PHOTO: Bildbyrån/Youtube
Exactly 19 years ago, a certain Henrik Larsson made his debut for Manchester United.
Do you remember how it went?
Of course, the Swede made an impression right away when, true to his habit, he showed his nose to score.
Henrik Larsson is one of our absolute biggest football stars of all time. In addition to league titles with Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United, the Swede was also highly involved in the Spanish club winning the Champions League in the 2005/2006 season. As you know, “Henke” was also part of the national team that took home the WC bronze in 1994.
Unlikely move
Manchester United it was yes. After the World Cup in 2006, it was announced that Henrik Larsson would return home to Sweden and Helsingborgs IF, but the superstar certainly had one more foreign adventure in him. On December 1 of the same year, it was announced that Helsingborg had agreed with the English major club Manchester United on a loan of just over two months.
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The then 35-year-old striker was ready to make his debut in the FA Cup meeting with Aston Villa on 7 January 2007. Henrik Larsson was immediately given the chance in the starting eleven where he formed an attacking pair with Wayne Rooneyand the success would not be long in coming.
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Praised by Sir Alex
In the 55th minute of the match, on a pass from Wayne Rooney himself, the Swede elegantly lifted the ball into the net and the dream debut was a reality. The goal set the stage for Manchester United to win 2–1 against Olof Mellberg’s Aston Villa.
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Larsson made a big impression during the short period he was at the club, and coach Sir Alex Ferguson tried to get him to stop.
– He has been fantastic for us, his professionalism, his attitude, everything he has done has been fantastic. We would have loved if he had stayed, but has promised his family and Helsingborg to return. We have to respect that, but I would have done anything to make him stay, Ferguson said at the time.
“Henke” returned to Helsingborg, but when Manchester United later won the league that spring, the Swede once again had to step into Old Trafford to receive his medal.
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See Henke’s goal: