It has now been a year since Zlatan Ibrahimovic graced our shores by signing with the LA Galaxy, and my oh my, what a wild ride of a year it’s been.
To celebrate his first anniversary as a Major League Soccer superstar, we’ve put together a list of the most memorable Zlatan moments so far.
Some of them took place on the field of play, some of them took place in media interviews and some of them took place in American pop culture. Put them all together and consider yourself Zlatan-ed.
No. 10: Zlatan can floss
One of the biggest viral dance moves in recent years is “the floss,” which exploded onto the scene after a Georgia teen known as “The Backpack Kid” busted it out during a Katy Perry musical performance on Saturday Night Live. It then became a Fortnite sensation and has popped up all over the entertainment world since.
During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden last October, the host asked Zlatan if he could floss. And as you might expect, the striker did not disappoint.
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No. 9: He’s baaaaack
For a time during the offseason, it was unclear whether or not Ibrahimovic would return to the City of Angels for a second season. The club eventually made sure he would be back, bumping his contract from a Targeted Allocation Money deal up to the Designated Player level.
After the news broke, Zlatan made it known (as only he could) that his motivation for staying with the Galaxy was the “unfinished business” remaining after his first MLS campaign ended without a playoff berth. Soon after that, he also declared his intention to “break every record in MLS” at the team’s new jersey unveiling.
No. 8: Saying hello to the Cali Clasico
It was sort of lost in the wake of his larger-than-life El Trafico debut, but Ibrahimovic also enjoyed quite the coming-out party against the Galaxy’s longstanding in-state rivals San Jose. In fact, he needed all of one minute at Stanford Stadium last June to boldly announce his participation in an intense series that spans 84 meetings all the way back to the league’s inaugural season.
Zlatan patiently waited in the right channel as the two teams played a little aerial pinball with a long David Bingham boot. Chris Pontius had the final say in that, knocking down a header that traveled into the path of his vaunted teammate, who took the bouncing ball in stride to smash home an unstoppable drive on the half-volley.
He wasn’t done, though. After Chris Wondolowski had leveled from the spot, Romain Alessandrini restored the visitors’ lead with a free kick. Five minutes later, Zlatan put them up two with his own restart goal, a seeing-eye grass-cutter from about 35 yards out. The Earthquakes would rally to earn a 3-3 share, but not before the the LA’s newest “galactico” made his properly rude derby acquaintance.
No. 7: Zlatan makes Jimmy Kimmel a star
By now, it’s become quite routine for Zlatan to turn up as a guest on one of America’s late-night talk shows. That ball started rolling when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! a few weeks after making his league debut splash.
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Ibrahimovic discussed everything from visions of scoring in his first Galaxy game, how he’s not your typical Swede and why it’s really his own fault that he can’t walk down the street without being mobbed, all to the squealing delight of the studio audience.
No. 6: A Loon-y promise kept debt
Though he’d only played one road match on artificial turf prior to the Galaxy’s October tilt at Minnesota United, Ibrahimovic made a pledge ahead of the final Loons game at TCF Bank Stadium. Not only would he play, but the away No. 9 shirt vowed (in his own inimitable manner) to entertain the record crowd of 52,242 that packed the house.
Naturally, Zlatan made good on the promise. He somehow managed to ghost far enough away from both Minnesota center backs to bury the ice-breaking header with his feet planted firmly on the ground. While that goal was pure function, his turn-and-lob assist on the Alessandrini volley that put the guests up three was pure beauty.
It wasn’t just a show for show’s sake, either. The 3-1 victory temporarily (alas) put the Galaxy in the driver’s seat for the final playoff spot in the West. They would of course go on to blow it on Decision Day presented by AT&T, but at the time it was a huge win.
No. 5: Surprise!
Ibrahimovic made numerous national-television appearances during his first MLS season, but he saved the most heartwarming guest spot for the show with the biggest audience.
Last summer, the entire world cheered when a Thai youth soccer team was finally rescued after becoming trapped in a flooded cave for 17 days. In October, Ellen DeGeneres welcomed the boys and their coach onto her wildly popular daytime talk program.
No more than a few seconds after the kids confirmed that their biggest soccer hero was Zlatan, the man himself popped out from behind the curtain to surprise them with high fives, kind words, a table full of Galaxy gear and VIP tickets to a match.
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He also helped host the starstruck youngsters at a team training session that ended with the boys joining in for a scrimmage and penalty shootout. We’ve never seen Ibra so humbled, and probably have never seen him smile and laugh so freely. Heart of a lion, indeed.
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No. 4: Hat-trick hero
There certainly were more jaw-dropping goals and more timely exploits during his debut MLS season, but no match was more thoroughly hijacked by Ibrahimovic than the Galaxy’s late-July home tilt against Orlando City.
Three times the Lions grabbed the lead, and three times Zlatan led LA back to level before he finally decided the contest by completing his first MLS hat trick.
Six minutes before intermission, Ibrahimovic knocked down a cutback for Giovani dos Santos to bag the first equalizer. Two minutes after halftime, Zlatan rose highest to nod home a cross from the Mexico international for the second leveler. His lunging header from a pinpoint Ola Kamara serve knotted the game for the third time, and just four minutes later, he chested down a weak clearance to lash the winner.
No. 3: “Dear Los Angeles, you’re welcome.”
This entry will be as simple, short and sweet as the gigantic newspaper ad that inspired it. In his first unforgettable act as a member of the Galaxy, Zlatan took out a full page in the Los Angeles Times to effectively accept thanks in advance from the club’s fans. Well played, sir — not unlike so many of your games that followed.
No. 2: Ibra 500
Did you know that Ibrahimovic earned his taekwondo black belt at the tender age of 17? If anyone needed proof that he had kept up his martial skills, the star forward filed Exhibit A in the form of his 500th career goal for club and country.
In an otherwise lamentable 5-3 September loss at Toronto FC, Zlatan hit the amazing milestone as only he could. With the visitors down three shortly before the break, he executed a stunning, spinning reverse roundhouse kick into the short side to start them on a rally that would see them temporarily pull level.
The Reds would still win the game late, but years from now few will remember that.
No. 1: LAFC gets “Zlatan-ed”
FOX color man Stuart Holden hit the nail on the head with his call of the MLS Goal of the Year, also known as Ibrahimovic’s first strike in a Galaxy jersey. And he wasn’t done yet… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
To set the scene properly, one would need to note that the game was nothing other than the first city derby between the Galaxy and new kids on the Angelino block LAFC. The visitors raced out to a 3-0 lead, causing glum faces in white shirts on the bench and in the stands.
However, the Galaxy pulled one back near the hour before bringing on Ibrahimovic — who had only been in town for 36 hours and hadn’t played a competitive match in three months due to a knee injury — in the 71st minute. A mere moment later, Pontius made it 3-2, setting the stage for the wildest heroics of the season.
With 13 minutes to play, Zlatan ran onto a bouncing ball more than 40 yards from goal and promptly one-timed over a wandering Tyler Miller to even the match in supreme style.
Not content with his Thor hammer-of-the-gods impression, Ibrahimovic then stole the points in stoppage time. He shrewdly peeled away from a ball over the top to avoid an offside flag, instead making a bee line for the box so he could kiss home Ashley Cole’s inch-perfect cross in between three LAFC challengers to send Dignity Health Sports Park into utter hysterics.
After the game, the man in Hollywood’s glaring spotlight summed up the day with his usual succinct panache. “I heard the crowd saying ‘We want Zlatan, we want Zlatan’,” he told reporters matter-of-factly. “So I gave them Zlatan.”
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