For Howler’s 11th issue, we cast Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Knight of Cups character found in tarot decks.
It’s an allusion to his staggering record—13 league championships in 18 seasons—and the symbolism of the character. The Knight of Cups is “constantly bored, and in constant need of stimulation... a dreamer,” according to Wikipedia, but he can also be irresponsible and rash: “a person who has trouble discerning where truth ends and lies begin.” These are all characteristics shared by Ibra, as anyone who has watched him play, and read his excellent but occasionally fuzzy-with-the-facts autobiography, can attest.
Also in this issue:
- José Mourinho’s totalitarian football
- A massive, 11,000-word profile of Florentino Pérez, the architect of Real Madrid’s Galáctico project
- Kia Joorabchian is circumventing FIFA’s ban on third-party ownership, and he’s doing it with MLS players
- Wet Hot International Summer: retrospectives on Euro 16 and Copa Centenario
- Profile of U.S. co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn
- How Jesus Gil stole Spain’s third largest soccer team
- Photo essay: Calcio Storico
- Joe Enochs, the American coaching in Europe you’ve probably never heard of
- The U.S. Paralympic team prepares for Rio
- How to dance like Antoine Griezmann
- Remembering Johan Cruyff
- A lot more
