The youth of the “living legend” Ibrahimovic hits theaters in Sweden

Still a virtuoso on the ball despite having already entered quarantine, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will see his image immortalized a little more with the release this Friday in theaters in his native country of a film dedicated to his beginnings.

Several times postponed due to restrictions against covid, the film 'Jag är Zlatan+' (I am Zlatan), presented as a “true story of an 'outsider'”, is based on the autobiography of the same name published in 2011, but focuses on the first 20 years of the AC Milan star in a multicultural neighborhood of the city of Malmö, in the southern Sweden.

“When I read the first chapters of the book I thought about my own childhood,” explained the director, Jens Sjögren.

By portraying the player's youth, the film goes beyond the football qualities of 'Ibra' and its stellar aura with the PSG and Manchester United elastic bands among others.

The brilliant striker, who sometimes talks about himself in the third person, is Sweden's top scorer with 62 goals in more than 115 international matches.

For Sjögren, it is important that the film is placed in a child's point of view.

The public “lives through him what he lives. Thus, if there are things that he does not hear or understand, then we, as spectators, should not understand it either,” says Sjögren.

The film follows in the footsteps of Zlatan from the age of twelve. Then he was going through school difficulties, he was frustrated, he left his mother's home to go live with his father.

Then came his teenage years and his first years as a professional footballer who struggles to integrate, first in the Swedish Malmö FF, and then at Ajax in Amsterdam.

Dominic Bajraktari Andersson, 15, and Granit Rushiti, 22, play the footballer in two different eras.

“He is a great footballer, one of the best in the world. It's a legend, so of course it's a great honor for us to play it,” says Granit Rushiti.

- Living legend -

Former promising footballer who had to retire due to a cruciate ligament injury, Rushiti found in the striker a source of inspiration.

“I've played football all my life, so he played a big role in my life and in my own football career. I took a lot of things from him, a lot of dribbling, and the way he behaved,” said the actor.

Like Zlatan, Rushiti and the other young actor in the film originate from the same region of the extreme south of Sweden.

“I haven't played football yet, but he has been a model in other respects. As for his behavior and what he is as a person. We're from the same area, from the same city, Malmö. So it's been a great model,” says Dominic.

At the end of the shooting, the two young actors, for whom it is their first film, met their idol in Milan.

“Before I started recording, I thought Zlatan was pretty tough, it seemed almost scary. But when I was with him he was very kind, charming and joking. It gave me peace of mind and all my nerves disappeared,” recalls the teenager.

“It was like finding a living legend,” he adds.

The release of the film to other countries will be announced soon.

Ibrahimovic, who does not shy away from projectors, will have a role in the upcoming film by Asterix and Obelix.

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