'Smart guy': 242-goal Celtic hero tipped for national team role following recent appointment

The 50-year-old boss was sacked from his position as manager of West Ham United last month following their disastrous start to the English Premier League season, but found himself back in work just a fortnight later when he was named as Sweden’s new national team coach last week.

Potter, who managed in the Swedish top tier with Ostersund and won the Svenska Cupen in 2017, began building his backroom staff last week, confirming current Tottenham Hotspur coach Andreas Georgson as his assistant. However, with further additions expected, Celtic legend Larsson has been labelled as a perfect candidate for a backroom staff role with the Swedish national team by his former international teammate Anders Limpar.

“Potter will be bringing his coaching staff from the Premier League,” said Limpar. “But he’s a clever man, and he’s going to want to have all the tools he can have. To see a proper Swedish legend in his coaching team would help for sure. We already have an unbelievably good player in Sebastian Larsson as part of the national team setup.”

Larsson, 54, has held managerial roles of his own post-playing career, spending time in charge of Landskrona BoIS, Falkenberg, and Helsingborg, but most recently formed part of Ronald Koeman’s coaching staff at Barcelona, joining Alfred Schreuder at the Nou Camp in the summer of 2020, before leaving a year later following the dismissal of the Dutch head coach.

Scorer of 242 goals during his time at Parkhead, the Swedish striker earned over 100 caps for his national team during his playing career, and is viewed as one of the best players ever produced by the Scandinavian nation, having won titles in Spain, England, and Scotland during his career, while he also won Champions League during his time with Barcelona in 2006.

Currently out of work since leaving his role at the Nou Camp almost four years ago, former Arsenal winger Limpar believes it would be a no-brainer for Potter to add him to his coaching staff as he looks to resurrect Sweden’s hopes of qualifying for next summer’s World Cup.

“Why not Henrik Larsson?” Limpar told Hajper. “He’s been a coach at Barcelona. He’s way up there. To have Henrik Larsson on the staff would be the icing on top of the cake. He is a good friend of mine. I played with him for 10 years, and he is also a clever guy.”

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