All eyes on Larsson as goal King Henrik holds court

IN a suite the size of your average sitting room, eight or nine Swedish players sit around tables, most ignored by the attendant press and filling in the time chatting or playing games of noughts and crosses.

The entire press posse is crammed into one corner of the room, the object of their fascination, of course, Henrik Larsson, who couldn’t look or sound more bored if he was back in school reciting multiplication tables.

If the hordes of Celtic supporters here are salivating at the thoughts of seeing him today, he doesn’t seem particularly enthused. He played in the 2-0 friendly at Lansdowne Road in 1999 as well, but claims he “can’t remember” anything about it.

He won’t talk about Barcelona-Chelsea next Wednesday and he refuses to even contemplate the thought of appearing in the World Cup in Germany - understandable after his long-term injury last year - which will be his fifth major international tournament.

If this week’s game is the beginning of a new era for Ireland, it merely marks a routine but useful stepping stone for Sweden’s ambitions, as the Swedes are paired with England this summer, and expect a similar style from Ireland.

“You have a special way of playing both in England and here,” Larsson drawls. “It’s a physical game that they like to play. Obviously as well, you have skilful players in the middle of the park, but for us, it’s just to feel the physical presence of the (Irish) players. Hopefully we can have a few surprises the way we play.”

Though Freddie Ljungberg will play no part because of a calf injury, Sweden still have Larsson and the combustible but dangerous Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to entertain the home crowd tonight.

“If you’ve never seen (Zlatan) play then sit back and enjoy it because he’s a quality player.

You have seen the size of him? He is a big guy with marvellous skills, physical presence and he can score goals. World class.”

Larsson’s first season in Catalonia was sabotaged by a lengthy knee injury and other minor ailments but the current season has seen a marked improvement.

Samuel Eto’o’s absence due to African Cup of Nations duty with Cameroon saw Larsson get an extended run in January and February and, as his goal against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda last Saturday confirmed, his form is sharp.

Unfortunately, that was a game overshadowed by racism in La Liga. This time the monkey chants were aimed at Eto’o who almost walked off the pitch in protest, only to be coaxed into staying by Larsson, Ronaldinho and coach Frank Rijkaard.

* Swedish boss Lars Lagerback will not name his starting line-up until just before kick-off time.