zlatan ibrahimovic

What an unreal debut striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had in his Major League Soccer debut. The Swede entered the first ever Los Angeles derby between the Galaxy and LAFC in the 71st minute, with his side down 3-1. His two goals, one of which was all the way from 40 yards out, highlighted the Galaxy comeback, in a story book 4-3 win this past Saturday.

You could not have scripted a better beginning in MLS for Ibrahimovic. The 36-year-old seems to have a team in L.A. that’s a perfect match for his outsized personality.

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As for the most recent former team of Ibrahimovic, Manchester United, they’re currently on pace to finish second in the Premier League this season, a vast improvement over last season’s sixth place finish. However, manager Jose Mourinho did claim three pieces of silverware (Europa League, League Cup, Community Shield) in his first year at Old Trafford.

This season, they only have one chance left for a trophy- the FA Cup. In an interview with ESPN, Ibrahimovic, while endorsing Mourinho as a winner, says the Special One needs to go and win that FA Cup.

“I like Mourinho. He is the Special One,” Ibrahimovic said to ESPN FC.

“He likes to win. Wherever he went he won. He made me feel comfortable. He gave me a lot of responsibility. He said to me the only problem he had with me was when could he rest me.”

“They’ve been doing it good. Let’s hope, there’s one last trophy to play for, and that’s the FA Cup. So hopefully they win it. Last year we had a big success with the three trophies.”

“With a new team like that — new coach, couple of new players — and hopefully that rings on, because as a top team, like United, you need to keep winning, because that is the status of the club. You need to win. And if you’re not winning, you’re not belonging to the top.”

jose mourinho

United will face Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadum, their temporary home for this season, on April 21 in the FA Cup semifinals. Chelsea versus Southampton is the other semifinal. United have the third best (of the four remaining teams) odds of winning the trophy at 5/2; according to Odds Checker. Chelsea are the favorite at 17/10.

As for Ibrahimovic and the Galaxy, they will next host Sporting KC on Sunday. Then the next week, on Saturday April 14, it’s a Manchester United reunion as Ibrahimovic and company travel to the Chicago Fire, where Ibra will face his old United teammate, Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.