International Soccer Star Zlatan Ibrahimovic Treated at UPMC

Rarely do the worlds of top-level international football and the city of Pittsburgh collide but...apparently, Swedish soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic had knee surgery this week at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and is still here in town recovering. Granted, for all the actual impact this has on my life, he might as well be having surgery on Mars. But what kind of football fan would I be if the news that one of the all-time legends of the sport was being treated in my town -- hell, in my neighborhood -- didn't make me at least a little bit excited.

For those of you who don't know, Zlatan is a living legend and one of the most prolific goal-scorers in soccer history, having put more than 400 balls into the back of the onion bag in his professional career, a career which started when he was 17, with Malmo FF. He has since played for the likes of AFC Ajax, Juventus FC, FC Internazionale Milano, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris St-Germain FC, and currently Manchester United FC. If you had to design the ultimate international football resume, it's pretty much impossible to improve upon Zlatans. Furthermore, at the age of 35 he's accomplished the remarkable feat of having scored more goals since the age of 30 than before it. This guy is like the Incredible Hulk of soccer.

Unfortunately, last month his career suffered a pretty large set-back as he was injured in Manchester United's Europa League match against Belgian squad RSC Anderlecht and could potentially be out for six to nine months.