Is Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s outrageous bicycle kick for Sweden against England in 2012 the greatest goal of all time?It’s certainly one of the most audacious goals that we’ve seen throughout football history.When Joe Hart rushed out of his goal to head the ball clear, nobody inside the Friends Arena - nor the millions watching across the world - could have predicted what Zlatan had up his sleeve.Almost every other footballer in Ibrahimovic’s shoes would have taken a touch and then passed to a teammate. With Hart rushing back towards his goal and two England defenders inside the box, this was anything but a clear goalscoring opportunity.But Zlatan put his taekwondo skills to remarkable use, displaying unbelievable athleticism and quick-thinking to execute the perfect strike from 30 yards.It was a moment of breathtaking quality to cap off one of the greatest individual performances of all time.
This was Ibrahimovic’s fourth goal of the night from his fourth shot on target. Sweden sealed a 4-2 victory but the full-time scoreline should have read Zlatan 4-2 England. This was a one-man masterclass.
What did Stan Collymore say about Zlatan's goal v England?
Former England striker Stan Collymore was working for talkSPORT at the time and produced some spine-tingling commentary while reacting live to Zlatan’s brilliant overhead kick.
Collymore began: “Oh my god, an insane goal! I’ve just seen the most insane goal I have ever seen on a football pitch! Incredible! Incredible, Zlatan Ibrahimovic! World, world class!”
The ex-Premier League star added: “Oh my days, Zlatan Ibrahimovic! I want to go and give you a man-hug! That is the beautiful game played in a beautiful way.
“Oh my DAYS what a finish! I’ve just seen it again. Joe Hart tries to clear his lines on the edge of the box. It’s up in the air… he does a bicycle kick from a ridiculous angle, Shawcross is back-peddling and it creeps across the line.
“Oh! It doesn’t get me off my feet often and applauding but Zlatan Ibrahimovic [*claps*]… world class!”
Listen to Collymore’s commentary over Zlatan’s goal here:
Fantastic stuff from Collymore. Pure emotion!
For our money, that sits proudly alongside the very best commentary of all time. The passion in Collymore’s voice is palpable.
What did Zlatan say after his goal against England?
After silencing his critics in England by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick against the Three Lions since Marco van Basten in 1988, Zlatan was quoted by The Mirror as saying: "That's the way it is with the English. If you score against them you're a good player, if you don't score against them you're not a good player.
"I remember Lionel Messi before the 2009 Champions League final for Barcelona. Then he scored against Manchester United and suddenly he was the best player in the world. Maybe now they'll say something like that about me.
"Hart was a long way out and I was just trying to get it into the goal. I was on the ground when it was on the way in.
"I saw a defender sliding in to try to get rid of it and I wanted to scream 'No' but the ball went in."
Sam Allardyce speaks exclusively to the Football Terrace
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