Larsson answers your questions

Top striker
Larsson is one of Europe's top strikers, scoring 24 goals in 73 matches for Sweden before retiring from international football in April this year. At club level, he played for Högaborgs BK, Helsingborgs IF and Feyenoord before joining Celtic in 1997. The 32-year-old has been a goalscoring phenomenon at Celtic Park, and in the 2001/02 season registered 53 goals in all competitions to win the ESM Golden Shoe.

No penalty
Your first questions were about Celtic's UEFA Champions League encounter with RSC Anderlecht, which the Belgian club won 1-0, with Wouwie and Cadskay suggesting that Larsson might have earned a penalty during the game. Larsson was clear: "No, because the referee didn't see it! These things happen in football and you just have to get on with it."

Anderlecht impress
Asked why Celtic were unable to score against ten-man Anderlecht, Larsson praised the opposition saying: "They are a very tough side and worked well as a unit. They probably worked even harder when they went down to ten men. That is often the way with red cards. Sometimes the game doesn't go the way you want. Playing away in Europe is never easy, even against ten men."

Confident approach
None the less, Larsson remains confident about Celtic's chances of progressing in Europe: "Of course, we have two more home games to play [against Anderlecht and FC Bayern München] and if we win them we've got a chance," he said.

Strike partners
Turning to the subject of his team-mates, Tomfer wondered who Larsson's favourite strike partner at Celtic was. "John Hartson is a quality player and I am happy to play with him or Chris Sutton or anyone else [manager Martin] O'Neill picks," replied Larsson. "It is easy to play with any quality player."

Leaving Celtic
Larsson, however, has decided to leave Celtic at the end of the season. Asked why, he told Soccer: "I've spent a long time here and loved it. I feel the time has come to move on. I made my decision two years ago that this would be my last contract with Celtic and that hasn't changed."

Swedish hopes
uefa.com user Bart wanted to know how Larsson rated Sweden's chances at UEFA EURO 2004™ next summer. The player replied: "I think they've grown over the year - there are players that were very young at the World Cup and are now older. I think they have a strong side."

Great career moment
Another popular topic was Larsson's career to date. Larsson told Johnny Bhoy: "My favourite goal was actually for Feyenoord against [SBV] Vitesse - it was a sweet half-volley, and also I'll never forget my goal for Sweden against Bulgaria in the 1994 [FIFA] World Cup in the play-off for third place."

Favourite players
Asked who his footballing heroes were, Larsson responded: "My favourite player of all time is Pelé. I had videos of him as a child and it was him that made me want to be a footballer. After that it is hard to say, but I always liked [Marco] van Basten, [Michel] Platini and [Paolo] Maldini very much."

Pre-match preparations
Finally, on the subject of pre-match preparations, Larsson said to Mike: "No food supplements, but I eat pasta. Before a game I rest and then start focusing on the match. No matter what competition I am in, I treat every game the same."