Line of footie
Telly detective Martin stars in Henrik v Lubo charity match in front of 60,000 Hoops fans
CELTIC started the weekend by completing a historic hat-trick before Hoops legend Henrik Larsson ended it with one of his own.
The Swedish superstar rolled back the years as he bagged a treble in yesterday’s charity match just 24 hours after the champions lifted the Scottish Cup at Hampden.
It was just like old times as former striker Larsson – who scored an incredible 242 goals in 315 games during seven years at Parkhead – ran riot in front of 60,000 adoring fans.
Everyone was in the party spirit at Celtic Park as they watched Henrik’s Heroes take on Lubo’s Legends – except for Neil Lennon who was sick during the match.
But Larsson – who won the Treble with Martin O’Neill’s side in 2001 – was more concerned with the condition of the current Hoops crop.
He said: “Going a full season without being beaten is fantastic. Celtic have potential and the future will tell how great they will be.
“Brendan Rodgers has a great side but so was ours. It’s not fair to compare eras because football develops.
“You can only beat what’s in front of you and they did that.”
The “King of Kings” and Lubo Moravcik – signed for a paltry combined £950,000 by former Hoops managers Wim Jansen and Jo Venglos – returned for a charity match heaped in nostalgia yesterday.
The glittering fundraiser in aid of the Celtic FC Foundation raised £500,000 through gate receipts alone.
Current first-team stars Patrick Roberts, Scott Brown, Kieran Tierney and Leigh Griffiths joined gaffer Brendan Rodgers to parade their three trophies in front of a delighted Parkhead crowd.
The party atmosphere was in full swing after the Invincibles secured the Treble following their dramatic Scottish Cup victory over Aberdeen.
It came days after the club celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions winning the European Cup – and now it was time to honour some other former Celtic stars.
Ex-Hoops aces including Artur Boruc, Neil Lennon, Alan Thompson, Stan Petrov, John Hartson, Alan Stubbs, Tosh McKinlay, John Hartson, Enrico Annoni, Stephane Mahe and Momo Sylla all featured.
Celebrities also strutted their stuff with Line of Duty star Martin Compston, River City actor Gerard Miller and Still Game’s Scott Reid in action.
An entertaining first half saw Henrik’s Heroes race into a 5-1 lead as the familiar strains of the Magnificent Seven theme tune blared out of the PA system when the super Swede bagged a first-half hat-trick.
But not to be outdone his former Hoops team-mate Petrov netted with a delightful chip over Boruc before Norwegian Harald Brattbakk added another for Henrik’s Heroes.
Kris Commons – who was making his final appearance at Celtic Park – brought the curtain down on his Hoops career with a goal as he pulled one back for Lubo’s Legends.
But it was Slovakian magician Moravcik – who scored 35 goals in 129 games during his four-year spell at Celtic from 1998-2002 – who brought the house down in the first half.
The diminutive 51-year-old sent man-mountain Bobo Balde sprawling to the turf with a quite blatant shoulder barge on the former Hoops defender.
Delighted Moravcik seemed genuinely proud of his efforts and milked the laughter and applause from the fans by gesturing towards the crowd with his arms outstretched.
In the second half, Moravcik netted to make the final score 5-2 – and then wheeled away with his trademark aeroplanestyle celebration.
But the day belonged to Larsson as he made it trebles all round for Celtic.
HENRIK’S HEROES - Douglas, Hedman, Boyd, McNamara, Valgaeren, Rieper, Hughes, Agathe, Thompson, S. Brown, Donnelly, Lennon, Petrov, Larsson, Brattbakk. Hartson, Compston, Curran, Reid, Guthrie, Flynn LUBO’S LEGENDS – Boruc, Corr, Mahe, Annoni, McKinlay, A Stubbs, S Stubbs, Varga, Crainey, Sylla, Brown, Commons, Petta, Moravcik, Riseth, Dziekanowski Johnson, Burchill, Miller, Capaldi, McCall, Higgins. M. Brown.