One of the most ingenious and unpredictable strikers of his generation, Zlatan Ibrahimović will captain Sweden at UEFA EURO 2012 – his fifth major tournament. The tall AC Milan forward boasts the astonishing record of having won eight successive domestic league titles – albeit with the 2004/05 and 2005/06 Serie A triumphs for Juventus revoked.

• Aged 18, Ibrahimović fired home-town club Malmö FF to promotion in 2000 with 12 goals; his growing reputation earned him a €7.8m Swedish-record transfer to AFC Ajax, where he won the domestic double in his first season, scoring a golden-goal winner in the Dutch Cup final against FC Utrecht.

• Scored twice on his UEFA Champions League debut – against Olympique Lyonnais – and 13 in successive Eredivisie campaigns, the second of them bringing another Dutch title, in 2003/04.

• First capped by Sweden in January 2001, he followed a disappointing 2002 FIFA World Cup with an impressive UEFA EURO 2004, scoring two goals, including an improvised late equaliser against Italy; also present at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2008.

• Joined Juventus and won two league titles but both were taken away due to the sporting fraud scandal of 2006; made amends with three Serie A crowns in as many years for FC Internazionale Milano, finishing as the league's top scorer in 2008/09 with 25 goals.

• Left Inter for FC Barcelona in July 2009 for €46m plus Samuel Eto'o and lifted the UEFA Super Cup the following month before scoring in each of his first five league matches − a club record − en route to the Liga title.

• Named captain of his country ahead of UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying having reversed his decision to retire from international football following Sweden's failure to reach the 2010 World Cup; scored on his 75th appearance, a 3-1 friendly victory in Croatia, his mother's country of birth, on 29 February 2012.

• Moved to Milan on a season-long loan, a deal which was made permanent the following summer, in August 2010 and proved an instant hit, his 14 league goals in 29 games helping the Rossoneri to their first Scudetto in seven years.

UEFA honours
UEFA Super Cup: winner 2009
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year: 2007, 2009