Serious business starts now for Ibrahimović
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
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He may be newly installed as Paris Saint-Germain's record scorer in Europe, but, as Chris Burke explains, it is in the knockout phase that the club need Zlatan Ibrahimović to shine.
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For 86 minutes, it seemed the moment would not come. Then, one Lucas through ball and a composed finish later, it was official – Zlatan Ibrahimović had broken another record with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French club's charismatic talisman has made a habit of creating history at the Parc des Princes this season, having surpassed Pauleta as Paris's all-time leading scorer in October before setting a new goals benchmark for the side in Ligue 1 at the weekend.
The ink was barely dry on that latter record when he capped Tuesday's 2-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk with his 17th strike for Les Parisiens in Europe – one more than former Ballon d'Or winner George Weah.
These are the kinds of feats Paris's Qatari owners were hoping for when they lured the Swedish forward from AC Milan amid such fanfare in 2012. Still, Ibrahimović nearly had to wait until 2016 to lay down this particular landmark.
After all, Shakhtar were never going to hand it to him on a plate, though they almost did precisely that when goalkeeper Anton Kanibolotskiy passed the ball straight to Ibrahimović on nine minutes.
That chance ended up being chipped back over the crossbar, and the Paris No10 then scuffed a shot wide when sent clear a quarter of an hour from time. With Ibrahimović dropping back regularly into midfield, that felt as if it might be his final opening.
As so often, however, the Malmo native enjoyed the final say, and perhaps just as well. Indeed, it is pertinent to ask how many UEFA Champions League matches he still has with Paris.
Out of contract at the end of the season, the 34-year-old is tipped to leave in the summer, despite stressing last month that his options remain open. "There has been a lot of talk about how this is my last year at Paris Saint-Germain, but only I will decide what will happen," he said. "I have not decided yet."
Whether the club offer an extension is another matter. Ibrahimović will turn 35 next year and Paris officials are eager to bring in a younger player of similar global stature to carry their project forward.
It could prove tricky to make that swoop and retain their current figurehead under financial fair play regulations, and the expectation is that this is his last campaign in the French capital – and quite possibly the UEFA Champions League itself.
Having never won the competition, Ibrahimović will thus be desperate to make his mark in the knockout phase, where he has often toiled in the past. He has managed just seven goals in 36 UEFA Champions League knockout games, and although three of those have come in nine matches since he joined Paris, the teams he found the net against were Valencia and Leverkusen.
His tilts at the sharp end of the tournament have also been hampered by injuries and a pair of red cards during his spell in France, but all that will be forgotten if he can lead Paris to the last four or beyond.
Results, not individual records, are what stir supporters most and endure longest in the memory. And after quarter-final finishes in the last three seasons, the fans are now itching for the breakthrough of a first semi appearance since 1994/95 – when a certain Mr Weah was wreaking havoc up front.