Article by Matt Lichtenstadter
What for quite some time seemed inevitable is now reality: Zlatan Ibrahimovic is now in MLS as a member of the LA Galaxy. His outsized personality has endeared one of the best strikers in recent memory to everyone in the world of sport, and it seemed he was destined for MLS at some point. But at age 36, and after a less than stellar pit stop at Old Trafford, what can he bring to the Galaxy, and he will he avoid what plagued a few other European superstars on their voyages to MLS?
Because of how inevitable this move seemed for almost a year, even after when Ibra went to Manchester United, it was going to happen at some point. But just as it seemed MLS was moving away from its old “retirement league” stereotype, in comes another superstar seemingly past his sell-by date, even if that superstar is a bit different than all the rest.
No doubt, everyone wants him to be more Drogba and Villa than Gerrard, Lampard and Pirlo. And as he’ll be signing using TAM instead of occupying a DP slot, it’s quite possible the expectations won’t be as high, at least since all those names and many others were DP’s. But unlike those players, Zlatan comes in with major injury concerns. His devastating knee injury, plus his December set back seems to indicate that there might not be much if at all left in that massive tank. It’s certainly seems that this signing is more of a risk for the Galaxy than Zlatan himself, whose legacy is secure even if this trip to Hollywood ends up being considered nothing more than a working vacation.
Zlatan’s personality and aura supersedes almost everything else that may come along with him, which includes his recovery from blowing out his knee and his tendency to be difficult on teammates, which may become a problem even in MLS, because Perry Kitchen isn’t exactly Paul Pogba, and Gio Dos Santos isn’t quite Alexis Sanchez. Will he grow frustrated once the initial high of Zlatan in Hollywood wares out its welcome? Will he openly show the motivation he needs to not just prove he still has something left, but that he can overcome a reputation that Euro stars coming to MLS are still dogged with, despite the Drogba and Villa success stories?
For Zlatan to be successful, and his Galaxy team to be successful with him, he needs to embrace the spotlight, but not in a dominant way. He can be the focal point, but not the be-all end-all of a team that is still littered with stars, though not as luminous as Ibra is. He needs to embrace the challenge of fitting into MLS, but not having MLS fit him. Villa and Drogba did that brilliantly, but it’s an open question to see whether Ibra can do that. If any club can help him do that, it’s the LA Galaxy, but it’s quite possible that even as Ibra is the last of a dying breed of stars, the sands have already shifted so much in the league that the target has moved along with it.
What would be a proper measure of success from Ibra? 7-10 goals and lead the Galaxy to a playoff spot? Or more? Sigi Schmid’s offseason makeover took the Galaxy back to a more usual form, but adding Zlatan adds expectations. This isn’t exactly PSG Zlatan, or even Barca Zlatan, but with that name comes expectations not just for the player, but for the club. The entire relationship requires balance to be successful, and MLS teams have the recent blueprint to pull it off.
But even as this signing seemed so inevitable, it still comes laden with risks for player, club and league. And it’s incumbent on all of them to work even harder to ensure this story has a Hollywood happy ending, for one of the most gregarious and prodigious strikers of his time, for a club that desperately needs to find where it is in MLS again, and for a league that seemingly moved beyond this type of signing.
That’s a lot to ask of a 36-year-old striker coming off major knee surgery. But if anyone can knit all of this together to smash expectations by smashing in goals, it may well be Zlatan.
