Jordan Larsson

For the volleyball player, see Jordan Larson.
Jordan Larsson
Personal information
Full name Jordan Larsson
Date of birth (1997-06-20) 20 June 1997
Place of birth Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
Helsingborgs IF
Number 18
Youth career
FC Barcelona
Högaborgs BK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Högaborgs BK 43 (12)
2014– Helsingborgs IF 61 (10)
National team
2012–2014 Sweden U17 15 (2)
2014–2016 Sweden U19 15 (1)
2016– Sweden U21 2 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2016

Jordan Larsson (born 20 June 1997) is a Swedish footballer who plays for Helsingborgs IF as a forward. He is the son of Henrik Larsson.

A youth product of FC Barcelona, he began his career at fourth-tier Högaborgs BK in 2012. Two years later, he signed for Helsingborgs IF in the Allsvenskan.

Larsson has represented Sweden up to under-21 level. He was chosen for the 2016 Olympics but was withdrawn by his father.

Personal life

He is the son of Henrik Larsson, who played in the same position for Högaborgs BK, Helsingborgs IF, Feyenoord, Celtic, Barcelona, Manchester United and the Sweden national team. The elder Larsson won trophies in the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and England, totalling 242 goals for Celtic alone.[1] Larsson was born in Rotterdam, while his father played for Feyenoord.[2] He is named after basketball player Michael Jordan.[3] He is Cape Verdean Swedish, through his paternal grandfather.[4] Jordan Larsson was regularly seen at Celtic Park when his father played there, and accompanied him on the pitch in trophy celebrations.[5]

Club career

While his father played for Barcelona between 2004 and 2006, Larsson played for the team's La Masia academy. He began his senior career at Högaborg in the Swedish Football Division 2, the fourth level of the sport in the country, and aged 16 in January 2014 he was tracked by another of his father's former employers, Manchester United.[5] Instead, he signed a four-year deal for the city's main club Helsingborgs IF, the same transfer that his father had made 22 years prior.[3]

He made his first team debut on 27 July 2014, coming on as a substitute for Mattias Lindström in the 73rd minute of a 1–1 home draw against Örebro SK.[6] On 26 August, he made his first start away to Division 2 team Torslanda IK in the second round of the Svenska Cupen, scoring in each half of a 4–1 away win.[7] That November, his father took over as the team's manager, and assured the public that he would not practise nepotism.[8] The following 4 March in the group stage of the competition, Larsson opened a 2–2 draw against Superettan team Syrianska FC with a goal that received attention abroad for the quality of its technique, reminiscent of his father.[1][9][10][11]

Larsson scored his first league goal for Helsingborg on 6 June 2015 in the second minute of a 3–0 win against Åtvidabergs FF, two weeks before his 18th birthday.[12] On 19 July, he added two more in a 3–1 win over AIK at Olympia,[13] and a further two on 20 August in an 8–1 win at fifth-tier Lunden ÖBK in the second round of the cup, which led to interest from IFK Göteborg.[14]

After Helsingborg lost their relegation play-off to Halmstads BK in November 2016, Larsson, who scored a late goal that would have kept them up, was attacked by his own team's fans, who rushed onto the pitch and tore off his shirt. His father subsequently planned to send him on holiday for his protection.[15]

International career

On 7 October 2015, in the first game of 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, Larsson assisted and then was assisted by Gustaf Nilsson as Sweden won 2–0 against Belarus.[16] They advanced from the qualifying round but were eliminated in the elite round.

He made his under-21 debut on 3 June 2016, coming on in added time for Arber Zeneli and scoring the winner in a 3–2 victory over Georgia at Rimnersvallen, in qualification for the 2017 European Championship.[17]

Larsson was one of three forwards chosen by coach Hakan Ericson for the team at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.[18] However, he was withdrawn by his father and club manager, as Helsingborg only had one other striker available.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Henrik Larsson's son scores a fantastic goal for Helsingborg". Talksport. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. Aguilar, Francesc (22 March 2015). "Jordan Larsson: El hijo de Henrik" [Jordan Larsson: The son of Henrik]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 Lalor, Eric. "Watch out world, Henrik Larsson's son has just signed for Helsingborgs". Joe. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  4. Prenderville, Liam (1 April 2015). "Why Cape Verde beating Portugal is impressive – but not the enormous upset it might seem". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 Bernstein, Joe (12 January 2014). "Man United eye up 16-year-old son of Henrik Larsson... from Swedish FOURTH-tier club". Daily Mail. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  6. "Allsvensk debut för Jordan Larsson" [Allsvenskan debut for Jordan Larsson] (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  7. "Jordan Larssons första mål för HIF" [Jordan Larsson's first goal for HIF] (in Swedish). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  8. "Henrik Larsson steps down as Falkenberg coach to join Helsingborg". The Guardian. Reuters. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  9. Green, Ben (5 March 2015). "Jordan Larsson, son of Celtic legend Henrik, scores Golazo for Helsingborg v Syrianska [video]". 101 Great Goals. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  10. "Watch Henrik Larsson's son score wonder goal reminiscent of his father". Daily Mirror. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  11. Augustus, Luke (5 March 2015). "Henrik Larsson's son Jordan emulates dad's skills with stunning Helsingborg goal". Daily Mail. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  12. "Jordan Larssons första allsvenska mål" [Jordan Larsson's first Allsvenskan goal] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  13. Green, Ben (19 July 2015). "Jordan Larsson, son of Celtic legend Henrik, scores quality curler for Helsingborg v AIK [video]". 101 Great Goals. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  14. "IFK Göteborg vill köpa loss Jordan Larsson" [IFK Göteborg want to buy Jordan Larsson]. Expressen (in Swedish). 22 August 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  15. "Henrik Larsson's son attacked after Helsingborgs relegation". BBC Sport. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  16. "FFF-Gustaf fick hål på Vitryssland" [FFF's Gustaf opened the goalscoring against Belarus]. HN (in Swedish). 7 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  17. Kamp, Fredrik (3 June 2016). "Jordan Larsson frälste U21 mot Georgien" [Jordan Larsson saved the under-21 team against Georgia]. Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  18. Karen, Mattias (15 July 2016). "Jordan Larsson, son of Henrik Larsson, makes Sweden Olympic team". ESPN. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  19. "Jordan Larsson out of Olympics at father Henrik's request". ESPN FC. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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