Swedish soccer captain scores ‘goal of a century’ in match against England

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s amazes with overhead bicycle kick

<p>Sweden&#8217;s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, right, thanks England&#8217;s Daniel Welbeck after the friendly soccer match Sweden vs England at the new national soccer stadium &#8216;Friends Arena&#8217; in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday, Nov.14, 2012.  Englands Wilfried Zaha to the left.  (AP Photo/Scanpix Sweden,Claudio Bresciani)    SWEDEN OUT</p>

Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, right, thanks England’s Daniel Welbeck after the friendly soccer match Sweden vs England at the new national soccer stadium ‘Friends Arena’ in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday, Nov.14, 2012. Englands Wilfried Zaha to the left. (AP Photo/Scanpix Sweden,Claudio Bresciani) SWEDEN OUT

Swedish soccer team captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic is heralded as a hero after scoring what is being described as one of the best goals of all time during a friendly match against England Wednesday.

The goal came in the last 15 minutes of the second half when the forward used an overhead bicycle kick to redirect a shot that had been blocked by English keeper Joe Hart. Making the kick all the more spectacular was the fact that the ball was about six feet in the air and nearly 25 metres away from the goal.

“It needed technique, imagination and vision to attempt what Ibrahimovic did next, meeting the ball with a sensational overhead kick and sending it flying in an elegant arc into England’s goal,” writes The Telegraph football correspondent Henry Winter.

The goal was Ibrahimovic’s forth of the game. When time was up, Sweden beat England 4-2.

Despite the loss, there were no hard feelings from England captain Steven Gerrard, who congratulated Ibrahimovic, telling him it was the best goal he had ever seen.

“Sometimes you have to hold your hands up to a special individual performance,” Gerrard later told The Guardian. “And that was a world-class performance from a world-class player.”

It is the best goal ever? See for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4mFb18DUE