Zlatan gets another shot to rid ghosts of past Champions League failure
Few strikers have dominated European club soccer like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The towering Swedish goal machine has won an incredible 12 league titles across 14 seasons in four different countries – including an eight-year, uninterrupted run of winning consecutive domestic titles. And yet for all his success, there’s one trophy that’s managed to evade Ibrahimovic: the Champions League.
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The European cup remains the only major competition Ibra has contested at club level that he’s not won. And now at age 34, the Paris Saint-Germain striker is staring at what could be his last chance.
A budding rivalry
Having been hampered by injuries last season, Ibrahimovic is back and near the top of his form again. He leads Ligue 1 with 21 goals for a PSG side that has all but sewn up the title with a 24-point cushion atop the standings.
But the way forward in Europe lies through Chelsea, a team Les Parisiens have met in the latter stages of the past two Champions League, and against whom Ibrahimovic has yet to find the back of the net. Oh, and the last time the two played, he was sent off after half an hour.
Charged with on-field intensity set against a backdrop of off-field episodes (namely Chelsea fans racially abusing a passenger on the Paris Metro), encounters between these two teams have become increasingly contentious. There’s a growing sense that they don’t really like each other.
Struggling against English clubs
Despite having been as prolific in front of goal as he’s been throughout his career, Ibrahimovic remains a player whose ability to make an impact in big games gets called into question. He also has a reputation for struggling against English sides.
With four red cards and three goals in 18 meetings against Premier League teams, it’s true that he’s been sent off more often than he’s scored against English opposition.
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He was sidelined by injury when Chelsea knocked PSG out of the competition two years ago. A year later at Stamford Bridge, he was sent off after just half an hour, well before PSG’s stoppage time heroics saw them through, despite being a man down for over an hour.
But for all the criticisms leveled at him, Ibrahimovic is a player with 46 career Champions League goals. Heading up a squad comprising players like Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, and Maxwell, Ibrahimovic is the spearhead of a team that’s as laden with talent as any in Europe.
He was rested for PSG’s draw with Lille on Saturday and should be in prime condition to face the English champions on Tuesday. With John Terry in doubt, the Blues will likely have to rely on a center back pairing of Tim Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic, making them all the more ripe for the picking for Ibrahimovic.
Clock ticking for Zlatan, PSG
Ibrahimovic’s time among the elite echelon of European strikers is winding down. And there are still some who question if he’s ever really deserved to be regarded in such company to begin with.
Meanwhile, his contract is up at the end of the season and there are few indications that PSG want to renew it. With his agent Mino Raiola reportedly eying the Chinese market and links being made to Major League Soccer, this season could very well be Ibrahimovic’s last stand on European club soccer’s grandest stage.
On Tuesday, he has what could be the best opportunity he’ll ever have to prove his doubters wrong and, perhaps, take a step closer to filling the one vacancy remaining in his trophy cabinet.
It’s a big test for PSG as well. After five years of being backed by the mega-riches of the Qatari government, the French capital outfit has yet to make it past the quarterfinals of Europe’s elite club competition. If PSG is to break into the elite tier of clubs that includes the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, it must truly contend for the Champions League.
If Zlatan Ibrahimovic helps the Parisian club achieve that for the first time, he can finally put to bed once and for all any doubts about his own standing among Europe’s elite.
