In collaboration with Goal, Football Zone regularly highlights young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time the focus is on 17-year-old midfielder Arijon Ibrahimovic, who is making waves at Bayern Munich and would rather not be compared to his famous namesake. The superpower sees a sufficient future in him, because earlier this month his contract was extended until mid-2025.
The very young and attacking midfielder is regarded as one of the greatest talents in Germany and his ultimate goal is to make it to the first team of Bayern. Whether it’s developing their own youth from a very young age or buying teenagers who are ready for the big stuff at the right time, Bayern have set the bar very high in recent years in terms of throwing to the lions youth players. Players like Jamal Musiala, Mathys Tel and Paul Wanner have all earned a place in Bayern’s illustrious history as the youngest ever player or goalscorer over the past three seasons. And it is expected that in the coming years even more talents will leave their mark on the main force.
Ibrahimovic is definitely one of the players to look out for in the near future. He has been one of the great trendsetters in German youth football for several years now and there is already plenty of talk about his breakthrough at the highest level. The great Bayern talent, born in Germany, is not related to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, although his roots, like the AC Milan striker, lie elsewhere. His parents are from Kosovo. The young Ibrahimovic went through the youth academy of Greuther Fürth and 1. FC Nürnberg before Bayern brought him in in 2018 at the age of twelve. He was soon too good for his peers, so it was decided to test him against players two or three years older. It was therefore not surprising that he made his debut in Bayern’s Under 19 team in 2021 at the age of fifteen. Ibrahimovic finished the season with seven goals and fourteen assists in 25 matches.
Very young in the first team
Ibrahimovic was of course already known to fans of Bayern and German youth football. But the general public only noticed him in January 2022, when he left a training camp in Spain with the then sixteen-year-old Wanner to join Bayern’s A-team. Julian Nagelsmann’s team experienced a wave of corona infections, making the youth players more than welcome. The trainer already knew Ibrahimovic from the training sessions in preparation for the season. At the time, that resulted in a place on the bench against Borussia Mönchengladbach. But unlike Wanner, who was Bayern’s youngest ever player to make his debut last October at 16 years and 293 days, Ibrahimovic got no playing time. However, his place in the match selection says a lot about his status in the Allianz Arena.
The hungry Ibrahimovic is therefore still waiting for a chance from Nagelsmann. In the meantime, he has been showing for some time that he is completely ready for the much-desired breakthrough the record master. This year the counter stands at thirteen goals and six assists in sixteen games on behalf of Bayern Under 19. With ten hits, he is even the current top scorer in the regional competition, and that as the third youngest player of the reserve team. It resulted in a debut for Bayern’s reserve team, playing in the fourth tier in Germany. In addition, Ibrahimovic added to his baptism of fire in Germany Under 18 with a goal against the peers of the Czech Republic.
Ibrahimovic is still waiting for a chance from Nagelsmann
Main weapons
Ibrahimovic is primarily an attacking midfielder, although he can certainly also play on the flanks. His assignment is then to pull into the penalty area from the side. His greatest quality is his ball control, with the dribble being his biggest trademark. Given his many goals, his shooting power is also striking. Defenders always have the greatest difficulty with his runs towards the box. Holger Seitz, director of the Bayern academy, opposes GOAL and SPOX high on Ibrahimovic. “He is a player who plays on instinct. He is a great technician who can read the game very well. He often only needs one touch and can think and decide very quickly. Ibrahimovic is very dynamic and his shots on goal are fabulous. “
Like most of the young players, Ibrahimovic has to develop further physically in order to take that last step to the absolute top. But apart from that, it is quite a complete number 10 offensively. Seitz emphasizes that Ibrahimovic can still improve defensively. “There is certainly room for improvement in the transition, if the opponent mounts an attack.” Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic’s star is rising and comparisons have even been drawn several times with Leon Goretzka and Thomas Muller. Although in that context more attention is paid to his position than to his way of playing.
Play as Foden and Rooney
With his 1.76 meters, Ibrahimovic is much smaller than Goretzka (1.89 meters) and Muller (1.83). He uses that lower center of gravity extremely well though, a bit like Phil Foden or a young Wayne Rooney taking their bodies and using them to skillfully maneuver past opponents. The comparison with the great Ibrahimovic is of course also very common, even though they are two completely different players. However, it is true that Arijon Ibrahimovic sees the legendary Swede as one of his great football idols.
Ibrahimovic, who turned seventeen in December, is very ambitious and fully focused on a quick breakthrough at the top level. It is nevertheless very difficult to conquer a place in Nagelsmann’s selection. In that context, Bayern has slightly changed its strategy by loaning young players in order to gain experience at the highest level. Loaning players is preferable to making playing minutes at the fourth German level. A few months ago, stories surfaced that Ibrahimovic is willing to leave Bayern should his chance in the first team fail. Red Bull Salzburg immediately smelled its chance, but Bayern does not want to say goodbye to one of the pearls of the youth academy for the time being.