BEVERLY HILLS, February 07, (THEWILL) – Swedish veteran star of AC Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was patient for the time it took to reach this milestone but he was confident that it was just a matter of time to go from 499 to 500. When it finally came, he went one better, scoring his 500th career club goal for Milan against Crotone on Sunday with one extra for the fun of it.
The ageless 39-year-old had clocked 499 goals on Tuesday with the opening goal against city rivals Inter in the Coppa Italia, but his unfortunate altercation with Inter forward Romelu Lukaku and a second yellow card got him sent off in their 2-1 defeat.
The Swede almost netted the milestone goal last weekend in the first half of Milan’s tie against Bologna. But, he missed a 26th-minute penalty, from which Ante Rebic scored the rebound to spare Milan’s blushes.
There was no denying him on Sunday as his moment came at San Siro when he played a one-two with Rafael Leao to make it a beauty of a goal worthy of the moment and the wait.
The former Swedish international marksman fed teammate Leao on the edge of the box, who read Ibrahimovic’s movement perfectly, to slot an excellent return ball behind the Crotone defence for his veteran strike partner to drive into the far right corner. With that fluidity, Ibrahimovic secured another milestone for one of the greatest goalscorers in modern football.
The man of the moment for Milan is not only in a good vein of form, he is also enjoying a fine second spell with Milan. At the very ripe age of 39, Ibrahimovic’s goals have fired Stefano Pioli’s side back into title contention for a very realistic shot at the Scudetto this season.
The Rossoneri have not won the Scudetto since 2011 – in Ibrahimovic’s first stint at the club – and are without any silverware since the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana.
His first on Sunday made it 14 goals in all competitions from 10 starts and brief substitute appearances this term for Ibrahimovic, including 13 in the league, swelling his Milan haul to 82 in all.
Playing 122 times for Milan is his most for any Italian club, when his playing for big names like Juventus and Inter are taken into consideration. As with his penchant for victory, the brace he netted on Sunday was his 71st victory in the side.
The history of Italian football will be incomplete without the chapter on Ibrahimovic and his contribution to the entertainment quality of the League in the 21st century. Yet, the veteran has proven his worth worldwide between his Serie A roles at the highest levels.
In fact, the highest tally of the 501 goals in his name were recorded in the French City of Lights, Paris, while he was the front man at Paris Saint-Germain. The prolific goal poacher scored 156 times in just 180 games.
His Inter tally of 66 pales in comparison and ranks third on the list after his Milan haul coming in at second place after PSG. His goals in the United States of America with LA Galaxy are next after he scored a remarkable 52 goals in only 58 games in the Major League Soccer (MLS).
The globetrotter that he is, Ibrahimovic can boast of 48 goals for Ajax in Netherlands’s Eredivisie, 29 for Manchester United in England’s English Premier League, 22 for Barcelona in La Liga, and 18 for Malmö in the Allsvenskan.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
