Zlatan Ibrahimovic does exactly what you can’t do in football!

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always had a flair for the dramatic. He’s a footballer and a person who doesn’t believe in doing anything by halves. Not only will you see the Swedish forward scoring amazing bicycle kicks, he also has the ability to find the back of the net from 30 yards out! The player can be seen consistently referring to himself in third person! What more, he’s even compared himself multiple times to King Kong, Benjamin Button and Jesus Christ! English are a big fan of his game, and so do millions of football fans in many countries.

So no one was surprised when Ibrahomovic started his LA Galaxy stint with two amazing goals. That match against LAFC was transformed into just a one-man affair, including a long-range thunderbolt which tied the match and then the winner in the stoppage time.

However, he’s been in plenty of controversies of late, the most latest ones being his betting deal and him slapping Michael Petrasso of the Montréal Impact.

Slapping the opponent!

Ibrahimovic was red carded during the first half of LA Galaxy’s match in Montréal after Michael Petrasso had apparently stepped on his foot, making him slap him back (on the neck) in impulse.

Although Galaxy surprisingly went on to win the match, Ibrahimovic’s act ruled him out from the second half of that game, and he was also not allowed to play the ‘Cali Clasico’ match at StubHub Center, against San Jose.

Well that’s Zlatan for anyone who doesn’t know him. It’s something that comes with such personalities, and he has as big a personality as any player in the history of the sport. When things are going good for him, he can take them to an altogether new high, but whenever going isn’t easy, it can get very unpleasant with him, and that too quickly.

A lot has changed in MLS

Considering the fact that the shorthanded LA Galaxy managed to take 3 points in Quebec must have given their coach Sigi Schmid some encouragement, but it highlighted a hidden flaw and ability of the club: that sometimes it plays excellent soccer without the big names in action.

Getting together as much individual talent as one can, without giving a thought to how players might fit in together, isn’t anything new. And Schmid belongs to a similar mould. He is of the opinion that you can never have too many top-rated players in the side.

Whether such strategy pays dividends in the modern era of MLS is something that is questionable. A lot has changed over the past 3 to 4 years. Major League Soccer is no longer a league that LA Galaxy had won 3 times from 2011 to 2014. The teams at the top of the table today – Atlanta, Columbus, the New Yorks, LAFC and Kansas City have all defined their identities and have their own preferred playing styles.

Things don’t look good

LA Galaxy had missed play-offs last season, a first since 2008, and Zlatan was introduced as their only hope to bring them back in contention. The club really had no choice but to go for the high-risk, high reward player.

His immature behaviour in Montréal isn’t the first of his career. He has a reputation of being a lovable rogue. The good vibes he sent out through his amazing performance against LAFC lasted for a very little time. Even if we factor Galaxy’s Montréal win, they’re still sitting outside in the postseason places. Ibrahimovic had publicly lashed out at his Galaxy teammates after the team lost 2-3 in Houston early May.

A person whose entire persona is about always winning, a defeat would obviously be frustrating. And this frustration might take altogether new proportions with time.