Agencies
Nice, June 23: At Nice, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have probably wanted his international career in the yellow colours of Sweden to end in a nice and befitting manner. But it didn’t happen, as Belgium defeated the Swedes 1-0 in Group E to put the latter out of Euro 2016, here Wednesday. And the tall Ibrahimovic went out of international football without a whimper.
It was the same man who had famously boasted before the 2014 World Cup that without ‘Ibrahimovic, the World Cup is incomplete’. Much was expected of him in France. But Ibrahimovic disappointed – failing to score in all the three games he played, more so on a day when Sweden desperately needed a win to stay in the competition.
In the first half by his own terms Ibrahimovic ‘was lacklustre’. He became proactive in the second session… had a goal turned down as he was in an off-side position and constantly switched positions to try and get that elusive goal which would have made him after Cristiano Ronaldo, the only other footballer to score in four successive Euro competitions. But then the football Gods had decided otherwise. Ibra bid his final adieu to the hordes of Swedish fans with nothing to show for in his kitty. Not at all a fairytale ending as many had wanted it to be.
There must have been many moist eyes in the stadium as after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, Sweden’s talismanic skipper cut a forlorn figure. He walked slowly towards the yellow section of the stands clapping at the fans for their support. An era in Swedish football had ended.
For the records, Belgium got the winning goal through Radja Nainggolan, but then the night was not about him. It was about Ibra.
