"Powerhouse" statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic unveiled in his hometown

Record ID: 1435616

  • Title: "Powerhouse" statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic unveiled in his hometown
  • Date: 8th October 2019
  • Summary: MALMO, SWEDEN (OCTOBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** STATUE OF STRIKER, ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, BEING UNVEILED (AUDIO OF PEOPLE CHEERING) / HEAD OF STATUE UNVEILING CEREMONY IN PROGRESS WITH ZLATAN ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Swedish) ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, SAYING: "It feels unreal. All I can say is that I don't look like that today, now I've shrunk a bit but in those days I was a powerhouse." PEOPLE SURROUNDING STATUE VARIOUS OF STATUE'S HEAD FINGER POINTING STATUE IBRAHIMOVIC ENTERING ROOM FOR NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES / PEOPLE ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, SAYING: "With this statue it will be a symbol for all the people out there who don't feel welcome, who don't feel like they fit in, who don't feel like they look like everybody else - that it is possible and I'm living proof of that because if I can do it, everybody can do it." MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, SAYING:: "I normally say I eat Sweden for breakfast, I eat Europe for lunch and I took the world by dinner so that is how I describe the statue but anyway, if you, if all the people out there feel like they need the energy they just have to come to the statue and they will get that energy and they will feel that vibration that anything is possible." VARIOUS OF STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) STRIKER, ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, SAYING: "Amazing job has been done and it's back to my town Malmo where everything started - it actually started out here when I was running, kicking this ball and now I get a statue where all the other people can see me, see me stay there forever. I don't know how long I will live but I know one thing - the statue will stay forever so once again I can stand here and speak for days, but thank you everybody and I hope you enjoy the moment with me." UNVEILING CEREMONY IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF STATUE
  • Embargoed: 22nd October 2019 17:43
  • Keywords: Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue Sweden Los Angeles Galaxy Malmo
  • Location: MALMO, SWEDEN
  • City: MALMO, SWEDEN
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B08NHHB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A big bronze statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic - a symbol of "everything is possible" - was unveiled outside Malmo Arena in the striker's hometown of Malmo on Tuesday (October 8).
    The 38-year-old former Sweden striker attended the unveiling of the 2.7 metre tall and 500 kilo heavy statue that is situated in a square in-between the old and new stadiums, the home arena of Ibrahimovic's boyhood club Malmo FF.
    Sculptor Peter Linde was given the commission by the Swedish Football Association who donated the sculpture to the city.
    It was with Malmo that Ibrahimovic made his breakthrough as a precociously gifted teenager, scoring 16 times in 40 appearances for the club before leaving to join Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam.
    That departure signalled the beginning of a glittering career that saw him win league titles with Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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