Zlatan breaks internet in Malmö rush for tickets
The excitement in Malmö knew no limits after its football champions were drawn in the same Champions League group as Sweden's star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Paris Saint-Germain.
Malmö fans are likely to experience a bad case of split loyalties when their footballers face Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his PSG in the Champions League group stages later this year. The forward played for the southern Swedish team 1994-2001 before he was sold to Ajax in the Netherlands.
Fans flocked to the club's homepage after the groups were drawn on Thursday to find out how they could order tickets for the highly-anticipated match – causing so much traffic to the server that the whole site crashed.
“There was a lot of pressure on it [the website] just after the draw was made,” Malmö FF's head of communications Peter Ahlander told the Reuters news agency by telephone.
He added that the club were delighted with the draw, which also saw them slotted into Group A with Real Madrid and Shaktar Donetsk.
Malmö FF is in the Champions League. Photo: Andreas Hillergren/TT
Ibrahimovic, who despite a long list of titles with the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona has never won the Champions League, was among those leading tributes to his former club when they clawed their way into the tournament for the second year running.
“MFF is starting to get used to Champions League. Totally wonderful and I hope that I will get to experience Champions League in Malmö on the pitch. Big congratulations!” commented the footballer on social media after they beat Celtic on Tuesday night.
READ ALSO: Malmö stuns Celtic in Champions League comeback
Malmö sent the Scots crashing out of the Champions League on Tuesday night as they claimed a 2-0 victory in the second leg of their play-off round clash in Sweden to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
And Ibrahimovic was just as pleased as the fans when it turned out his wish to be drawn in the same group had been granted.
“I have experienced a lot in my football career and this too will be one of those moments. It's a dream to get to play the Champions League in Malmö. It's a pity that the whole of Malmö won't fit in the stadium, but I guarantee that the [noise of the audience] will be heard all over Malmö. I am on my way,” he promised.
“It's going to be one hell of a party and I think it's a big deal for him to come back for such a night. I'm sure he'll get a warm reception. Zlatan is as big as can be and the best player that Sweden has ever produced,” Malmö midfielder Oscar Lewicki told the UEFA website after the draw.
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Malmö fans are likely to experience a bad case of split loyalties when their footballers face Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his PSG in the Champions League group stages later this year. The forward played for the southern Swedish team 1994-2001 before he was sold to Ajax in the Netherlands.
Fans flocked to the club's homepage after the groups were drawn on Thursday to find out how they could order tickets for the highly-anticipated match – causing so much traffic to the server that the whole site crashed.
“There was a lot of pressure on it [the website] just after the draw was made,” Malmö FF's head of communications Peter Ahlander told the Reuters news agency by telephone.
He added that the club were delighted with the draw, which also saw them slotted into Group A with Real Madrid and Shaktar Donetsk.
Malmö FF is in the Champions League. Photo: Andreas Hillergren/TT
Ibrahimovic, who despite a long list of titles with the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona has never won the Champions League, was among those leading tributes to his former club when they clawed their way into the tournament for the second year running.
“MFF is starting to get used to Champions League. Totally wonderful and I hope that I will get to experience Champions League in Malmö on the pitch. Big congratulations!” commented the footballer on social media after they beat Celtic on Tuesday night.
READ ALSO: Malmö stuns Celtic in Champions League comeback
Malmö sent the Scots crashing out of the Champions League on Tuesday night as they claimed a 2-0 victory in the second leg of their play-off round clash in Sweden to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
And Ibrahimovic was just as pleased as the fans when it turned out his wish to be drawn in the same group had been granted.
“I have experienced a lot in my football career and this too will be one of those moments. It's a dream to get to play the Champions League in Malmö. It's a pity that the whole of Malmö won't fit in the stadium, but I guarantee that the [noise of the audience] will be heard all over Malmö. I am on my way,” he promised.
“It's going to be one hell of a party and I think it's a big deal for him to come back for such a night. I'm sure he'll get a warm reception. Zlatan is as big as can be and the best player that Sweden has ever produced,” Malmö midfielder Oscar Lewicki told the UEFA website after the draw.
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