Zlatan was born in 1981 in Malmö, Sweden. He received his first pair of football boots at the age of five and it was obvious even at this early age that he had the potential to become an extraordinary footballer. He grew up in the infamous neighbourhood Rosengård known for being one of Sweden's roughest areas, but this did not hinder him. After playing for a local Swedish Club for a couple of years he transferred to Malmö FF in his teens, and it was here he started to pursue a career as a professional footballer. Zlatan progressed through Malmö FF's youth academy and his breakthrough at senior level came during the 1999-2000 season when he played for Malmö FF's first team under coach Roland Andersson. Zlatan surprised Sweden with his superb technique and great goal scoring ability. As a determined 18 year-old he had already at this point decided that he was going to play for Sweden in the World Cup 2002 in Japan and Korea. After being perused by top Clubs all over the world, Zlatan finally decided to transfer to Ajax and he joined the Amsterdam club in July 2001. He received the number 9 shirt, which was previously worn by Nwankwo Kanu, Patrick Kluivert and the legendary Marco van Basten. After playing for Sweden's Under-21s, the Swedish National Team managers Tommy Söderberg and Lars Lagerbäck chose Zlatan to play his International debut against the Faroe Islands in Sweden in January 2001, and since then Zlatan has been a part of the Swedish National Team. Zlatan ended his first season at Ajax, just like he started it, on top. He scored the golden goal in the Dutch Cup Final against Utrecht and Ajax won both the League and the Cup. His success continued when he was selected as one of 23 players for the Swedish squad in the World Cup 2002, where he played against Argentina and Senegal.