How MLS’s digital strategy allowed Zlatan fever to spread worldwide

April 3, 2018 Chris McMullan

Signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic has one obvious knock-on effect for every team, no matter how big.

Just look at what it did for Manchester United. With the arrival of Jose Mourinho, Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho in the same summer there was some serious X-factor, but even in that company Zlatan was always able to steal the show.

Recently, his arrival at the LA Galaxy caused a lot of talk, but the Swede is able to back it up with action: even at 36 years of age, he’s still one of the best players in world football.

This weekend, he proved it. A hotly anticipated Los Angeles derby was his first game. The script was written. It was match in which the established MLS royalty, the Galaxy, had fallen on hard times and were 3-0 down to the new franchise who have been aiming to grab their crown as the biggest and most glamorous team in the city.

LAFC were 3-0 up until a comeback was on the cards, and before Zlatan came up with a stunning long-range strike to equalise and then a last-minute headed winner as the Galaxy came back to win 4-3.

It’s not just the drama or the hype that makes this a special story, though, it’s what it means for the league and how a signing like Zlatan can have repercussions for MLS around the world.

In just a few hours, the YouTube highlights of the game attained tens of millions of views and counting, whilst the wonders of the internet (and some great digital media strategy in allowing highlights to be posted to Twitter in near-real time) meant that Zlatan’s performance went around the world and brought the drama of the game to an audience it wouldn’t usually reach.

AMAZING.#zLAtan #LAvLAFC https://t.co/xyk78K6xSr

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 31, 2018

You couldn't write a better script.

ZLATAN. STOPPAGE TIME. 4-3. #LAvLAFC https://t.co/9ya60MdXk6

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 31, 2018

The beauty of football is the drama, the storylines which play out without any prompting or writers working away in the background, and the passion it engenders in a football stadium, too. In a massive derby between two teams from the same city, and the power dynamics which are clearly present, all of those things and more were played out. But when you have the added bonus of Zlatan Ibrahimovic coming into the league and putting on a performance like that which you can send around the world almost instantaneously, you really do have something special for the league to work with.

In allowing the goals to be shared so rapidly, they made the very most of it.