When Henrik Larsson first arrived at Celtic 25 years ago, few imagined the dreadlocked Swede would go on to be regarded as one of the club's greatest ever players.
On July 25, 1997, Celtic boss Wim Jansen secured arguably the greatest bargain of the century, when Henrik Larsson signed from Feyenoord for a cut-price fee of £650,000. Initially, however, it looked as if the Parkhead side had paid well over the odds.
In Larsson's competitive debut, away to Hibs at Easter Road, the legendary forward, who had entered the pitch as a late sub, had the Hoops faithful holding their heads in their hands after passing the ball to opposition player Chic Charnley who duly smashed the ball into the back of the Celtic net. The score line ended 2-1 to Hibs.
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Things didn't much improve for Larsson in his first European game either, with the Swede scoring an own goal for Austrian outfit Tirol Innsbruck. In that early part of the season, it very much looked as if Henrik Larsson would be a flop at Parkhead.
As we all know, however, Henrik did manage to turn things around, and, boy, did he do it with flair and aplomb. Netting 19 goals in all competitions in his first season, the iconic striker helped Celtic lift the league championship for the first time in a decade - ending Rangers' dominance and scuppering the Ibrox side's chances of securing a historic tenth consecutive title.
Adored by Celtic fans and loathed (but also secretly admired) by opposition supporters, Henrik Larsson's goal scoring ability would prove to be lethal. In 315 games for Celtic between 1997 and 2004, the mercurial number 7 rippled the net on an astonishing 242 occasions.
The sensational tally makes Larsson the club's third top goalscorer of all time, behind Bobby Lennox and Jimmy McGrory.
In his seven seasons in the east end of Glasgow, the extraordinary Swede would finish the league's top scorer five times, and was crowned Europe's top scorer in 2000/01 after banging in 35 goals. His goalscoring prowess would help Celtic to four Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups.
In the 2003 UEFA Cup final, Celtic would narrowly lose out to Porto in Seville - to no fault of Larsson, who scored both goals for the Scottish champions on the night.
Deadly in Scotland and every bit as valuable for Celtic on the European stage, Larsson would go on to be described by fans as the 'King of Kings'.
Today, on the 25th anniversary of the great man's signing, we take a look at seven of Larsson's most important goals in a Hoops jersey.
v St Johnstone, Scottish Premier League, August 23, 1997
Coming hot on the heels of Larsson's miserable debut at Easter Road, the striker's emphatic diving header away to St Johnstone was precisely what he needed to silence his early critics - that and the 18 other mostly brilliant goals he would smash in that season.
v Rangers, Scottish Premier League, August 27, 2000
When pressed on his fondest Old Firm memory, Larsson has, rather unsurprisingly, named his pitch perfect lob over Stefan Klos during the 6-2 'demolition derby' at Celtic Park. The now iconic goal, which also happens to be a favourite Old Firm moment for thousands of Celtic supporters, solidified Henrik's status as a club hero and confirmed the striker was back to his absolute best following the potentially career ending double leg break he had sustained against Lyon the previous season.
v Kilmarnock, Scottish League Cup Final 2001
In the months following the 6-2 victory against Rangers, Larsson was aflame, scoring goal after goal. In the Scottish League Cup Final against Killie, however, he truly became the king of kings, notching a second half hattrick in a dominant 3-0 victory.
v Hibs, Scottish Cup Final 2001
Celtic's historic treble under new boss Martin O'Neill was secured at Hampden as the Hoops put on a show-stopping performance to defeat Hibs 3-0. Two goals by that man Larsson proved critical in earning the result.
v Blackburn Rovers, Uefa Cup 2nd round, 2002/03
Larsson was on fire during Celtic's 2002/03 Uefa Cup run, netting in almost every single game he was involved in, but it was his performance in the matches against Blackburn that really forced a lot of pundits south of the border to sit up and take notice. Largely ignored by the English press for plying his trade in Scotland, Larsson proved the Premiership doubters wrong by netting in both ties against Graeme Souness' side.
v Liverpool, Uefa Cup Quarter Final, 2002/03
Returning from a broken jaw sustained in a match against Livingston, Larsson opened the scoring in Celtic's second 'Battle of Britain' of 2002/03, the quarter final of the Uefa Cup against Liverpool. With Henrik helping to secure a 1-1 draw at Parkhead, the Celts travelled to Merseyside to record a famous 2-0 win at Anfield and a place in the semis.
v Porto, Uefa Cup Final 2003
Larsson twice rose like a salmon in the finale of the 2003 UEFA Cup against Porto to head in a brace and force the match into extra time. The Swede's efforts were sadly not enough to see the Glasgow side win the trophy, but if there is one match that underlines the importance of Henrik Larsson to Celtic, it's surely this one.
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