THERE’S ANOTHER LARSSON ON THE LOOSE
He’s the Feyenoord star whose famous surname will strike fear into the hearts of Rangers’ fans
IT is 15 years since Henrik Larsson made a tear-stained departure from Scottish football. But a namesake is hoping this week to turn the clock back to the days when a super Swede could be found wreaking havoc at Ibrox.
As Jaap Stam brings his Feyenoord side to Glasgow, winger Sam Larsson has warned Rangers boss Steven Gerrard that the Dutch outfit are coming to Scotland to win their Europa League Group G curtain-raiser on Thursday night.
The 26-year-old is known as ‘Samba Sam’ after being likened to a Brazilian and given the tag by Mikael Stahre, his manager at IFK Gothenburg, during his formative years.
And, while he is no relation to Parkhead icon Henrik (below), Larsson is a full Sweden international aiming to repeat the feats of his famous compatriot, who regularly enjoyed Ibrox success during his seven-year stay at Celtic until 2004.
‘There’s no way we are going to Ibrox looking to settle for a point or going there to defend. We are aiming for the win,’ said Larsson.
‘It’s a really open group and every team will think they have a chance to qualify. For me, all four teams are similar in quality.
‘That’s what makes Thursday so important. No team wants to be chasing it after the first game. So I assure you, we will go fully for the three points.
‘Everyone knows about Rangers and their history, but we have a good European record, too. It is only a couple of years ago since we got into the Champions League group stages, where the quality was extremely high and it was very difficult.
‘I think if we are honest — and maybe Rangers, too — the Europa League is more our level. I think both us and Rangers will be in competition to qualify.
‘I’ve never played in Scotland before, so it will be a first for me. I believe Ibrox is very similar to our stadium, De Kuip, because there are great atmospheres in both grounds when they are full.
‘It’s certainly what we want because that will lift us. I can only speak for De Kuip and the European atmospheres at games there are amazing. I would imagine it’s much the same in Glasgow.
‘Steven Gerrard was a great player who had a fantastic career and now that he’s a manager I expect him to be just as successful.’
Larsson is looking forward to
meeting up with a familiar face on Thursday in the form of £3million Sweden international defender Filip Helander, whom he backed to be a hit at Rangers after a slow start to his Ibrox career.
‘Filip has been my friend for years now,’ he said. ‘We have played for Sweden and also before that for the Under-21s, so I know him well.
‘He’s a great player — he has that Swedish mentality and I have no doubt that he will prove to be a great signing for Rangers. ‘He’s strong, quick and a great defender. I’ve deliberately not spoken to him about this game, though. I’ll wait until we get to Glasgow to do that.’ At the weekend, Feyenoord held a 3-0 lead at home to Den Haag but scored two own goals to ensure a nervy finish. Stam’s side won 3-2 but afterwards the ex-Manchester United central defender tore into his team. ‘We know we need to do better than our second-half display on Sunday,’ said Larsson.
‘The manager was right to have a go at us because he told us what we had to do at half-time. We didn’t follow it and we all know what happened.
‘We conceded two really stupid goals out of nothing. Then it got very stressful in the last few minutes but we only had ourselves to blame.
‘We stopped doing what we did in the first half and that gave them encouragement.
‘In the first half, I don’t think Den Haag crossed the halfway line, but the second half was really poor from us.
‘But don’t forget our first-half display was probably our best performance this year. We played like all Feyenoord teams should play in De Kuip. But, for some reason, we let it slip. We didn’t get to the level we wanted after the interval and we know we cannot afford a repeat of that in Scotland or we will be punished by Rangers.’
Meanwhile, former Swansea City star Luciano Narsingh admits he can’t wait to get reacquainted with British football again.
He said: ‘I know all about British football. The fans are incredible and I miss that.
‘I’m looking forward to playing at a stadium like Ibrox and we go to Glasgow with confidence, despite what happened in the second half against Den Haag.’