Zlatan Ibrahimovic Can Cement Legendary Status by Firing PSG to European Glory

When it comes to domestic football, there are few players in the history of the game who have done it better than Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

During his distinguished career, the popular Swede has won 11 league titles in four different countries, and yet, he was only named second in the Scandinavians’ greatest-ever sportsmen list recently, losing out to retired tennis icon Bjorn Borg. 

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In somewhat patented fashion, the forward was far from impressed with the result, per Marcus Christenson of The Guardian, claiming that “to finish second is like finishing last” and that he should have been “No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 on that list, with due respect to others.”

Here’s a look at why many would agree with Zlatan’s assessment:

But the truth is that Borg—who won 11 Grand Slam tennis titles, including five at Wimbledon—reached the absolute pinnacle of his sport on myriad occasions. Ibrahimovic, for all his flair, talent and brash arrogance, has yet to accomplish a feat of comparable distinction even once.

Indeed, football writer Musa Okwonga thinks the tennis star is a worthy winner of the accolade:

We’re talking, of course, about the Champions League. It’s a trophy that has eluded Ibrahimovic throughout his career to date, despite playing for clubs of the magnitude of Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, AC Milan and Barcelona.

But it’s still not beyond him, and it's something that the burly striker will surely be looking to accomplish with Paris Saint-Germain in 2015.

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In terms of team honours, the European Cup would complete the box set for the 33-year-old.

And while the French champions have failed to perform to their best level in the league this season, they have the players capable of pushing them a long way in the Champions League—if Zlatan performs to his very best, maybe even all the way to the final.

First of all, they will have to get past the round of 16 games, though. The Parisians will face Chelsea in that stage, and as noted by Bleacher Report's French football expert, Jonathan Johnson, there are few more difficult teams to go up against at this juncture:

But it’s these kinds of ties in which supporters want their talisman to stand up, and one of the few criticisms levied toward Ibrahimovic during his glittering career is his tendency to go missing in big games.

That criticism is given some clout when you consider in his whole career the forward has only netted a meagre seven goals in Champions League knockout matches, per Peter Staunton of Goal.com. For a player of his class, that is simply not enough.

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If the French champions are to overcome the Premier League leaders, then you suspect this is a statistic that will have to change when the two sides meet for the second time in two seasons. Laurent Blanc’s team will be looking to their No. 10 to set the precedent in what'll be a heavyweight encounter and help his side gather some vital momentum.

Earlier in the season, Johnson looked at whether Ibrahimovic deserves a spot among the pantheon of great footballers with Bleacher Report's Matteo Bonetti:

Indeed, Italian football writer George Rinaldi would dispute Zlatan's place among the very best in the game's history:

The talent is there to cement this status, though, even at this relatively late stage of his career. When you cast an eye over this PSG team—while it is far from the strongest squad in the tournament—lesser groups have been carried to glory on the shoulders of inspired performances from players inferior to Ibrahimovic.

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Not winning the Champions League will not suddenly render Ibrahimovic an average player. He’s one of the most unique talents of his generation and a footballer who will be revered for decades.

But he clearly considers himself as one of the all-time greats and obviously has eyes for being exactly that when reading the aforementioned quotes.

In short, he’s not quite there yet, and with the twilight of his career fast approaching, it’s vital he makes his imprint on Europe’s elite competition in the near future.

If he does that and goes on to lift the Champions League trophy, perhaps he will have a much better case for being considered as his nation's finest-ever sportsman.

Until then, like it or otherwise, Borg reigns supreme in those stakes.