Henrik Larsson, you see, doesn’t do fanfare. When he said goodbye to just over 11,000 hardy fans in the biting cold of Helsingborg, a stranger to the game could have been forgiven for assuming this was just another local career pro reaching the end of his career. Until, that is, the tributes started to pour in.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Chris Sutton, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are just a few of the notable names of world football who took time out this week to pay homage to the man Ronaldinho, the Brazil and A.C. Milan superstar, calls “my idol”.
Henrik Larsson Celtic and Beyond
At 38, Larsson has enjoyed the kind of career even Roy of the Rovers would struggle to compete with. Three World Cups and 106 caps for Sweden; over 300 goals at club level for Celtic, Barcelona, Manchester United, Feyenoord and Helsingborg; a Champions League title; a U.E.F.A. Cup Final appearance and myriad league and cup winner’s medals...the list goes on.
Yet, to reduce his career to numbers and statistics is to tell only half the story. What separates Larsson from his peers is the manner in which he went about his business. In an age where players are paid obscene salaries and find themselves on the front pages as often as the back, Larsson conducted himself with the kind of class and humility which would see you travel a long way round the world to find anyone in the game with a bad word to say about him.
The Celtic fans called him the “King of Kings” after a trophy-laden seven-year spell at Celtic Park. The sentiment towards him in Glasgow was so strong, in fact, that, when he scored as a Barcelona player on his return to the ground, he was applauded from every corner in the stadium. His spell with the Catalan giants also ended with every fan in a packed Camp Nou on their feet, chanting his name after his two assists as a substitute turned the 2005/06 Champions League final on its head and saw Barça overcome Arsenal to lift the biggest prize in club football. When offered the chance to extend his stay in Spain, and add considerably more money to his bank account in the process, he politely declined after a verbal promise to Helsingborg, his local club in Sweden, that he would finish his career there.
This decision should have saw Larsson take his foot off the pedal and enjoy his last couple of years in a less-demanding environment than he was used to. Instead, he came out of international retirement to help out a Sweden team struggling for goals and also managed to squeeze in a three-month loan spell at Manchester United in which he scored three times and helped the club advance in the Champions League and win the Premiership title – not bad for a 35 year old.
The Future
Larsson could be forgiven for taking some time out now to reflect on a stunning career, although this scenario seems unlikely. Rather than digging out the slippers and photo albums, he has already stated his intention to return to Scotland to gain his coaching badges at the first possible opportunity. Whatever his future holds, his decision to stay in the game in any capacity is a fillip for football in general. In the same week that another high-profile footballer, Marlon King of Wigan F.C., brought shame on the game and earned himself an 18-month stint in jail, now, more than ever, football needs the Henrik Larssons of this world.
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