Sad ending to a heroic career: Sweden will struggle to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Sport can appear to be a remorseless executioner, too occupied with the passing moment to worry about its import or the reputation of its many illustrious subjects. As Zlatan Ibrahimovic waved and clapped at his golden army of supporters inside the Stade de Nice, Sweden was witnessing the end of an era. It was a sad ending to a heroic career, but Zlatan’s team has been flat as a flitter in Euro 2016 and a defeat to Belgium was hardly a surprise. The irony of the moment though was hard to miss. France adopted Ibrahimovic like their own, for his exploits with Paris Saint-Germain. The Swedish great could not have hoped for a better setting for his final hurrah than the spectacular Stade de Nice. But an unceremonious bottom of the table exit from Euro 2016 symbolized the tragic international career of this brilliant striker. Clearly his time was up. In his fourth European Championship for Sweden, Ibrahimovic struggled to follow through on his heroics against Denmark that brought his team into the competition in the first place. [caption id=“attachment_2852804” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the end of his final international match against Belgium. AP[/caption] Ibrahimovic could have joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only men to score across four different European Championships. His lone strike last night was disallowed, leaving him with the six goals that he scored in the past three editions. He was a towering influence on a team filled with average football players. It was his ability to play an impactful role in front that helped Sweden compete in two World Cups besides the four European Championships. Some of the 62 goals he scored for Sweden in 116 appearances came at critical junctures to help his team tide over existential challenges. No one will grudge him the fact that Sweden would not have made the international cut in recent years but for Ibrahimovic’s influential effect on games. The back-heeled beauty he delivered against Italy in Euro 2004 remains his crowning moment of glory. It was an immortal goal that encapsulated the brilliance of this virile footballer, leaving the world to gape and admire in perpetuity. An orgasmic four-goal spurt against England in a friendly ahead of the World Cup in 2014 underlined his influence on Swedish success. He could be irresistible when he wanted to, but his temperament meant he was constantly swinging between hot and cold. “I’m very proud of my career,” Ibrahimovic said, ahead of what turned out to be his final international game for Sweden. “I’m just a boy from a small little part of Malmo and I got to represent my country. I was able to captain my country.” “I’m proud of what I have achieved,” added the 34-year-old, “and I will have many beautiful memories of my Sweden career.” Euro 2016 will certainly not make the collection of beautiful memories though. The team struggled to score and the only goal of the tournament came from Irish largesse. Ibrahimovic earned notoriety not just for his brilliant ball handling skills and power, but also for his volatile temperament. That made him as potent with his mouth as he was on the pitch. “Zlatan does not do auditions,” he told Arsene Wenger when the Arsenal manager demanded a trial with the player during his initial years at Malmo. Norwegian footballer John Carew suggested that Ibrahimovic’s skills were pointless. “What Carew does with a football, I can do with an orange,” pouted Zlatan with his characteristic insolence. If rumours count, he might well take his fading talents to the Premier League before eventually drawing curtains with a stint in Major League Soccer. Sweden will struggle to recover from the international departure of one of its foremost footballers. They will have to endure a phase of building around John Guidetti, the 24-year-old will have to bear the burden of responsibility for his national team. Over the years, Sweden has benefited from the exploits of footballers such as Sven Rydell, Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren, Tomas Brolin and Henrik Larsson. But you roll all of them together, with all due respect, and you get a Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Sweden will undeniably miss him in the days to come.