Larsson Regrets

"If there's one regret I have from my career, it's that I came home from Sweden when Mr. Ferguson was trying to get me to stay at Manchester United."
~ Henrik Larsson

According to an interview with Henrik Larsson on fifa.com, the one thing decision he regretted was not staying with Manchester United beyond his three-month loan spell in 2007. Here is a man who has played for Celtic, Barcelona, Helsingborg, and Manchester United and won:

• 7 League titles
• 8 Domestic cups
• A Champions League medal
• A European Golden Boot award
• A spot on EURO 2004's "Team of the Tournament"
• A place in the Scottish Football Hall of Fame
• The UEFA Jubilee Award as the Best Swedish Footballer of the Last 50 Years

And yet his biggest regret was not staying at Manchester United. That says a lot about the quality of United and how our desire to win is a big factor in why players want to come to Old Trafford. We are a top class team and are certainly more "homey" than a lot of the other teams who treat their players like parts in a machine *cough cough* Manchester City *cough cough*

Anyway, I digress. Henrik Larsson was a fantastic player and has achieved so much in his career. He is far more than the archetypal one-dimensional forward that is so prevalent in the modern game. Larsson can score, he can create, he can inspire. He's proved this with his incredible goalscoring record at Celtic, his masterful display for Barcelona in their Champions League Final against Arsenal in 2006, and his time at Manchester United. 

Henrik Larsson came to Manchester in early 2007 when Alan Smith was out of form and Louis Saha was struggling with injuries. Wayne Rooney was our main man up front and the pressure was mounting on him as the team hit the home stretch of the season. Larsson came in and transitioned seamlessly, he was showing us his class and we loved it. Even though he only played in 13 games and scored 3 goals, that was enough to convince me that Larsson was the real deal. Here was an experienced footballer who could score, pass, and stay calm under pressure. He gave us that jolt we needed to push on to win the league and for that, he has my undying respect. 

There is no player quite like Henrik Larsson in the Premier League right now. The only way I can describe the man is: classy. He's the kind of person that would save children from a burning house or run a soup kitchen. I doubt there is a more awesome Swede than Henrik Larsson and if Mourinho doesn't take Sir Alex's job when he goes, then I wouldn't mind seeing Henrik Larsson in our dugout at all.