Celtic hero Henrik Larsson spoke to Chris Sutton in the lead-up to our Glasgow Derby clash earlier today, lifting the lid on various aspects of his time at Parkhead.
Despite a career that saw the Swedish icon lift the Champions League and two La Liga titles at Barcelona alongside a Premier League at Manchester United, his reputation is synonymous with Celtic, and his legacy will live forever among the support.
Ranking among the most gifted players to ever pull on green and white, or even the best in the eyes of some, the 52-year-old scored 242 times inside 315 appearances during a mercurial seven years in Glasgow’s east end.
His starring role in the Road to Seville, four Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups, and two League Cup triumphs are just the tip of the iceberg for those who witnessed the King of Kings at full throttle.
Meanwhile, those of a younger generation who maybe aren’t old enough to have seen him live will have no doubt watched countless videos and been told everything they need to know about his legendary status.
Now enjoying the tranquillity of life away from football, Larsson spoke to his old striking partner Sutton concerning multiple aspects of his fantastic career.
Henrik Larsson explains Wim Jansen’s role in his career
Wim Jansen is another Celtic icon who deserves their heroic status at Parkhead due to the fact he stopped Rangers from winning ten in a row and was the man responsible for bringing Larsson to Glasgow.
Speaking on Sky Sports Football, Larsson revealed that Jansen gave him the direction needed to establish himself as a central striker, cutting out his early career habits of drifting into the wide areas rather than making a beeline for the 18-yard box.
Larsson stated: “I think he moved me up as a striker because we had some injuries; we had a very thin squad the first few months when I came to Celtic, and there were like, I think it was six, seven new signings that year as well.
“So everything was put in place (to go to Celtic), but there was no promise of you will be playing, you will play as a striker. It was purely, come over here, and we can see if we can get your career started again.
“I used to drift a lot to the left and out to the right when I played as a striker, and he said to me, ‘Henrik, if you want to score goals, you need to be in the box’, or if you’re drifting out here you need to make sure that you come back into the box.
“He was right; he was so clever in the footballing department, I think, and he got the best out of the players; that’s how it started.”
If it weren’t for Jansen’s intervention, who knows if we would’ve seen the same prolific numbers from Larsson throughout his time at Celtic.
Either way, Larsson is clearly extremely grateful for Jansen’s influence on his career, which led to seven years of excellence in Glasgow.
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