Following Sweden's heartbreaking defeat to England in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic extended his support to Smilla Holmberg. The young defender's penalty miss in the shootout ultimately sealed Sweden's fate. The match concluded with a 3-2 penalty score after an intense shootout.
Holmberg, visibly upset after her miss, received comfort from Ibrahimovic. Her father, Ola Persson, shared that Ibrahimovic had reached out to his daughter. He described holding his daughter, who was understandably saddened, in his arms after the game.
Persson mentioned that Holmberg had received considerable support from her teammates, fans, friends, and family. He also revealed that she received a text message from Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic, a part-owner of Holmberg's club, Hammarby, encouraged her to keep believing in herself.
Persson emphasized that Ibrahimovic's message focused on the importance of not letting a single miss define a career. He highlighted the need to learn and grow from such experiences.
6 Comments
Matzomaster
Great, she got a text from a superstar. But that won’t change the result of the game, will it?
Karamba
All this attention for one missed penalty? She needs to grow up and understand the stakes of playing at this level.
Rotfront
Being part-owner doesn't make him a mentor. Holmberg needs to learn that missing a penalty has real repercussions.
Karamba
Ibrahimovic's words are nice, but they don't change the fact that Holmberg failed when it mattered most.
Mariposa
Ibrahimovic's reach-out is nice, but wouldn’t it be better if players learned resilience the hard way?
BuggaBoom
You learn the most from your failures. Glad to see Holmberg has people rallying around her!