33 trophies, and scored like 563 goals over his career. Apart from Messi and Ronaldo, I couldn’t think of anyone being as successful in winning so many trophies, and at same time and managed to perform consistently at such high level, with good return of goals throughout too.
IMO he should be among top 3 player over past decade or so, maybe lack of CL trophy, and the fact that he always moving in between clubs, hasn’t do him much favour?
Bottom line is, he is one of the most talented player in our time, one of the most successful and consistent performer too. His longetivity is also second to none, in his peak season he also scored 50 goals too, yet it seems many others wouldn’t have rated him as high (not even among top 3-5). Strange isn’t it.
Ajax days - Always thought he was one of the most skillful and technical talent around. The solo goals he scored for Ajax, and he was also featured in famous Nike ad competing with Ronaldo and narrated by Cantona, where he has showcased some of the most amazing freestyle moves he’s got.
Juventus days - scored quite a few goals and won 2 league titles but got revoked. Peak season -16 goals.
Inter days - one of very top players over there, scored quite a number of goals, won 3 league titles. Peak season - 29 goals
Barca days - worst move of his career as he couldn’t quite work with well Messi in the team. Still won the league and with decent goal return. Peak season - 21 goals
Milan days - individually he has had some of his best season there and won league title too. Peak season - 35 goals
PSG days - he has some insane goal return during his time in PSG, won 4 titles there, overall scored 155 goals in 180 games. Even peak Neymar or Mbapoe couldn’t do any better than him there. Peak season - 50 goals
Man Utd days - he came here as 35 years old veteran player, in his first season here he scored 28 goals for us, it’s our best record for any striker in past 9 years, since RVP. Was unlucky with serious injuries during 2nd season, if he wasn’t injured and stay with us in following years, I wouldn’t be surprised if he keep on consistently scoring 20-30 goals and end up as our top scorer every season up to now. Peak season - 28 goals.
US days - supposed to be his retiring years. Scored 53 goals in 58 games, maintains very good form throughout. Peak season - 31 goals
Return to Milan - He is 39 already, but scored 16 goals in 17 games so far this season. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like that in my time. Amazing. Peak season - 16 goals+ (current)
Overall he had won 33 trophies, and scored like 563 goals over his career. Apart from Messi and Ronaldo, I couldn’t think of anyone being as successful in winning so many trophies, and at same time and managed to perform consistently at such high level, with good return of goals throughout too.
IMO he should be among top 3 player over past decade or so, maybe lack of CL trophy, and the fact that he always moving in between clubs, hasn’t do him much favour?
Bottom line is, he is one of the most talented player in our time, one of the most successful and consistent performer too. His longetivity is also second to none, in his peak season he also scored 50 goals too, yet it seems many others wouldn’t have rated him as high (not even among top 3-5). Strange isn’t it.
Last edited:
Yes, i think for his ability, goals, career and longevity he is underrated.
Id put him easily above ronaldinho, batistuta, de piero etc - these types of players are largely fondly remembered.
Perhaps he's better regarded in Italy etc
Haven't seen those goals in ages! what a great Ajax team that was. Crazy that Stekelenburg was in goal back then, and due to Onana's suspension, he will finish this season as first keeper.. 18 years later!
Maybe the fact that he didn't stay anywhere long enough or it could he all bad karma he amassed by letting himself be represented by Raiola.
I once went to see Ajax and got to sit with all the wags as my host worked with Stekelenburg's brother.
Suarez also won a freekick from 20 yards and the host bet me €40 he would score. I said double it and Suarez put it in the top corner. Always knew he was a rotter from then on.
Zlatan is good also.
Sonny Anderson, blast from the past. All goals in that video were great finishes.
Was he the one that moved to Everton I think it was?
You may be on to something.
Some weird career moves.
Left Inter at the wrong time when they were clearly building something great. Barcelona was obviously the best team in europe at that moment, but still, he had to know at Inter he was the main man...
More weird though, was leaving Milan for PSG.
As I understand, he did not want to leave Milan for PSG. But Milan had to save money so they sold both him and Thiago Silva to PSG.
Im not sure whether Zlatans current goalscoring record is a testament to his ability at his age or whether its a indication of how much Seria A has fallen since the 80's and 90's.
That makes more sense. Because he was very well settled at Milan and at the time, the Italian league was still bigger than the French league.
Both. It's his merit, obviously. He wouldn't achieve that without huge dedication in training and a good mindset. But the league in the 90's and even early 2000's was insane.