Zlatan Ibrahimovic fires Sweden to 4-2 defeat of England [Bicycle Kick Video]

Yes, was thinking exactly this as I was watching the video. Ibra in HAL would be effin awesome. Same goes for Drogba.

You and i probably have the same players in mind when we say the word great: maradona, cruyff, zidane, platini.etc. and then we have those who we know are great but found themselves among teammates not as good at international level eg hagi, stoichkov, ronaldo. But I get annoyed when that word is used to describe show ponies, flat track bullies and scorers of the odd spectacular goals at low levels or when it doesn't matter and those feats are seen as signs of greatness.

Fair enough at least you are consistent there and I guess your standard of "greatness" is higher I have heard the same people who elevate Cantona and then slammed Ibrahimovic for his inability to win trophy in europe or international football.

And I would dispute the assertion that cantona was great. Again, like zlatan, he was found wanting at the highest levels for club and country. Great at domestic level and elevated to legendary status by Manchester United devotees.

Yes, successful and effective club player at domestic league level. Found wanting at champions league and World Cup/euros stage, for every team he plays.

@ Frankie Hughes (are you TC in disguise? ... very similar writing style) "Zlatan is up there with Messi, Ronaldo, Falcao etc ..Del Piero wasn’t " FACT. Ale Del Piero was named in the FIFA 100 - a list of 100 "Living Legends of Football". No player from Sweden was named in this list. Zlatan is an excellent player in his own right, but knowledgeable football analysts wouldn't put him in the same class as Ale.

He has won enough Serie-A and Eredivisie title which suggest he performs regularly in the league There are fair amount of players who achieve greatness state solely for their performance in their domestic league even if they never won a european trophy or an international trophy (such as Eric Cantona) Sure he is not a contender of greatest player of all time but he done enough to be a great player.

Ibrahimovic is the most overrated international footballer of his generation, a bit like David beckham. He is a flat track bully who can do outrageous things on the field but mainly when it does not matter. The perfect guy to have on your side when you need to win your friendly match.

If ever there was a guy you're certain is an absolute wanker off the field, it's him. But I guess when you're that good...

The guy is full of himself but yes, he can score goals.

Ibra in the A-League would be incredible.

Gee Weez, that is one of the best goals I've ever seen!

I did hear that and I’m not sure it would work. Heck would ADP have worked in ADL? I have my doubts, the cities are very different sporting creatures. I think the football fans of Adelaide would respond to a more Roar-celona style event than a one off marquee. The footbalista’s in Adelaide are a very well football-educated crowd, they saw through the Romario Sh*tfight very quickly. My read on the situation is that the stay-away fans just want exciting flowing football to return to Hindmarsh before they will. A one-off marquee won’t really address this issue as the game is a 11v 11 game not a "pass it to the wog and he’ll fix it" all game as SFC must have thought it was.

It doesn't really matter which player is better, what matters is that they are both extremely high profile footballers and having them play in the HAL would bring attention to our corner of the globe that was shown when ADP signed for SFC. Like the little mexican kid in the taco advert, why choose? Why not aim to have both?

That’s what I’m trying to say..in 2-4 years our league will be even stronger and could be even more well off due to the next media deal (any day now) and whatever golden scenario FTATV delivers. We should be looking at the current crop of superstars that are 28-30 years old with the view to figuring out how best to afford to sign them when they are no longer commanding top dollar in Europe(my guess in 2 to 4 years)

Kasey did you hear within the past week or so that Adelaide are looking for a marquee of ADP's calibre for next season. Would be great to see Hindmarsh packed to the rafters like the not so long ago days of the great ACL campaign.

And thus more positives could eventuate. The influence ADP has had without a full pre season with Sydney is amazing. If more planning had gone into a signing of his calibre who knows how much better off Sydney and the A-LEAGUE would be. perhaps the FFA could take note and plan for the future. Who knows who else could grace our shores?

True Reegsy, different type of player - Zlatan does some outrageous things! But I cannot imgaine Zlatan setting up as many goals/assists as ADP did.

Frankie, ADP was on the cover of FIFA in 2004. He was one of the biggest players in the world at the time and continued to be for a few years after that. He scored in a World Cup semi when he was, wait for it...31 years old. Not totally insane to see Zlatan in the HAL in five years time. That would be amazing. Not as amazing as that goal though. Jesus. :o

Hey Bumps we could debate all day as to who is a better player out of ADP and Zlatan. But one thing is for certain. ADP couldn't ever imagine scoring a goal like Zlatan's this morning!