He secured his hero status around Celtic Park and then headed off to win the He had another stint at a global great when he made his sensational cameo at Old Trafford to help Manchester United deliver the title.The super Swede knew a player when he walked out alongside him and he knows a team when he sees one.He is convinced about Celtic’s place in the pecking order when he was there in his prime.He said: “Where would that team have finished in England? Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. The game finished in a 2-2 draw, which was probably a fair result since both sides had had chances to snatch victory.On his return to the United dressing room after the game, the other players and staff members alike stood and gave Larsson a round of applause. Having identified the need for a short-term, top-quality striker, he swooped for former Celtic, Larsson, just recently returned to his homeland, didn’t take a lot of persuading. Only a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, awarded after Boateng had handled in his own area, saved United from defeat. Larsson had been dropped to the bench in favour of the fit-again Louis Saha, coming on to replace fellow veteran Ryan Giggs after 63 minutes. Your strong work ethic and ‘sixth sense’ that there might be problems ahead serve you well.Mulling over your first-team squad, you realise you have a nagging concern. Top four. However, the hosts had chances of their own and eventually took a 2-1 lead through Lee Cattermole and a George Boateng header. Long before Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived on these shores, Henrik Larsson was a Swede who became a cult hero at Manchester United.. The Swede was only going to be with the United squad for another month, and after that Saha would need to be fully “up and running” to support Rooney for the title run-in.However, Larsson may not have seen it that way.

With nerves fraying around the ground and United struggling to finish off the Ligue 1 outfit, Larsson rose majestically to head a Ronaldo cross past Tony Sylva after 72 minutes. Other managers might have been sitting back, lapping up the media applause for a season which has so far witnessed just two league defeats as January approaches. However, seven minutes later, the visitors had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Swede must have been pleased to see his name in the starting side named by Ferguson since the boss had clearly named as strong a side as he felt he had available. United conceded twice in the dying minutes, first to future Reds striker Robin van Persie and then Frenchman Thierry Henry.It was the first disappointment Larsson had experienced since his temporary switch to English football, even though he himself, obviously, couldn’t be blamed for that late collapse.A visit from Portsmouth, then under the guidance of wily boss Harry Redknapp, in the FA Cup the following weekend gave Larsson another opportunity to shine in the red shirt. On the Saturday afternoon, he rejoined the squad for the daunting trip to Anfield to face Rafa Benitez’ in-form Liverpool team.It was a surprisingly quiet day for the Swede. Again, it is easy to look back at Sir Alex’s thinking on that decision to bench Larsson and feel it was justifiable. Alas, the same must also be said of veteran club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. With United facing Watford at Old Trafford the following Wednesday evening, it was little surprise that the boss decided to give 35-year-old Larsson a breather. The striker’s three goals in 13 appearances may suggest that Larsson’s loan spell at Old Trafford was quite underwhelming, but those statistics don’t quite tell the full story. We should have won, to be honest.”When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.