More to come, promises record-breaker Zlatan
By Philip O'Connor
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Having equalled Sweden's goalscoring record with a thumping left-foot volley, Zlatan Ibrahimovic set a new milestone in typically outrageous fashion, sweeping the ball into the net with the inside of his heel for his 50th international goal.
In the arena that he has made his own since scoring four goals against England on its opening night in 2012, the powerful striker took off his shirt to reveal another underneath with a message to his fans - "You Made It Possible".
Ibrahimovic's double in a 2-0 friendly win over Estonia on Thursday surpassed the mark of Sven Rydell, who scored his last international goals in 1932.
"That I scored with a back heel was probably a little lucky, but it was the only way I could score there," Ibrahimovic said of his record-setting goal.
With the milestone reached, the 32-year-old seems determined to continue adding to his tally.
"I want so much, I want even more," he told a media conference in Stockholm on Friday.
"Even if I've said there's a couple of years left, I'm going to do the maximum in those years. Now I've gone past the goal record, we'll keep going. It's not over yet."
Having scored his first goal for Sweden in a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan in 2001, he might have broken the record even sooner, but the various coaches of the national team used him sparingly at times.
Fast-forward to 2014 and a Sweden team without their tall, talismanic striker is now unthinkable and fans dread to imagine a future without their captain, who has said he will most likely retire after the 2016 European Championships in France.
Until then he intends to continue adding to the enviable haul of silverware he has amassed from some of Europe's biggest clubs including Ajax, Juventus, Inter, AC Milan and Barcelona.
"That's what you look back at when you've finished," Ibrahimovic said. "I have 23 collective titles and some individual titles, so the more I can gather, the bigger my list of merits will be.
"That's what you play for. You play to win, and no-one can complain that one hasn't won anything. It's the other way around," he said with a smile.
"It's my will, my desire to be better. I train hard to be better, I want to be better than last season, I want to go forward all the time.
"I broke the record yesterday, but now I'm going to continue scoring goals to make it even harder for the next one who wants to break it."
Sweden open their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign against Austria on Monday when Ibrahimovic is due to win his 100th cap.
(Reporting By Philip O'Connor; editing by Martyn Herman)
