Swedish-born Los Angeles Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has netted the landmark 500th goal of his professional career in a match between the Major League Soccer (MLS) and “Toronto,“ which is shown in an official tournament video posted on YouTube and which was shortly shared all around social networks.
At the end of the first time, with Toronto having scored three times against their rival, Ibrahimovic, while standing with his back to Toronto’s goalpost, reacted in a split second to a pass into the penalty zone and outperformed the goalkeeper with a toe kick upon spinning around. The caption to the video has it that the Swedish star reportedly performed a taekwondo kick. The match ended 5-3, with Toronto gritting out the victory with two more goals in the second half of the game.
"Obviously it's not good to lose… but I'm happy for Toronto because they'll be remembered as my 500th victim," Ibrahimovic told TSN after the game.
The video and Zlatan’s comment in particular became a central topic for discussion in the Twitter sport community, with many laughing it off and most certainly, heaping praise on their football cult figure, Ibrahimovic:
“I love Zlatan,” one said, with another one adding: “Lions don't compare themselves to human.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic hits his 500th career goal milestone in the most incredible fashion.
— BetBiga (@BetBiga) 16 сентября 2018 г.
Lions don't compare themselves to human.#PlayBiga #BetBiga pic.twitter.com/Omp2Bvdem9
Ibrahimovic scored his 500th career goal yesterday. This finish is absolutely disgusting. I miss this man, what a legend. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3XNrwsZ0xY
— Red Devil Bible (@RedDevilBible) 16 сентября 2018 г.
The scoring style has been dubbed a wealth of different names, with some bringing in “the game aesthetics,” while others have called it “Ibrahimovic’s emphatic style,” and even “version karate:”
The power of ibrahimovic! 😨👏👍
— Aris 24 (@Aris0049) 16 сентября 2018 г.
Version karate pic.twitter.com/BmJE2acc7U
Only Ibrahimovic can score his 500 goal THIS WAY!#LAGalaxy pic.twitter.com/r4J3Wywaov
— Football Goals (@FootbaIIGoaIs) 16 сентября 2018 г.
One user even recalled an acrid exchange between Ibrahimovic and Bradley, saying the former’s sharp-fanged words are perfectly justified:
Ibrahimovic on his argument with Michael Bradley:
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) 16 сентября 2018 г.
"He thinks he’s a philosopher of football. I have more goals than he has [played] games, so he should follow my rules."
Well, that's fair enough. pic.twitter.com/hY9ZjglEUF
Ibrahimovic: “I am happy for Toronto because they will be remembered as my 500th victim.”
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) 16 сентября 2018 г.
I love Zlatan 🤣😂 #mufc pic.twitter.com/MtQn7l1Kl8
Ibrahimovic has more than once been praised for his exotic striking, which many believe to be borrowed from Korean taekwondo techniques, but the forward has stated he has never done Asian martial arts.
The 36-year-old left Manchester United to join Galaxy at the kick-off of the 2018 season and now has 17 goals in 22 appearances for LA.
Over his remarkable club career, he has also scored for Paris Saint-Germain (156 goals), Inter Milan (66), AC Milan (56), Ajax (48), Manchester United (29), Juventus (26), Barcelona (22) and Malmo (18), along with an additional 62 netted goals for the Swedish national squad.
