ESPN The Magazine is getting ready to drop their annual Body Issue, where they profile athletes from a variety of sports, across genders, ages and body types.
The 2018 edition will include the debut of one Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The LA Galaxy star claims in an interview on ESPN.com around the buildup for the Body Issue that he thrives off the "haters" and that even at 36, his body is stronger than ever: "There is no weakness."
Ibrahimovic also spoke about the circumstances surrounding his memorable MLS debut, a 4-3 thrilling comeback against LAFC in the first edition of "El Trafico."
"The only wish from Galaxy was please be ready for March 31, and that's the game against LAFC. Just prepare for that game and be ready and be here," he said.
"And I say, 'Don't worry, this is my job. Just make my visa so I have it so I can come over.' [Laughs] So everything was ready. I came here. I trained for 20 minutes. I didn't know anybody. The next day I'm selected for the game. The coach asked me, 'Are you sure you can play?' I said, 'Just give me some minutes. I'll show you." And they were all asking, 'How's your knee?' I say, 'We just have to find out how it is.' And we were losing 1-0, so I'm sitting on the bench and was, like, no problem, we can still do this. After 2-0 I look at my left, I said to him, 'I don't know if Zlatan is enough for this.' After 3-0, I say, 'Listen, this will be a long season.' And then I heard the crowd shouting, 'We want Zlatan.' OK, would they put me in or not? Or they will rest me? I didn't know anything. So I started to warm up. We did 3-1. OK, now it's your turn. You go in and then magic happens. So I gave them Zlatan, like I said. They wanted Zlatan, I gave them that."
You can read more on ESPN.com, and check out ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue when it drops on Friday.
