Striker Jordan Larsson says it would be a “dream” to play for Celtic, the club at which his father Henrik became an icon, despite remaining focussed on firing current team Spartak Moscow to championship glory and into Europe.
“For me my whole life has been about proving I’m a good player, that I’m my own person you know.”
For Jordan Larsson, Spartak Moscow’s 23-year-old forward, football has been as much about establishing himself as a person and a player as it has been separating public opinion on him from that of his free-scoring father Henrik.
Larsson Sr became a legend at Celtic, winning four Scottish league titles, before going on to win La Liga and Champions League winners medals at Barcelona and enjoying a whistle-stop period on loan at Manchester United, where he won the Premier League.
Larsson Jr experienced most of those successes himself, basking the Celtic Park cauldron atmosphere as a youngster when his father, a stalwart of the glory-rich ‘Hoops’ team in the late 1990s and early 2000s, regularly celebrated silverware.
But for the younger Larsson, validation, not emulation is the priority. He himself is currently enjoying a purple patch with Spartak in Russia, where his fine scoring form which has put the country’s most decorated football team into the running for a chance at the title and endeared himself to the ultras of the capital club.
“For me Celtic will always have a special place in my heart, not that I’ve played there in that sense, but it was the first place where I saw football as a young kid going with my mother to see games when my father was playing,” Jordan told RT Sport over Zoom.
