Sports
Henrik Larsson Names Hibs’ Easter Road as Toughest Away Stadium
Retired Celtic and Sweden legend Henrik Larsson named a surprise British stadium as the toughest ground he ever played at. Having become accustomed to high-stakes Champions League ties, the iconic striker competed all across Europe, yet his love for Britain is underscored by the fact that he also picked two Englishmen among the three best footballers he ever played alongside.
Larsson’s glittering career includes a Champions League title with Barcelona, a UEFA Cup runners-up finish with Celtic in the 2002/03 campaign, and a World Cup third-place finish with Sweden in 1994. There is no question about his place among the greatest Swedish players of all time after his career saw him score 372 goals in 707 appearances.
But as often as he was the hero in some of his club’s and country’s biggest moments, it’s clear the 54-year-old also appreciates the finer points of football. His pick for the toughest stadium to play at, revealed during a recent appearance on The Overlap podcast, highlighted his admiration for the grittier side of the beautiful game.
Larsson’s first-ever game as a Celtic player was against Hibernian at Easter Road, and it ended in a 2-1 defeat. That’s one of the reasons why the Swedish legend put forward Easter Road as the ‘toughest stadium’ he has ever played in. That’s no small feat for the Edinburgh side, with him revealing (watch from 1:07:05 of the video below):
“The toughest stadium I ever played in? Hibs. Easter Road. Yeah [after being asked if he had lost there], I never liked to go back there after that. I had a way of feeling.”
Although he never liked going back, he ended up playing 10 times at Easter Road throughout his stint with the hoops between 1997 and 2004, and his record wouldn’t suggest he feared it.
He won on six occasions, drawing twice, and losing twice. In that time, he managed to register six goals and one assist as he contributed to his side’s domestic superiority.
Larsson famously turned down the opportunity to join Manchester United during his prime years, and it wasn’t until 2007 that he would finally get a taste of English football through a loan deal at Old Trafford. But to this day, he stands by his loyalties in Scotland, with him having also shut down Jamie Carragher’s attempts at belittling the standard of football north of the border.
The pundit asked: “You know the move to Barcelona…obviously you are a legend at Celtic, we have seen the stats and getting all the goals, but there is always that thing – ‘oh, it’s the Scottish league…” Smirking, Larsson quickly cut in to clamp the pundit. He replied: “Yes, that is what you English say.” The panel – which included former Celtic midfielder Roy Keane – burst into laughter. Gary Neville added: “That’s a good line. There is a lot of Scottish hate coming your way.” Larsson noted:
“We played against a few English teams and we beat them. I stayed for seven years in Scotland with Celtic, but at the same time I played in the Euros and the World Cup. For me, it wasn’t important. I played in the Europa League or Champions League, I played against English opponents, and you score against them.”
He may not have played in English football for long, with his one-year loan with the Red Devils the only time he was ever a Premier League player. But Larsson still enjoyed his time at the Theatre of Dreams, describing his move as one that felt like he was “coming home”, and made note of the fact the dressing room had a very positive atmosphere under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Times have changed since then, and money makes the world go around – something the Swedish icon said was the reason he has fallen out of love with the beautiful game since his retirement in 2013.
