Saturday, March 17, 2007

A fitting swansong for Larsson


In a highly competitive world that glorifies the virtue of material benefits, loyalty is no longer a prized asset.

It is, therefore, somewhat surprising to hear so much praise of the Swedish footballer Henrik Larsson after he completed ten weeks with Manchester United and declined to extend his contract further.

Larsson provided three valuable goals for United in 12 appearances keeping Alex Fergusion's team in contention for three titles: the English premier league, the FA cup and the European championsip.

Fans and the media are pouring credit to a rare example of a footballer whose sense of loyalty, to both Helsingborg, his Swedish club, and to his family, outweighs even his sense of ambition. It is the 35-year-old’s attitude, as much as his talent, that has so endeared him to Alex Fergusion.

To hear Larsson talk of honouring his contract to his Swedish club and turn his back to the possibilty of treble titles with a great club like Manchester United, is a reflection of the the measure of a great man.

Larsson was given an emotional send-off from the United players in the dressing room after his last game. The Swedish forward ended his brief journey to Manchester United when he played as captain of a European team against United for the charity match played at Old Trafford.

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