Zlatan Ibrahimović watched the match like any other fan, but something stirred inside him. Cape Verde, a national team that had never before set foot in a World Cup, stood up to Argentina until the very end and fell by just 3-2 in a match that could have changed course at any moment.
For the former Swedish striker, what was seen on the pitch had nothing to do with Leo Messi or the Albiceleste powerhouse. “I almost cried, because I loved that moment”, he confessed, explaining that not even Argentina was celebrating the way you celebrate just any victory, because everyone knew they had just witnessed something special.
Cape Verde, a country of barely 500 thousand inhabitants, stood toe to toe with one of the most feared national teams on the planet. It did not win the match, but it took away something no statistic can measure: the respect of a football legend and of thousands of people who, like Zlatan, felt they were watching something bigger than a result.
