Where does Henrik Larsson rank in terms of Celtic’s best ever signings, Hoops fans?
Right at the top of list, surely?
The Swedish striker arrived in Glasgow in 1997 with a fairly timid scoring record to his name from his time at Feyenoord yet once he was unleashed against defences in Scotland, he began to terrorise his opposition, week-in, week-out.
Larsson’s debut season for the Bhoys saw him score 19 goals in 46 games yet it was the following campaign where he began to establish himself as an unstoppable force in-front of goal as he found the back of the net on 38 occasions.
A superb start to the 1999-2000 season was curtailed when the former Helsingborg player broke his leg in two places whilst featuring in a UEFA game for the Hoops, an injury that killed of his side’s chances of displacing Rangers as the top dogs in Scotland.
Undeterred, Larsson fought back from injury and started a four-year barrage of goals which ultimately secured his place as one of Celtic’s cult heroes. During Martin O’Neill’s reign in charge of the club, the forward fired home a remarkable total of 173 goals in just 206 games and helped end the Gers’ dominance, much to the delight of the Hoops supporters.
His greatest ever season in a Celtic shirt coincided with the arrival of his Northern Irish manager as he almost single-handedly led his side to an historic treble in the 2000-01 campaign by scoring 53 goals in all competitions, an incredible feat at any level.
Despite being one of the most prolific forwards in Europe at the time, Larsson remained loyal to the Bhoys until departing for Spanish giants Barcelona in 2004 where he went on to secure consecutive La Liga titles in a team that boasted the likes of Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho amongst others.
A second spell at Helsingborg was accompanied by moves to the likes of Manchester United and Hogaborks before finally retiring in 2013 at the age of 42.
In a career that spanned over two decades, Larsson scored 434 goals and represented a total of seven different clubs. Yet despite his heroics for Helsingborg in 1993 and his Champions League win with Barcelona in 2006, it will be his eight major honours of Celtic that he will be remembered for the most, especially amongst the club’s supporters who rightly consider him as one of their modern-day hero.
