Icons: Henrik Larsson
It's time to explore another football icon.
Henrik Larsson is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona.
The start of a wonderful career.
Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Helsingborg IF where in his first season his partnership up front with Mats Magnusson helped the club win promotion after over 20 seasons in the lower tiers.
He moved to Feyenoord in November 1993, staying for four years before leaving in 1997. During his time in the Dutch Eredivisie, he won two KNVB Cups with Feyenoord.
Trevor Stolk told us: "He should have stayed with us for much longer. Look at what he did for Celtic. He could have achieved that with us if he'd stayed longer."
Larsson also broke into the Swedish national football team and helped them finish in third place at the 1994 World Cup. He was gaining a lot of fans but where would he end up next? It was going to find a place where he would be idolised by everyone.
The King of Kings.
Larsson regarded as the greatest foreign import in Scottish football history and it's easy to see why. Celtic's manager at the time, Wim Jansen, signed Larsson for Glasgow Celtic in July 1997 for a fee reported to be £650,000. In his first season in Glasgow, he played a crucial role in Celtic winning their first league title in ten years. This stopped Rangers winning ten in a row and is still spoke about many Celtic fans. There would be more success.
Sadly for everyone associated with the club, before this future success, he suffered a broken leg in a UEFA Cup tie against Lyon in 1999. Larsson came back stronger and became a legend within the Celtic support. He scored 53 goals in a 2000–01 season that saw him win the European Golden Shoe.
This early season match against Rangers contained some of his best moments for the club. Celtic 6-2 Rangers League 2000/01 (Full Match) - YouTube
He also helped the team reach the 2003 UEFA Cup Final against Porto, scoring both goals in a 3–2 defeat in extra time. His 242 goals in 313 matches saw Celtic fans nickname him The King of Kings. In his final Celtic season in Glasgow, Larsson scored 41 goals in 58 appearances helping his side win the Scottish Premier League.
Peter Jacobs spoke about his final memory of him playing for the club.: "I attended his last ever match for the club. The Super Swede scored two goals to help Celtic beat Dunfermline and win the Scottish Cup. The reaction from the support to him after the match just proved what we all thought of him."
Another Celtic fan told us: "He is still the greatest player that I have ever seen in a Celtic shirt. What an absolute legend."
Sean, a Celtic Season Ticket holder, added: "Even now, I still adore that man. He scored so many important goals for us whilst he was here. During the 2000/2001 season, he dragged us through so many moments and matches as we won all three trophies."
Frank also added: "The only king that I'll ever recognise."
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Post Celtic career
Larsson joined Barcelona in 2004, where he won two league titles and the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, providing the assists for both goals in the final. During his time at Barca, he actually faced Celtic playing for the new club. As expected, he got a great reception from the Celtic support.
Following the expiration of his contract at Barcelona, Larsson returned to Helsingborg, although he also had a brief spell on loan at Manchester United in early 2007. During the short spell at Old Trafford, he scored three times and contributed enough to earn a Premier League title medal. He announced his retirement from football on 20 October 2009.
Liam, a Manchester United fan, told us: "He was a decent player during that season. The loan signing allowed us to rest players at a crucial part of that campaign."
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International career
Regarded as one of the greatest Swedish players of all time, Larsson played for Sweden in three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships, winning a bronze medal at the 1994 World Cup. He ended his international career with 37 goals in over 100 matches. Click here to watch some of his best goals for Sweden. Henrik Larsson | FIFA World Cup Goals - YouTube
Hans, a huge fan of the Swedish national side, told us: "One of the very best players for us when he was at his best. I think he's definitely up with Zlatan in terms of Swedish icons."
You can read about that Swedish legend here: Icons: Zlatan Ibrahimović (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
Individual accolades
He also won the Golden Ball, the annual Award for best Swedish footballer twice, first in 1998 and again in 2004, while in 2003 he was named the Greatest Swedish Footballer of the Last 50 Years as part of the UEFA Jubilee Awards. He is also the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup.
Larsson the manager and Larsson the coach
In 2010, Larsson began his career as a manager at the Superettan club Landskrona BoIS, where he stayed for three seasons. He later managed Falkenberg in Allsvenskan. He took over at Helsingborg in 2015, where his son, Jordan was one of his players. Helsingborg were relegated to Superettan in 2016 and Larsson left the club. Three years later he made a brief return in the same role at the club. He returned to Barcelona in 2020, serving as assistant to Ronald Koeman from August 2020 until October 2021.
