Larsson indebted to O'Donnell

HENRIK Larsson's commitment to honouring Phil O'Donnell was plain for all to see yesterday when he left Parkhead sporting stitches in his forehead after a collision with Chris McCart. The incident was exactly why Sweden coach Lars Lagerbäck had presumably been alarmed when Larsson agreed to return to the international squad for next month's European championships, but only on the proviso he was able to play in yesterday's tribute match for O'Donnell, who died in December aged

"It was so very important for me to come back," said Larsson. "As soon as I heard about this tribute game I spoke with (former Celtic assistant manager] Murdo MacLeod and said that I would be there. It was before I decided to go back with the Swedish national team. I got the call two weeks ago from the Swedish national coach and I said: 'I would love to do that but on the 25th I need to be away.'"

Larsson, now 37, was determined be present alongside his team-mates from the 1997-98 squad as they remembered O'Donnell, who scored 20 goals in 101 appearances for Celtic. The recent death of Celtic first-team coach Tommy Burns also made it inconceivable that he would miss the occasion. "I spoke a lot with (Tommy] when I was here and even when I wasn't here," said a clearly emotional Larsson. "It was very sad."

Included among those back in the hoops yesterday were Craig Burley, Marc Reiper and Regi Blinker. Enrico Annoni, the Italian defender, had proved hardest to track down, but he received a rapturous welcome from the sold-out crowd. So, too, did Wim Jansen, the Dutch manager whose season-long stay at Parkhead was distinguished by a championship win which prevented Rangers claiming a significant tenth title in a row. His curly mop of hair remained in evidence yesterday.

Larsson perhaps went too far in re-living the days of 1997-98. By leaving the ground with stitches in his head he recalled the incident when he was the victim of a head-butt from team-mate Tosh McKinlay during training. The pressure of ensuring Rangers did not claim a tenth successive title led to a flash-point at Barrowfield, Celtic's old training ground. Larsson, who had yet to become a revered figure at the club, sported the war wounds for weeks afterwards. McKinlay, who also played yesterday, later apologised.

The bust-up illustrated the difficulties presented when a player joins a club abroad. Larsson yesterday recalled how O'Donnell, himself only in his mid-twenties, had been a comforting presence in the dressing-room during these uncertain times.

"Phil was a great guy," he said. "You always have guys who are talkers in the dressing room and guys who are a bit more calm. Phil was a bit more calm but a great guy. For me coming over here as a foreigner, he was always someone you could ask a question of and trust his answer. I couldn't trust Darren Jackson! You wouldn't get a proper answer. He (Phil] was not only important for me but for a lot of the foreign players."

Larsson, who now plays for Helsingborgs in his homeland, flew into Glasgow from Sweden on Saturday. His return to Celtic Park, where he had not played in hoops since Jackie McNamara's testimonial three years ago, was interrupted by a second-minute clash of heads after a corner had been played into the box. He left the pitch to receive treatment but returned in time to score Celtic's second goal in a 5-1 victory over what was ostensibly Motherwell's 1991 Scottish Cup-winning team. After an hour he was taken off again in recognition of international commitments.

"It's great to see everybody again," he said. "Most of the guys still look alright. Annoni still looks fit. Regi looks fit. Rieps looks a bit dodgy. Gouldie (Jonathan Gould] looks better now than when he played. I came in late on Saturday night and joined them this morning for breakfast and there was great banter straight away. I don't think I've seen Annoni for ten years but you just pick up straight away. I have something in common with these players and that's something you appreciate much more when you get older and I am certainly getting older."

For Larsson, who has since played for Barcelona and Manchester United, there was certainly a feeling he had returned to his footballing home. "This is the club for me," Larsson stressed. "This is where I made myself as a player. This is where everybody got to know me and this is the club that I will be eternally grateful to for giving me that opportunity."

Swede marks return with a cut head and a scissor-kick goal

ALAN PATTULLO AT CELTIC PARK

NOT even Henrik Larsson's return to Parkhead was enough to steal the show as Celtic and Motherwell paid tribute to the late Phil O'Donnell yesterday. Over 60,000 fans enjoyed a surprisingly competitive spectacle between celebrated teams of their day.

Indeed, it is fortunate that Sweden coach Lars Lagerbäck was not at Parkhead to see – and hear – the clash of heads which saw former Motherwell centre-half Chris McCart welcome Larsson back to Scottish football after only two minutes. The striker, who will join-up with the Swedish squad for the European Championships today, went off to receive stitches but returned to get his name on the score-sheet soon after with an acrobatic scissors-kick.

Adding poignancy to the day was the recent death of Tommy Burns, and he, too, was remembered. A giant banner was passed around the Jock Stein stand depicting both Burns and O'Donnell, while, in a more subtle touch, the words "Tommy" and "Phil" had been mown into the turf. Burns, of course, signed O'Donnell for Celtic, and, though both deaths are far too recent for the grief to have healed, a bright early summer's afternoon did provide a helpful lightness of mood. This was aided by Celtic's championship win of Thursday night and skipper Stephen McManus, along with Paul Hartley, John Kennedy and first-team coach Neil Lennon, brought the trophy onto the pitch at the end.

Just how fair it was to pitch together two sides whose respective moments in the sun were seven years apart could be questioned, and the result reflected this. The Celtic title-winners of 1998 triumphed by five goals to one against the Motherwell side which lifted the Scottish Cup in 1991. O'Donnell had distinguished himself in both teams.

Celtic's Morten Wieghorst, now a manager in his native Denmark, was the first player on the scoresheet, and Larsson added the second after 23 minutes. Harold Brattbakk, now a pilot in the States, notched a double before half-time. His second, when he hesitated before slotting into an empty net, recalled days when he was pilloried for a lack of killer touch at Parkhead. Darren Jackson scored Celtic's fifth at the end with a header.

"Both teams tried to play football with varying degrees of difficulty," said Tom Boyd afterwards. He played for the two clubs in the relevant seasons and so contributed spells in both jerseys.

Celtic from: Gould, Boyd, McNamara, Reiper, Larsson, Burley, Brattbakk, Wieghorst, Johnson, Marshall, Lambert, Mackay, Jackson, Donnelly, Blinker, McLaughlin, Annoni, Kerr.

Management: Wim Jansen, Murdo Macleod.

Motherwell from: Woods, Dijkstra, Kirk, Martin, McKinnon, Wishart, McCart, Arnott, Russell, Coyne, Paterson, Dolan, Angus, Nijholt, Ferguson, McGrillen, Philliben, Griffin, Boyd, Clarkson, Leitch, O'Neill, Marshall, Stephen O'Donnell, Mauchlen.

Management: Tommy McLean, Cammy Murray

Referee: Eddie Smith.