September 2004

POSSIBLY for the first time ever, I ran on to the pitch at Celtic Park and didn't even notice the reception I got. I didn't know whether it was good or bad, until people told me afterwards. I'd made a firm decision not to think about the Celtic supporters or the fact I was playing against Celtic. I knew it was important for me to concentrate on the things that mattered: Barcelona and my own performance.

Even before I got on to the pitch, when I was warming up I didn't look at the fans because I didn't want to have anything come in between me and my own performance. There is no doubt that it was a strange experience to play against Celtic after seven great and happy years at the club, and until I was there I didn't really know I was going to react. I'm not sure what effect it would have had on me if I'd noticed the Celtic fans, whatever their reaction, but it was a firm decision to concentrate on the game and ignore the surroundings.

I was told afterwards that, on the whole, the Celtic fans' response to me was pretty good and that is nice. Of course I'm also aware there were a group of fans who gave me a little bit of stick, and I have to say I was a little bit surprised by that. But that's the way it goes. I've been in football long enough to accept that sort of thing. To be honest, I understand the guys who did that. They are there to cheer on their team and do whatever it takes to encourage Celtic. They were there to support Celtic Football Club, not Henrik Larsson.

Whatever has happened in the past and despite the fact that Celtic will always have a huge place in my heart, I'm now a small piece of Celtic history. There are a lot of able and quality footballers at Celtic now who are the future of the club. In my view, the Celtic fans are among the best in the world and they are worth quite a few points to the team over the course of the season. Their loyalty to the club is unshakeable and I'm really happy about that.

It was tough for me to start on the bench, but when you are at a club like Barcelona, which has so many great players and so many options, you just have to accept that. The coach will make his decision about how he wants to play and that's fine. All I can ever do is to work really hard in training and make sure I make the most of it when I am on the pitch.

Although you are not physically part of the action when you are on the bench, you get a good view of the game and how it is going, so you can keep focused. When I went on, I didn't feel off the pace or anything, although it did take me a while to get my first touch. Once I was on the pitch, I simply concentrated on doing my job for Barcelona.

I thought we played some really good football. I'd said before the game that I believed we would have to be playing at the top of our game to overcome Celtic, and that is what we did. It was a strong performance with good passing and movement and we worked hard to create chances.

I know most of the Celtic boys and I know what good footballers they are. I also know that they will work really hard for each other and not give up until the final whistle. That was why I think my goal was so crucial. Celtic had battled back to get one equaliser and they were capable of getting another, even though I think we were playing really well.

I was very happy with the way I took the goal and I was happy that it came at the time it did for Barcelona. As people saw, I didn't do my usual celebration because I knew that wouldn't be fair to the Celtic fans. I was happy to get the goal because my loyalty is now with Barcelona and it was an important goal to score, but you cannot ignore my history with Celtic and there was no way I was going to rub anything in.

It's been three years since Celtic have lost at home in Europe and that is a measure of the Barcelona performance. It is a very difficult place to go and get any sort of a result and I think any team in the Champions League is not going to relish a visit to Celtic Park.

Of course I would like to see Celtic progress in the Champions League and I believe they have all the chance in the world to do that. They have a lot of experience in Europe now and I'm sure they will pick themselves up from this game.

As for Barcelona, it was just the start we wanted. To win a tough away game 3-1 in your first match is just where we would like to be. We now have to build on that result. Everyone expects a lot from this team and, as players, we expect a lot from ourselves. But there is still a long way to go in the competition, both for us and for Celtic.