Henrik owes his greatness to gaffer Wim
Celtic fans will raise a glass to toast Henrik Larsson on his 50th birthday tomorrow.
Yet Craig Burley – who joined the Hoops on the same day as the Swedish legend – insists Parkhead punters should also have a large one for manager Wim Jansen.
The former Scotland star credits the Dutch gaffer for turning Larsson into one of the best strikers in the world.
Burley, who also turns 50 on Friday, argues that if Jansen hadn’t made Larsson a Celt then he could have faded into obscurity instead of hitting the heights.
He said: “We both signed on July 25, 1997.
“It’s funny, I’d played against Henrik at Ibrox the year before in a World Cup qualifier.
“When I heard he was joining too I thought: ‘ Well, he’s a decent oldfashioned winger’ but no more than that.
“You have to remember that when he arrived at Parkhead he wasn’t the Henrik Larsson everyone thinks of now – and he had a terrible start.
“On his debut at Easter Road his misplaced pass set up Chic Charnley to score Hibs’ winner.
“In those early games and even at training there was no indication that he was going to become the club’s talisman or be such a prolific scorer.
“It took the unlikely appointment of Wim as Celtic’s manager – someone who had been struggling in Japan – to rescue Henrik’s career.
“At that time Feyenoord didn’t know what they had with him and were trying to offload him.
“It looked as though he might just meander back to Helsingborg, where he might never have been heard of again.
“Wim saw something in him that no one else had. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves for this but he’s the man who transformed him into the superstar he became.
“It’s like what Arsene Wenger achieved with Thierry Henry, who had endured a terrible time in Italy as a wide player.
“Wenger brought him to Arsenal and made him the greatest frontman of his generation.”
After defeat by Hibs, Celtic lost to Dunfermline and Larsson’s first goal at Parkhead was an OG in the UEFA Cup tie against Tirol Innsbruck.
But he went on to bag 19 goals in his debut campaign as Celts stopped Rangers winning 10- in- a- row – and the Swede was soon scoring for fun.
Burley said: “Celtic got Henrik for £ 650,000 – there are average players nowadays who make that in a month.
“Henrik overcame his difficult start and he was soon making an impact.
“The fact a player as talented as he was stayed with Celtic for seven years is something that just wouldn’t happen now but that was all down to him.
“The fact is that he was happy. He liked his colleagues and he was enjoying his football.
“Some players can find the adulation suffocating but the more adored he was by the Celtic crowd, the better he performed.
“He soaked up that energy and channelled it.
“He’s the most feted Celtic player of the last 40 years and deservedly so.”