Henrik Ready to Say Goodbye
by Cathal Dervan
HENRIK Larsson has resisted a call from the UEFA president Lennhart Johansen to make an international return for Sweden in Portugal next summer – and Martin O’Neill now accepts he will break Celtic’s hearts as well and leave at the end of the season.
Larsson scored twice as the Celts maintained their stranglehold on the Scottish Premier League leadership with a 5-1 win at Dundee United on Saturday.
And the Super Swede then revealed that his compatriot Johansen had pleaded with him, in a personal letter, to lead his country’s Euro 2004 bid next year.
The 31-year-old, who quit international football after the 2002 World Cup finals, did make a swift return last year to ease Sweden through an injury crisis on their way to the finals but he is adamant that his retirement is now final.
“It’s nice to receive a personal letter from Europe’s most powerful football leader but it’s not going to change anything. I made my decision once and for all,” Larsson said.
Celtic manager O’Neill also expects to start next season without his superstar. Speaking ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, he said, “Henrik is out of contract at the end of the season and the fact is that we all would like to keep him.
“But Henrik is pretty adamant what he wants to do and if he was to change his mind tomorrow morning then I would be absolutely delighted.
“If he doesn’t change his mind then he has had seven years at the football club and has been fantastic and you would wish him the best for the rest of his life because he has been a great servant to the club.”
Dundee United captain Derek McInnes suffered at the hands – and feet – of Bhoys hat-trick hero Chris Sutton on Saturday.
And McInnes believes Sutton is even more important than Larsson in the greater scheme of things as Celtic look to regain the league title from Rangers’ grasp.
“Despite the fact that they have a lot of top-class players, I think Chris Sutton is their most important player,” said McInnes. “He wins the first ball and brings everybody into the game.”
Celtic are currently tracking Sutton’s 19-year-old brother John. The former Spurs trainee has starred for Raith Rovers this season where he has scored 11 goals in 15 appearances for the First Division outfit.
Raith chairman Danny Smith revealed, “Celtic have sent scouts to a few games, but we can’t stop people from coming to watch him. We want to hold on to good players but like every other club in this division, every player has his price.”
O’Neill welcomed Alan Thompson back at Tannadice on Saturday and is now pressing his claims, and that of Chris Sutton, for an England call-up.
He added, “I ran into the England coach Brian Kidd some weeks ago and put the case forward for both of the lads - whether they wanted me to or not, I don’t know. It would have been a nice boost for Alan Thompson had he been called into the most recent squad as a culmination to all his brilliant play for over a year now.
“With a bit of luck he could maybe play in the friendly game in February but that’s a long way away.”
Ryan Wants
Open Croker
NEWLY appointed West-meath hurling boss Tom Ryan, the former Limerick guru, has joined the debate to open Croke Park to other sports. And he believes the GAA should allow soccer and rugby into their impressive Dublin headquarters and other grounds across the country.
Ryan said, “I think it should be the national stadium. It should be opened to athletics, soccer, rugby and occasionally to major events like the Special Olympics. The GAA has nothing to be afraid of.
“It’s all about sport; it’s about promotion; it’s about good will. And not alone Croke Park. What about our own ground here in Limerick? We could pack that for a rugby game between Munster and Toulouse. When you’ve got stadiums like Killarney - an unbelievable stadium - lying idle, then these stadiums must be open to all codes and let’s move forward.”
All Harte
TYRONE boss Mickey Harte has lifted the lid on the secrets behind his team’s historic All-Ireland breakthrough in a new book – and he has admitted that his side team’s style won them few friends as they won the Sam Maguire.
“People are going on about the number of fouls we committed n the All-Ireland semifinal against Kerry but they should look at the turnovers that we forced. We forced over 35,” reveals Harte in Kicking Down Heaven’s Door, Diary of a Football Manager.
“We played 20 games this year and we had no one sent off. Our first 20 minutes against Kerry, when we were awesome, should be the lasting impression of that semifinal.”
Finnan Sidelined
REPUBLIC of Ireland defender Steve Finnan faces another month on the sidelines as his Anfield injury nightmare worsens. Finnan missed last week’s friendly against Canada with a calf strain and further damaged the injury when he lasted just 45 minutes of Saturday’s scoreless draw at Middles-brough.
“We won’t have Steve for at least four weeks and it is a blow,” admitted Reds boss Gerard Houllier ahead of Thursday night’s UEFA Cup clash with Steaua Bucharest.
Cullen Delays Debut
MUNSTER’S record rugby signing Christian Cullen has been forced to delay his debut in the red shirt after specialists confirmed he requires surgery on a shoulder injury picked up playing in his native New Zealand for the Wellington Lions before his departure for Ireland.
Cullen, controversially left out of the All-Blacks squad for the World Cup, is set to miss the start of the Heineken Cup campaign.
“At the moment we cannot set a time on his likely recovery,” said Munster coach Alan Gaffney. “We are hoping it won’t be long but we have to accept that he won’t be available for the early rounds of the Heineken Cup.”
Sports Shorts
DUBLINER Fergal O’Brien produced one of his best displays ever to beat world number one Mark Williams in the U.K. snooker championships at York over the weekend.
“This is a great win for me, probably one of the greatest of my career,” said O’Brien ahead of his meeting with the legendary Jimmy White in the next round . . .
LEGENDARY Irish jockey Pat Eddery will race for the last time in Mauritius a week from Sunday, when he takes on some of the best riders in the world in the International Jockey Challenge. Michael Kinane and Pat Smullen will join Eddery at the prestigious event when a special presentation will be made to mark his final race.
GAA Shorts
ALL-Ireland champions Tyrone and Kilkenny face difficult openings to the National Leagues in February with the football kingpins from Ulster travelling to play Dublin on the first Sunday of the month. Kilkenny will begin their NHL schedule at home to Waterford three weeks later . . .
CROKE Park officials have confirmed that referees will issue yellow cards to players who dive in league and championship games next season . . .
THE Galway footballers have withdrawn from the FBD league in Connacht, set to begin in January, as too many of their players will be involved in colleges football . . .
THE nine Ulster counties will be joined by the students from Queens, Jordanstown and St. Mary’s College Belfast in a new look McKenna Cup Gaelic football competition this winter . . .
VETERAN Louth midfielder Seamus O’Hanlon has confirmed his retirement from inter-county football, 18 years after he made his debut for the county at just 17 years of age.
Soccer Shorts
SHELBOURNE winger Richie Baker is to seek out a new club in the American MSL after winning the Eircom League championship with the Reds last weekend. “My girlfriend is in Boston and I hope to get fixed up as soon as possible out there,” said the former Irish under-21 international . . .
ACTING boss Sean McCaffrey was officially confirmed as the new Ireland under-19 and under-17 boss at an FAI press conference on Monday. The 44-year-old Monaghan native replaces Brian Kerr.
Rugby Shorts
FORMER Irish international Paul Wallace will bring down the curtain on his professional career at a testimonial dinner in Dublin on Thursday when French star Phillippe Sella and Aussie World Cup winner Michael Lynagh will lead the tributes to the 1997 Lions tourist, forced to quit through injury . . .
FORMER Irish prop Dr. Syd Millar is the new chairman of the International Rugby Board, the game’s governing body, and will serve for a minimum of three years . . .
CONNACHT star Mark McHugh and Ulster’s Kieran Campbell picked up the Celtic League’s player of the month awards for September and October respectively . . .
IRISH stars Keith Wood and Brian O’Driscoll were both named on the World Cup team of the tournament at the victory dinner which followed England’s win over Australia in Saturday’s final.
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