On the 25th anniversary of Celtic signing the Super Swede, Henrik Larsson, Murdo MacLeod was interviewed by the Sunday Post and gave his take on the modern day Celtic great. MacLeod played for the Glasgow side himself and later returned to be assistant coach when he took over one of the important seasons in our entire history during the 1997-98 campaign.
‘𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀’
Henrik Larsson was 26-years-old when he signed for #CelticFC. He left seven years later, having ensured his place amongst the greatest players ever to have worn the green and white Hoops.💚#HenrikLarssonDay 👑 pic.twitter.com/esSMaBKE37
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 25, 2022
Larsson managed to bag an outrageous 242 goals in 300 odd games for the club, scoring from Ibrox to Italy during that time as he carved out legendary status. Signed for a snip at £650,000 from Jansen’s old club Feynoord in Holland, the dreadlocked attacker appeared to be on his road out of the game when Celtic came a calling as he had fallen out of love with football. He quickly changed his mind though, when he managed to help the Bhoys stop Rangers from winning ten league titles in a row.
George Martin once said that The Beatles defined the decade of the sixties. In much the same way, Henrik Larsson defined the post-millennium Celtic. Helping the club to countless trophies and accolades along the way, Larsson was bitterly unlucky not to be European winner with the club after scoring two goals against FC Porto back in 2003 in the Spanish city of Seville.
Despite his superior status within the side at all times, Henrik was never the arrogant type or one to be seduced by his own hype or hubris. Humble in victory and gracious in defeat, Larsson was a fine example of how to be professional at all times as a footballer. Former Celt McCleod revealed, via Sunday Post: “Celtic have made some great signings over the years, but it’s hard to think of anyone who was better than Henrik.
“Everyone still talks about his first game for us, when he played a pass which Chic Charnley intercepted and went on to score the winning goal for Hibs at Easter Road. But what about his last match that season? We had to beat St Johnstone on the final day to clinch the title. There were 60,000 fans inside the ground and we were as nervous as they were.
25 years ago today, Henrik Larsson signed for Celtic.
The King of Kings. 👑 pic.twitter.com/mIZ3qM9Mxw
— Li’l Ze (@LilZe_7) July 24, 2022
“But Henrik scored a wonder goal after two minutes to settle us, and we went on to win 2-0. Of course, although he was a very good player, he wasn’t yet the Henrik Larsson he would become. The fact is that every single season, he became better than he’d been the year before, and a lot of that was down to hard graft. He was the kind of player who always gave 100% at training, as well as games, which is why he had the career that he had.
“Henrik couldn’t have played at such a high level for so long if he hadn’t shown the right attitude, and looked after himself. “He also liked his golf, which helped him settle in Scotland. If he’d been flying back and forth to Sweden all the time, then he might have been looking for a move. But I remember him telling me early on that he loved living here, and that he intended staying for six or seven years. He was as good as his word. When Wim and I left after one season, he could have been forgiven for saying he was off as well. But he had already decided he was happy at Celtic.”
Larsson’s old coach also reckons his impeccable character was what made him an exception to the rule when it comes to players such as himself. He stayed for seven years and gave the Scottish club his peak years, eventually moving on to win the Champions League with the mighty Barcelona in 2006. “Even if Celtic managed to find someone as brilliant as Henrik was, they could never persuade him to stay at Parkhead for that length of time nowadays,” MacLeod continued.
“But he always did what he said he would do. When he eventually left in 2004 to sign for Barcelona, it was because he wanted to win the Champions League. He duly came off the bench to set up both their goals when they beat Arsenal 2-1 in the 2006 Final. Henrik then rejoined his hometown team, Helsingborg, but even then he wasn’t finished because Sir Alex Ferguson made him an emergency signing during an injury crisis.
“He helped Manchester United win the title, as well as scoring the only goal in a Champions League win over Lille when he was almost 36. Of course, Henrik loved the big occasions – Old Firm games [scoring 15 goals in his 30 derby appearances]European ties, cup finals, international matches, you name it. But in spite of the fact he was Celtic’s biggest star, he was never a Billy Big Time. He joined in with the rest of the lads at nights out and in the dressing room. He could hit the heights, but he was always down to earth.”
Paul Gillespie
