Larsson Still Regrets UEFA Cup Defeat For Celtic

Barcelona’s European Cup victory still hasn’t helped Swedish striker Henrik Larsson get over the heartbreak of Celtic’s defeat to Porto in the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

While Larsson was instrumental in Barcelona’s victory over Arsenal after coming on as a second half substitute in his last game for the Catalan club, he told Scottish newspaper the Daily Record that the defeat at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s men still haunts him.

“Years and years ago I would watch the European Cup and hope that one day I’d get the chance to play in it and even win it.

“Now I’ve realised that dream and it’s something I can always look back on with a huge amount of pride.

“But you can’t say that it erases the memory of losing the UEFA Cup with Celtic. That was a different team and I will always feel sorry we lost that game.

“Whenever I watch a UEFA Cup final I will be disappointed that I didn’t win it with Celtic.

“But at least now every time I watch the Champions League I can hold my medal and be incredibly happy that I achieved that.”

Henrik Larsson is now returning to his native Sweden to play for Helsingborgs.