Why Zlatan Ibrahimovic Must Be Lauded as PSG's Greatest Centre-Forward
Prior to the recent international break, Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired Paris Saint-Germain to a flattering 2-1 win over bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille in Le Classique with a pair of penalties.
It was not the prettiest way for Laurent Blanc’s men to beat their most loathed enemies, but it was effective. In scoring both goals against OM, Ibrahimovic broke two significant PSG records.
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With his first goal from the spot, the Sweden international levelled capital club legend Pauleta’s all-time competitive scoring record of 109 goals across all competitions.
That same penalty made the talismanic striker the all-time top scorer in the fixture with seven goals, moving him ahead of the Portuguese striker's six.
Zlatan’s second penalty, his 110th PSG goal, set a new all-time club tally and moved him up to eight goals against Marseille.
Admittedly, Ibrahimovic could have broken those two records in greater style than with just two penalties. However, there can be no disputing that the 34-year-old deserves to hold these two records for Les Parisiens.
Since arriving in the summer of 2012, the Scandinavian superstar has been breaking records and enjoying plenty of accolades—both individual and collective.
In his debut season, Zlatan plundered 30 goals in Ligue 1 alone—the first time that had been done since the 1989-90 season, in which Marseille’s Jean-Pierre Papin managed the feat.
The Swede went close with 26 goals in Le Championnat the following season, before Alexandre Lacazette of Olympique Lyonnais went one better last term.
Ibrahimovic’s 2013-14 season, which finished with 41 goals across all competitions, is the most prolific campaign for one player in PSG history.
On top of all of that, Zlatan has racked up three Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de la Ligue crowns, one Coupe de France and three Trophee des Champions titles—not to mention a handful of Ligue 1 Player of the Year and Team of the Year awards, as well as a few UEFA Team of the Year nods.
After his impressive debut season, it was not a question of if the towering striker was going to break Pauleta’s record tally, just when.
What makes Ibrahimovic’s achievement all the more impressive, though, is the fact that he has needed little over half the time it took the Portuguese to score all of those goals.
At Parc des Princes between 2003 and 2008, Pauleta made 211 appearances before he reached his 109-goal total. The player known as the Eagle of the Azores averaged a goal for PSG every other game.
Thanks largely to Les Parisiens’ stronger team and subsequent greater success now than when Pauleta was playing, Zlatan needed just 129 games to usurp the former Portugal international and averages 0.85 goals per match at present.
Ibrahimovic has been more than just a goalscorer for PSG, though. The superstar has been as entertaining on the pitch as he has off it, and prior to his 2012 arrival, it had been a long time since the Parc des Princes turf had been graced by a player as gifted as the former AC Milan man.
Although perhaps not as enthralling as Ronaldinho was at his very best, or fellow Brazilian and PSG legend Rai, Zlatan’s time so far with the French giants has still been extremely fun to watch.
Ibrahimovic has scored all sorts of goals—many of them sublime—and has done so with an insatiable appetite.
However, an understated part of the PSG No. 10’s game has always been his ability to create goals for his team-mates as well, something that he has done regularly during his time in Paris.
Despite Zlatan’s dominance with the Ligue 1 champions, he does have competition for the title of being the club’s greatest centre-forward.
Pauleta deserves consideration because of the largely poor PSG teams he represented during his team in the capital.
However, the Portuguese’s legend is about more than just what he did on the pitch, and Ibrahimovic has done things of which Pauleta was incapable.
The celebrated former PSG No. 9 even admitted so himself in a classy recent letter to Zlatan that was published by France Football (h/t Omnisport and via Yahoo) when the latter was on the verge of usurping the former’s all-time goals record.
Carlos Bianchi, another famous figure in the capital club’s history, is perhaps Ibrahimovic’s most serious competitor for the title—at least in terms of his efficiency in front of goal.
The former Argentina international, who made a name for himself in France with Stade de Reims, PSG and Racing Club de Strasbourg, enjoyed a highly prolific spell in Paris between 1977-79.
In just 80 games, Bianchi scored 71 goals and boasted an impressive average of a goal every 0.89 games. Further, in his debut 1977-78 season, the South American netted 37 Ligue 1 goals.
The total still stands as Les Parisiens’ most prolific campaign in Le Championnat by any player. During that term, Bianchi was scoring at an incredible rate of every 0.97 games.
Ibrahimovic has come closest to breaking Bianchi’s 37-goal haul with 30 in his debut 2012-13 season, but the 41 he managed across all competitions back in 2013-14 is impressive enough.
The Argentinian did not hang around for long enough to break the 100-mark in terms of goals or appearances, though, and was later passed by PSG luminaries such as Dominique Rocheteau, Mustapha Dahleb, Francois M’Pele, Safet Susic and Rai.
PSG have boasted a number of extremely talented players in the past, and the capital club has enjoyed a lot of success domestically and in Europe.
However, never has such a period in the team’s history been as golden as it is at present—in terms of the sheer volume of trophies won by the French giants—and the reality is that Ibrahimovic has been a key figure it that immense recent success.
PSG’s domestic clean sweep last season was the first time in the history of French football that any team has managed to win all domestic trophies in the same campaign.
Not even the great Lyon sides of the early 2000s were able to do it, and Zlatan has had a strong influence in his team's accomplishments.
Considering what he has already achieved with PSG and what he could still go on to accomplish in Paris, Ibrahimovic deserves to be recognised as the French giants' greatest centre-forward.
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