He has retired from international football twice only to return on each occasion. Now Henrik Larsson leads Sweden into 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying hinting he could still be playing by the time of the finals in South Africa.
Evergreen centurion
The evergreen 36-year-old ended his national-team career after the last two World Cups, before having a change of heart and making himself available both for UEFA EURO 2004™ and, after a shock announcement in May, for UEFA EURO 2008™. Yet, with Fredrik Ljungberg withdrawing from the Blågult fold after the tournament in Austria and Switzerland, Larsson took over the captaincy for last month's friendly with France, scoring in a 3-2 defeat. The new skipper should duly earn his 100th cap when Lars Lagerbäck's side begin their qualifying Group 1 campaign in Albania on Saturday.
Captaincy 'honour'
Larsson, who has played in six major championships since his Sweden debut in 1993, said he was not expecting to receive the armband. "It's an honour," he said. "I was a bit surprised as I thought they would give it to someone who will be around for five or six years, but [Lagerbäck and assistant Roland Andersson] thought it was the best solution." Whether the honour remains Larsson's in the event of Sweden getting to South Africa, is a question mark. "I've said before that I will play for as long as my body feels OK, and that still stands," he added. "I hope to continue for a couple of years, but you never know what could happen."
Swedish spirit
Back at hometown club Helsingborgs IF since 2006, Larsson – who has 37 international goals – avoided drawing parallels between this Sweden squad and their predecessors. "It's not easy to compare a team now with a team from let's say the 1994 World Cup, but in a way we have a tradition that we follow in Sweden," said the former Högaborgs BK, Feyenoord, Celtic FC, FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC forward. "We work hard as a unit, we're a strong side and even though we may not be as skilful as, say, Brazil we believe in what we've got."
New system
As well as Albania, Sweden will face Hungary, whom they host in Solna next Wednesday, Portugal, neighbours Denmark and Malta in Group 1. After a disappointing early exit from UEFA EURO 2008™, where the team struggled to create chances, Lagerbäck experimented with a 3-5-2 formation against France. Larsson gave his backing to the tactical switch. "I think it was great to try something different," he said. "We haven't kicked on in the bigger tournaments lately, and I think it's great to try something new, but of course it's Lars who decides which system we should use."
Safari trip
Sweden will play in Tirana without experienced duo Anders Svensson and Christian Wilhelmsson, both of whom were injured on Wednesday, meaning a late call-up for FC Basel 1893 left-back Behrang Safari. "Anders and 'Chippen' are two good individuals, but we've got a good set of players and I'm sure we'll do well on Saturday," Larsson said. "It's always great fun playing and hopefully we'll get off to a good start."
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