The18 grew deeply excited this morning as it turned to the back pages (read: internet) of The Liverpool Echo and came across the words "Liverpool remain favourites to sign Swedish mega star Zlatan Ibrahimovic". And all for just $16 million.
Kosovare Asllani, a.k.a. "La Belle Zlatan," will face the United Statesin the group stage of the Women's World Cup. We cannot overstate how excited we are that there's a lady Zlatan. The world has needed one. Asllani, like Zlatan, is an outspoken native Eatern European whose parents immigrated to Sweden who now rips it up for PSG and the Swedish National Team. Followers of Zlatan's storied career, both on and off the field, might conclude that one Zlatan is all the world can handle. This is patently false. Two Zlatans are better than one.
Do you have enough Zlatan in your life? No? That's OK, because we're here to help. In fact, we've discovered a website that will make sure you get enough Zlatan. We promise.
Try and contain yourselves, people. The moment we've all been waiting for might finally be upon us. Apparently, on March 19 Zlatan Ibrahimovic was spotted at the US embassy, and according to a Swedish newspaper he was applying for a long-term non-tourist visa.
Zlatan scored a hat trick. Naturally, Zlatan wanted his hat trick ball. There was one obstacle, though: referee Tony Chapron dodn't want to give it to him. First Zlatan asked for the ball when shaking the refs' hands at the enf of the game. Chapron told him he could get it in the tunnel. Once in the tunnel, though, Chapron appeared to change his mind. Zlatan got mad, saying, "Oh, you want to be the boss now. OK. Good. You're the boss, good. For the camera.
This has been one hell of a roller-coaster week for French soccer. First, PSG got through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League in one of the craziest, most exciting matches of the year. Then Christen Press decided to embarrass the countries women’s team with this slaloming run. And now Zlatan Ibrahimovic has called the entire nation of France “s***.”
If you watched the Chelsea - Paris St-Germain game yesterday, you’ll surely remember the red card that sent Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the locker room early for his mis-timed challenge on Oscar. For those that need a quick reminder here it is:
10-man Paris Saint-Germain pulled off the improbable on Wednesday, dumping Chelsea out of the Champions League after a fiery encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Not that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had much to do with it: the Swede with a head bigger than a Zeppelin was dismissed - albeit contentiously - after just 30 minutes. We suspect Zlatan was maybe a little over-eager; a touch too keen to single-handedly drag PSG through to the quarter finals. After all, in his otherwise glittering 15-year career he's yet to climb the top step of Europe's premier domestic competition.
If only all of us could live like the highest paid athletes in the world.
Nowadays, when there's a free-kick, referees spray down a magical substance that marks where the ball must be placed, that then disappears after the kick is taken. Davis Luiz, evidently, does not approve of the use of this spray. When PSG were awarded a kick against Chelsea, Luiz wiped the vanishing spray off the pitch and tried to wipe it back on at a spot he and Zlatan deemed more worthy of the kick. This is one of the more ridiculous (and by ridiculous we mean stupid) gestures of gamesmanship we have seen in a while.