Henrik Larsson
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- This article is about the Swedish footballer. For the Danish footballer, see Henrik Larsen.
Henrik Larsson (born September 20, 1971 in Helsingborg, Sweden) is a Swedish international football player.
Having completed seven very successful years with Celtic in Glasgow, Scotland, after the end of the 2003/04 season he signed a one year contract with an option for a second year for Spanish giants Barcelona.
Larsson started his professional career playing for Högaborg at the age of 17. He subsequently played for Helsingborgs IF and Feyenoord. Although he was finalising the details of the contract with Grasshopper-Club Zürich in 1993 he moved to Feyenoord for £295,000. He was signed by Celtic in July 1997 for a fee of £650,000. His debut, playing Hibernian at Easter Road, was less than spectacular; he inadvertently passed the ball to the other side, resulting in a 2 - 1 loss for Celtic.
Larsson scored 242 goals for Celtic, in 315 matches, and in 2001 he won the "Golden Shoe" award for being Europe's top goal scorer. In 2003, Sweden nominated Larsson as the greatest Swedish football player of the last 50 years.
His decision to retire from international football met with much dismay in his homeland and there was much clamouring for him to return to the team for their campaign at Template:Ec2 in Portugal. Despite initially maintaining his decision to retire, turning down overtures from UEFA President Lennart Johannsen and the Swedish Prime Minister in the process, he eventually returned to the national side to great effect, scoring three goals in four matches and leading Sweden to the quarterfinals, where they were defeated in a penalty shootout by the Dutch.
Larsson's international record is impressive with 27 goals in 77 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 two World Cups (1994 at which Sweden came 3rd, and 2002), and two European Championships (2000 and 2004). For Celtic his finest moment (if not his happiest) came in the UEFA Cup final of 2003 in which he scored two goals in a 3–2 extra time defeat to Porto of Portugal. His goalscoring feats on the contintent for Celtic mean he briefly held the record for number of goals scored for a British club in European matches.
He is married, and has two children, Jordan (born 1997) and Janice (born 2002).
External links
- Official Site (http://www.icons.com/HL/)
de:Henrik Larsson et:Henrik Larsson he:הנריק לארסון es:Henrik Larsson fr:Henrik Larsson ja:ヘンリク・ラーション nl:Henrik Larsson no:Henrik Larsson sv:Henrik Larsson
| 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 |