But it wasn’t just Zlatan who was excited. The night before the match, the city’s tallest building had a giant, neon blue Z at the top of it and a local sponsor put up posters of Zlatan to welcome him home.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic began his career with his hometown club, Malmo FF. He left the club 14 years ago, but now, for the first time, he will return as the opposition when PSG face them in the Champions League next week.
In the short film above, which was produced by Malmo, Zlatan explains what the club, the city, and this opportunity means to him. The genuine passion, joy, and excitement makes it a great watch.
In the video, he also reiterates his plan to show the match in the city’s main square so everyone can watch it together and for free. It’s just fun to see a player so emotionally invested in a specific match.
Isco suffered a nasty gash on his head during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win against PSG on Tuesday, requiring him to get his head stapled before returning to the match. The club have now released video of the stapling and it does not seem like a pleasant experience…
UEFA has reached a new level of self-parody by launching disciplinary proceedings against Manchester City after their fans booed the Champions League anthem before Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Sevilla.
Chelsea had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev in part because Cesc Fabregas had a penalty shout ignored by the referee. This was just one more frustration for an already frustrated club, but it did provide Jose Mourinho with a chance to try and prove his recent point about Arsene Wenger getting away with things that he doesn’t.
Despite having more money than the Queen, David Beckham is still doing the usual retired footballer things like attending store openings in Dubai. During this appearance, Beckham was asked who he thinks will win the Champions League this year.
“Who do I want to win is a different story to who I think is gonna win, well maybe it’s not actually,” he began. “I’m gonna have to say Man United, PSG, AC Milan. One of those three I’d like to see win, but when you’re in the Champions League you realize how important this competition is in football and it’s one of the best competitions to actually play in and definitely to win.”
The problem, of course, is that Milan didn’t qualify for the Champions League this year since they finished 10th in Serie A last season. Now, a recently retired player not paying super close attention to the game is understandable given how painful Beckham has admitted it is to no longer be out there himself. But if you’re going to just name the clubs you used to play for, why leave out Real Madrid?! Or maybe have some fun with it and say the LA Galaxy. Or just say “I don’t give a crap about the Champions League, I have more money than the Queen.”
Arsene Wenger has taken his longstanding insistence that finishing fourth is like winning a trophy to a new level by losing each of Arsenal’s first two Champions League group stage matches of the season, putting them last in Group F.
A photo posted by IAmZlatan (@iamzlatanibrahimovic) on
We know that Zlatan is a vengeful god, but he is benevolent too. When PSG drew Malmö, his first club and hometown team, he said it was a “dream.”
“Too bad that all of Malmö won’t fit in the stadium,” he added after the draw three weeks ago. Well, he’s done his best to make alternate accommodations.
On his social media accounts, Zlatan announced that he has booked the Main Square in Malmö on November 25 when PSG visit for the two clubs’ second Champions League meeting (PSG won 2-0 in Paris already). The match will be shown for everyone who can’t fit in the stadium, so there will be no excuse for anyone to miss Zlatan’s triumphant return.
Zlatan also promised more surprises for the day, which probably means that there will be Pep Guardiola piñatas filled with bottles of Zlatan’s new cologne strung up around town.
Down 1-0 to Barcelona at home in the Champions League, Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi (who you might remember from the time he celebrated a goal by hugging his grandmother) saw space between Marc-Andre ter Stegen and the goal, so he decided to let rip with a shot from a rather insane distance and angle that floated into the net to equalize in the 31st minute.
Early in the first half of Manchester United’s Champions League group-stage opener at PSV, Luke Shaw suffered a sickening leg injury (later confirmed to be a double fracture) resulting from a dangerous challenge by Hector Moreno.
