FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

Seven years with Scottish giants Celtic turned Henrik Larsson into a football megastar, and his legendary goalscoring prowess earned him a huge domestic trophy haul. In the eyes of the fans, he could do no wrong.
But for all the fame the Barcelona striker found in Scotland, and abroad for his FIFA World Cup™ exploits with Sweden, his focus remains on being a good footballer, just doing the best job he can. “He never lets the celebrity change him,” said Swedish international colleague Mattias Jonsson. “He really is just one of the boys with the team. You can laugh with him and talk to him any time you want. He’s always ready to help in any way he can. He’s just ‘Henke.’ I think that is his biggest strength.”

Even a brief international retirement could not keep him out of the spotlight when Larsson decided to concentrate on club football after the 2002 FIFA World Cup. When the Swedish media, spurred by demand from the fans, pushed for Larsson to return, his son Jordan cast the deciding vote and he bowed to the pressure, donning the yellow and blue of Sweden again.

Rich reward
Larsson came back with three goals at the 2004 UEFA European Championship. His humility and appreciation of the supporters’ wishes endeared him even more to Swedes, who saw in him the embodiment of a true professional.

Fellow Swedish international Tobias Hysen said: “He is a role model for everyone, not just footballers. I can look up to him as more than a football player. You never hear about Henrik getting in trouble off the field. He’s never in the bars or going out and causing problems.”

Swedish football crowned Larsson its all-time king in 2005 when it named him their top player for the past 50 years. He is the only Swedish male player to win the Golden Ball twice – in 1998 and 2004 - and he earned Forward of the Year honors four times.

That is not bad for a player who very nearly did not make the cut when he was a teenager. When he was 15, coaches at a regional football outfit told Larsson he was too small, too weak and not tough enough to play the sport professionally.

Battling on
Rather than listen to them, Larsson simply worked harder, and by the time he was 21, he was playing for the national U-21 team before making his full debut on 13 October 1993 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Finland.

After leading his hometown club Helsingborg to the upper echelon of Swedish football, Larsson moved to Feyenoord in the Netherlands in the autumn of 1993. Although Feyenoord didn’t win any titles, Larsson kept on scoring, catching the eyes of scouts across the continent. His talents were far from secret after the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where he starred in the Sweden team and scored as they clinched third place.

In 1997, he made the move to Celtic and scored 16 goals in his first season to help his new club to the league title. By the time Larsson left Celtic, he had scored 175 times in just 221 matches. Only a painful double fracture of the jaw could stop his trademark, tongue-out goal celebration.

Larsson also broke his leg in a UEFA Cup match in 1999 but he returned seven months later, featuring for Sweden’s side in the 2000 European Championship and winning the golden boot as top scorer in European football, with 35 goals in 37 games for Celtic.

Larsson joined Barcelona in 2004, but injures have not helped him make the same kind of impact in Spain and the 34-year-old will sign an 18-month deal to return to Helsingborg at the end of the season.

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UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

A bustling left-sided midfield player that thrives on being in the thick of the action, Sebastian Larsson has made steady progress through the Arsenal FC ranks since joining the club at the age of 16.

National team
Larsson has represented Sweden at both U19 and U21 levels.

Club
Then on the books at IFK Eskiltuna, the youngster caught the attention of Arsenal scouts while in action for the Swedish U17s and quickly agreed terms with the Premiership club.

2004/05: After progressing through the Arsenal youth and reserve teams, Larsson earned a place on the substitutes' bench for the UEFA Champions League match against Panathinaikos FC on 20 October. A week later he made his first-team bow in an unfamiliar left-back position against Manchester City FC and went on to make two more appearances.

Did you know?
Larsson is from Eskiltuna in eastern Sweden, a town famed for its interesting heritage, beautiful lakes and the venue for the 2006 World Gliding Championship.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

UEFA EURO 2004™ player's profile

A deadly striker whose goalscoring prowess for club and country has become legendary, Henrik Larsson is strong on the ball, good in the air and possesses a sharp footballing brain.

National team
Larsson earned his first call-up in 1992 and helped Sweden achieve third place at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He scored against Italy at UEFA EURO 2000™ and found the net three times during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football in April 2003 after 24 goals in 73 games.

Club
Larsson made his debut in 1989 for Högaborgs BK, scoring 23 goals over three years before joining hometown team Helsingborgs IF in 1992. After 34 goals in 31 games, a move to Dutch side Feyenoord followed, before in 1997 he joined Celtic FC.

1998: In 1998/99, Larsson scored 29 goals, but broke his leg in two places in a UEFA Cup tie against Olympique Lyonnais at the start of the next season. He returned to help Celtic to the domestic treble in 2000/01. Larsson's outstanding form continued into the next season when he scored 53 goals in all competitions, including three in the UEFA Champions League, to win the ESM Golden Shoe. Larsson then contributed a further 28 goals and scored ten times en route to the UEFA Cup final, including two in the 3-2 defeat by FC Porto.

2003/04: At the start of the season he broke the record for European goals scored by a player at a British club when he collected his 31st strike in a 4-0 win against MTK Hungária FC in the Champions League qualifying round. Went on to enjoy another prolific campaign as Celtic won the double, scoring twice in his final competitive game in green and white, a victory in the Scottish Cup final.

Did you know?
Celtic arranged a friendly against Sevilla FC to make Larsson's farewell from Celtic Park.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

BBC's UEFA EURO 2004 player's profile

Henrik Larsson bowed to overwhelming public pressure to come out of international retirement for Euro 2004.

The striker left Sweden in 1993 to join Feyenoord before joining Celtic for a bargain fee of £650,000 in 1997.

Larsson has enjoyed phenomenal success in Scotland, netting over 230 times and guiding the Bhoys to three league titles and the Uefa Cup final in 2003.

The 32-year-old has been a regular in the Sweden team since their third-place finish at the 1994 World Cup.

He may have lost some of his pace but remains one of the best finishers in the game and looks set to partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Portugal.

His experience and guile, combined with the unpredictable talents of Ibrahimovic, should give the Swedes plenty of cutting edge up front.

©bbc.co.uk 2004. All rights reserved.