Henrik Larsson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henrik Larsson
Personal information
Full name	Henrik Edward Larsson
Date of birth	September 20, 1971 (age 35)
Place of birth	Helsingborg, Sweden
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Nickname	Henke, King of Kings
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Helsingborgs IF
Number	17
Youth clubs
1977-1988	Högaborgs BK
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1988-1992 1992-1993 1993-1997 1997-2004 2004-2006 2006- 2007	Högaborgs BK Helsingborgs IF Feyenoord Celtic FC Barcelona Helsingborgs IF → Manchester United (loan)	065 0(23) 056 0(50) 101 0(26) 221 (174) 040 0(13) 015 00(8) 007 00(1)
National team2
1993-2006	Sweden	093 0(36)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:09, 13 March 2007 (CET). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 1 October, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Henrik Edward Larsson MBE [IPA: 'hɛnrɪk 'lɑːʂɔn] (born September 20, 1971 in Helsingborg, Skåne, Sweden) is a Swedish football player.

Before making a name for himself beginning in the late 1990s, a young Henrik Larsson was famous for his unique high-flying, blonde dreadlocks. After fully recovering from a career-threatening injury in 1999, Larsson returned to the game with his head completely shaven. He has not grown his hair back ever since.

Larsson is best known for his seven very successful years with Scottish club Celtic F.C.. He subsequently had a two-year spell at Barcelona of Spain, where he won the Champions League. Having left Barcelona in the summer of 2006, he returned to his home town club of Helsingborgs IF.

On December 1, 2006, it was announced that Larsson would sign for Manchester United on loan from January 2 until March 12, 2007, coinciding with the Swedish football league's winter break. He has returned to Helsingborgs IF in time for the start of the Swedish league season in April.^[1] He scored in his debut game on 7 January, a third round FA Cup win against Aston Villa.

From 1993-2002 and 2004-2006 Larsson played international football for Sweden. He announced his international retirement after the 2006 World Cup. As of 9 January 2007 it was reported that Sweden boss Lars Lagerbäck has held talks with Henrik Larsson and is understood to be trying to lure him out of international retirement. Lagerbäck is quoted as saying that the Swedish FA are eager to see him playing for his country once more.

Henrik Larsson is such an established player, respected and admired for his talent even at the age of 35, that only days after finishing his loan spell for Manchester United, he was called upon to play and captain a European XI against Manchester United for the friendly fixture on March 13, 2007 in celebration of Manchester United's 50 years of association with UEFA.^[2]

Contents 1 Biography 2 Winning the European Cup with Barcelona 3 Manchester United 4 International career 5 Personal life 6 Honours 6.1 Club 6.2 Country 6.3 Individual 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Biography

Larsson started his professional career playing for Högaborg at the age of 17. He subsequently moved to Helsingborgs IF, where he scored 50 goals in 56 appearances. It was this sensational form that attracted the interest of Dutch club Feyenoord, who signed him for £295,000 in 1993. This was despite the fact he was negotiating a contract with Grasshopper-Club Zürich at the time.^[3]

Following a complicated contract dispute with Feyenoord, he was signed by Celtic manager Wim Jansen in July 1997 for a fee of £650,000. His debut against Hibernian at Easter Road was less than spectacular: he inadvertently passed the ball to Hibs player, Chic Charnley, resulting in a 2-1 loss for Celtic. He did not fare much better in his first European game, scoring an own goal, although Celtic did run out 6-3 winners.

Larsson scored 242 goals for Celtic, in 315 matches, making him Celtic's third all-time record goal scorer (in all competitions). This is more remarkable in the fact that he missed almost a year having suffered a horrific injury, breaking his leg in two places, whilst playing against Olympique Lyonnais in a UEFA cup match in France.Celtic lost the tie 2-0.

In 2001 he won the "Golden Boot" award for being Europe's most prolific goal scorer, with 35 league goals. His total in all competitions that season was 53. In 2003, he scored two superb goals in the UEFA Cup Final, although opponents Porto went on to win 3-2. His goalscoring feats on the continent for Celtic mean he holds the record for number of goals scored for a club from the British Isles in European matches. Celtic fans voted him the only foreigner in the greatest ever Celtic team.^[4]

In his last appearance for Celtic, he scored twice to defeat Dunfermline Athletic and win the Scottish Cup. He gave a teary goodbye at his testimonial match against Sevilla FC.

[edit] Winning the European Cup with Barcelona

At the end of the 2003-04 season Larsson signed a one year contract with Barcelona with an option for a second year.

Larsson's first season at Barcelona was plagued by injury, and he played only a nominal part in Barça's La Liga win. He did, however, score against Celtic in a Champions League match. After the game he said "It was very difficult for me to celebrate my goal because I had so many great times here...".^[5] Despite having missed most of the 2004-05 season, Barcelona took the option to extend his contract. In 2005-06 Larsson scored 10 goals as Barcelona won La Liga for a second consecutive year.

In January 2006, Larsson announced that at the end of his contract, which ended in July, he would leave Barcelona and return to Sweden to end his career. He revealed that he had politely refused a verbal promise by club president Joan Laporta to extend his contract to the end of the next season. News of his departure provoked praise from his teammates, including Ronaldinho - "With Henrik leaving us at the end of the season this club is losing a great scorer, no question. But I am also losing a great friend. Henrik was my idol and now that I am playing next to him it is fantastic."^[6]

In his final game for Barcelona, he won his first UEFA Champions League medal. Larsson came on as a substitute and assisted both of Barcelona's goals in a 2-1 win over Arsenal. Thierry Henry paid tribute to Larsson's contribution to Barcelona's win after the game, saying "People always talk about Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly and everything but I didn't see them today - I saw Henrik Larsson. Two times he came on - he changed the game, that is what killed the game - sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that, you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference and that was Henrik Larsson tonight..."^[7] Indeed his ability to give Barcelona the cutting edge required to overcome Arsenal was noted by the international press:^[8][9]

The New York Times

It was created with a flick of Henrik Larsson's right foot, a moment born of experience and craft. Larsson has said he is retiring from this level of soccer after this game. He had only just come on the field as a replacement but he knew exactly what he was doing. He has vision. He is 34 and he has been in the game for the whole of his adult life and what he could do once he could repeat another four minutes and Larsson again showed the ability to find the pass that destroys defenses. This time he spotted Juliano Belletti, another replacement, who with almost his first touch of the night powered the ball inside the near post of Arsenal's replacement goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia.

The Glasgow Herald

However, Larsson, a free transfer among an array of multi-million pound talent, was undoubtedly the difference between the sides. He set up the equalising goal with a delicate sidefooted pass to Samuel Eto'o, who took two touches before dinking the ball past Manuel Almunia. Rijkaard hailed Larsson's role in the victory but said there was no chance of the Swede staying at Camp Nou for one more season. Larsson signed for Barcelona from Celtic in July, 2004. "He is a wonderful player, and a very important player for us," said Rijkaard later. "He is always ready and prepared to come on and really help the team when we need him. "We spoke to Henrik [about staying at Barcelona] but he has made his decision. He says now is the right time for him to go back home to Sweden." Larsson preferred to concentrate on the effort shown by his team-mates. "It was a tough match and the whole team deserve credit for the win," he said. "It was an unbelievable way for me to finish my career at Barcelona. I have had a fantastic experience here in my two years, with two league titles and now this. It's amazing."

After Sweden's elimination from the 2006 World Cup on June 24, 2006, Larsson joined up with his former club, Helsingborgs IF. He made his second debut for his home town club against Hammarby in the Swedish Cup on July 6, 2006.

[edit] Manchester United

After a short stint in Helsingborgs IF, Larsson was signed on loan by Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. United announced that Larsson would be on loan from January 2 until March 12, which coincides with the Swedish league's off season.

Larsson scored on his debut for Manchester United FC against Aston Villa in the FA Cup Third Round on January 7, 2007 at Old Trafford. The great Swedish striker scored his first ever Premiership goal on January 31, 2007 in a 4-0 win over Watford.

It had been reported that Larsson might have been allowed to stay with United until the end of the English season if all parties involved agreed on a settlement, however Larsson had admitted that he would've liked to stay at United until the end of the season, but he said in an interview he had made a promise to his family and his club back in Sweden to return on March 12, 2007 and on February 20, 2007 Larsson announced that he would not be extending his loan period in Manchester. Larsson stated that "The Swedish season starts at the end of March. I need to get back for it." He also said that 'I've loved my time at United, and I wish I could stay, but I made a promise and I have to keep it', a decision which was backed by Sir Alex in a Sky Sports interview after Larrson's Goal that sealed the Champions League 2nd Leg victory over French side Lille. Sir Alex said, 'He's been fantastic for us, we tried everything we could to get him to stay longer, but he made a promise and you have to respect that'.

Larsson made his final appearance for United on Saturday 10 March, in a 6th Round FA Cup tie, away to Middlesborough, which ended in a 2-2 draw. On 8 March, Larsson stated that had Helsingborgs been able to find a replacement, he could have been persuaded to stay longer at Manchester United.

Although he only scored 3 goals for Manchester United, he was noted for playing well and being highly influential to players such as Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha. He also brought a lot of experience to the team, which the younger players could learn from.

[edit] International career

Larsson's international record is impressive with 36 goals in 93 games, many of which he played in midfield or as a winger. He has always made his mark on big occasions and has scored at three World Cups (1994 at which Sweden came third, 2002 and 2006), and two European Championships (2000 and 2004).

Larsson originally chose to retire from International football in 2002. His decision was met with much dismay in his homeland and there was much clamouring for him to return to the team for their campaign at Euro 2004 in Portugal.^{[citation needed]} Despite initially maintaining his decision to retire, turning down overtures from UEFA President Lennart Johansson and the Swedish Prime Minister in the process,^{[citation needed]} he eventually returned to the national side at the behest of his son, and to great effect, scoring three goals in four matches and leading Sweden to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated in a penalty shootout by the Dutch. Larsson's tremendous diving header against Bulgaria was voted Best Goal of the 2004 European Championships.^{[citation needed]}

Larsson also featured at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He scored in the final minute of the match against England for Sweden to draw the match 2-2 in their final game in the group stages, thus becoming only the sixth player to score in World Cup finals which are 12 years apart. The goal also sealed Sweden's qualification for the second round of the tournament. But in Sweden's Round of 16 game against host Germany, he blasted a penalty over the bar which could have given his team a lifeline after trailing 2-0 for most of the match.

He retired from international football for the second time on July 17, 2006.^[10] "It is time to quit now. It feels right. I'm done with the national team," the 34-year-old Larsson told TV station Canal Plus.

[edit] Personal life

Henrik's father is from the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and his mother is Swedish. In 1996 he married his childhood sweetheart, Magdalena. They have two children, Jordan (born 1997) and Janelle (born 2002).

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club Dutch Cup: 2 1993-94, 1994-95 Scottish Premier League: 4 1997-98, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04 Scottish League Cup: 3 1997-98, 1999-00, 2000-01 Scottish Cup: 2 2000-01, 2003-04 UEFA Cup Runner-up: 1 2002-03 Spanish League: 2 2004-05, 2005-06 Spanish Super Cup: 1 2005-06 UEFA Champions League: 1 2005-06 Swedish Cup: 1 2006

[edit] Country FIFA World Cup 3rd place: 1 1994 [edit] Individual Golden Boot: 1 2000-01 Guldbollen: 2 1998, 2004 All-time best Swedish football player: 1 2005 MBE: 2006

Preceded by Pär Zetterberg	Guldbollen 1998	Succeeded by Stefan Schwarz
Preceded by Craig Burley	Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1999	Succeeded by Barry Ferguson
Preceded by Jackie McNamara	Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 1999	Succeeded by Mark Viduka
Preceded by Barry Ferguson	Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Paul Lambert
Preceded by Mark Viduka	Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Lorenzo Amoruso
Preceded by Olof Mellberg	Guldbollen 2004	Succeeded by Zlatan Ibrahimović

In November 2003, the Swedish Football Association bestowed upon him the accolade "greatest Swedish football player of the last 50 years." (to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee) In 2005 Larsson received an honorary degree from the University of Strathclyde, in recognition of his contribution to football and for his charity work. In May 2006 he was given the honour of MBE by the British Consulate in Barcelona, in name of Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to British football.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Henrik Larsson career stats at Soccerbase
• Helsingborgs IF profile (Swedish)
• FootballDatabase profile and stats
• Henrik Larsson Official Website at Icons.com
• "Talismanic Larsson provides parting gift to Celtic and Barça" article in The Herald, 18 May 2006, accessed 18 May 2006
• UEFA.com - Sweden's Golden Player

	Sweden squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Isaksson | 2 Nilsson | 3 Mellberg | 4 Lučić | 5 Edman | 6 Linderoth | 7 Alexandersson | 8 A. Svensson | 9 Ljungberg | 10 Ibrahimović | 11 Larsson | 12 Alvbåge | 13 Hansson | 14 Stenman | 15 K. Svensson | 16 Källström | 17 Elmander | 18 Jonson | 19 Andersson | 20 Allbäck | 21 Wilhelmsson | 22 Rosenberg | 23 Shaaban | Coach: Lagerbäck

	Sweden squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Hedman | 2 Mellberg | 3 P. Andersson | 4 Mjällby | 5 Michael Svensson | 6 Linderoth | 7 Alexandersson | 8 A. Svensson | 9 Ljungberg | 10 Allbäck | 11 Larsson | 12 Kihlstedt | 13 Antonelius | 14 Edman | 15 Jakobsson | 16 Lučić | 17 Magnus Svensson | 18 Jonson | 19 Farnerud | 20 D. Andersson | 21 Ibrahimović | 22 A. Andersson | 23 Isaksson | Coach: Lagerbäck / Söderberg

	Sweden squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1 Ravelli | 2 R. Nilsson | 3 P. Andersson | 4 Björklund | 5 Ljung | 6 Schwarz | 7 Larsson | 8 Ingesson | 9 Thern | 10 Dahlin | 11 Brolin | 12 Eriksson | 13 M. Nilsson | 14 Kåmark | 15 Lučić | 16 Limpar | 17 Rehn | 18 Mild | 19 K. Andersson | 20 Erlingmark | 21 Blomqvist | 22 Hedman | Coach: Svensson

Persondata
NAME	Larsson, Henrik Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Swedish footballer
DATE OF BIRTH	20 September 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH	Helsingborg, Skåne, Sweden)
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH