The importance of being Henrik

Larsson is enjoying life in Scotland

BBC Sport Online examines Henrik Larsson's amazing form for Celtic which has put his side in line for a treble trophy haul.

A goal in Celtic's 3-0 win at Rangers took Henrik Larsson's total for the season so far to a somewhat startling 50.

That tally would take many strikers two seasons to reach, and yet the word 'somewhat' comes into play because critics would argue the Swedish star plies his trade in uncompetitive Scottish football.

Mark Viduka's move from Celtic to Leeds at the start of this season however seems to disprove this.

Larsson is Europe's leading scorer

The Aussie frontman, who scored 25 goals for the Bhoys last season, has gone on to enhance his goalscoring reputation and fully justify his £6m price tag.

Larsson's achievement is put into even sharper context when considering that he broke his leg less than a year before the start of this season.

Although the familiar dreadlocks have gone, Larsson's goalscoring touch certainly has not deserted him.

A player who could probably earn more notoriety if he moved to a more prominent league in Europe, the standing of the Scottish League does not seem to affect Larsson.

The quietly-spoken and laid-back Swede enjoys life in Scotland and appears content to see out his career at Celtic, where 60,000 adoring fans sing his praises every fortnight.

Better than Batistuta

The fact that the manager of Celtic's arch-rivals, Dick Advocaat, claimed the Celtic striker was a better player than the fabulous Argentine forward Gabriel Batistuta says plenty in itself.

Larsson answered the lofty compliment with two goals in Celtic's 3-1 win over Rangers en route to the Legaue Cup final.

Larsson seems to have found his niche at Celtic, who bought him for £650,000, and have played him in the position he desires.

In his four seasons with Feyenoord, Larsson achieved a return of 26 goals in 100 league games.

In Rotterdam, Larsson was played in a number of different positions by the men he played under - Wim van Hanegeem and Arie Haan, but seldom as an out-and-out striker.

Larsson in action for Sweden

During the World Cup in 1994, when Sweden finished third, Larsson was used wide on the right, or in a role behind strikers Martin Dahlin and Kennet Andersson.

Wim Jansen had other ideas when he signed him up at Parkhead, and a Celtic legend was born.

With the aid of Larsson's goals, Jansen's Celtic won the league title in 1998.

The following term, the striker swept the boards in the Player of the Year awards in both Scotland and Sweden, with 39 goals to his credit.

Contract extension

In the opinion of the Parkhead faithful, the best thing to happen to Celtic that year was the decision of Larsson to sign a four-year extension to his contract.

In October 1999, Larsson was to sustain a dreadful leg-break while on Uefa Cup duty in Lyon, which many feared would end his career.

But, the striker recovered in time to make an emotional return for the final game of the season against Dundee United, and to represent his country in Euro 2000.

Now he has the chance to further engrave his name in Scottish's football history by passing Alan Gilzean's goalscoring record of 52 set in 1962.