Ibrahimovic generates new verb
Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic has such a dominant role - on and off the field - that he has generated a new verb, according to a list of new Swedish words published on Thursday.
To "zlatanate," or "zlatanera" in Swedish, was one of 40 new words that appeared on the annual list compiled by the Language Council of Sweden.
The 31-year-old had "zlatanated at the annual sports galas," the Swedish news agency wrote after Ibrahimovic in November won his seventh Golden Ball at the annual Swedish football gala.
The language council defined the word as "to do something forcefully," "to dominate," tracing its origins to the French, zlatener - which was coined earlier this year by a French reporter dazzled by Ibra and his achievements.
Ibrahimovic was recently named Sweden's top sports personality for 2012 by the tabloid Expressen.
The daily cited his magical overhead goal against England and key role in Sweden's surprise comeback from 4-0 down to 4-4 against Germany in a World Cup qualifier in Berlin.
