Jordan Larsson

Jordan Larsson (born 20 June 1997) is a Swedish footballer who plays for Russian club Spartak Moscow as a forward. He is the son of Henrik Larsson.

For the volleyball player, see Jordan Larson.
Jordan Larsson
Larsson with Spartak Moscow in 2019
Personal information
Full name Carl Henrik 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(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Spartak Moscow
Number 23
Youth career
2004–2006 Barcelona
2006–2012 Högaborgs BK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Högaborgs BK 43 (12)
2014–2016 Helsingborgs IF 61 (10)
2017–2018 NEC 21 (4)
2018–2019 IFK Norrköping 42 (12)
2019– Spartak Moscow 19 (5)
National team‡
2012–2014 Sweden U17 15 (2)
2014–2016 Sweden U19 15 (1)
2016–2018 Sweden U21 14 (2)
2018– Sweden 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 June 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 January 2020

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. He became a first-team regular at the club under the management of his father, but was assaulted by fans after their relegation in 2016. Larsson then signed for Dutch club NEC in January 2017, and after their relegation from the Eredivisie he returned to Sweden with IFK Norrköping a year later. In August 2019, he signed for Spartak.

Larsson has represented Sweden at various youth levels and made his senior international debut in January 2018. He was selected for the 2016 Olympics but was withdrawn by his club team.[1]

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.[2] Larsson was born in Rotterdam, while his father played for Feyenoord.[3] He is named after basketball player Michael Jordan.[4] He is Cape Verdean Swedish, through his paternal grandfather.[5] Jordan Larsson was regularly seen at Celtic Park when his father played there, and accompanied him on the pitch in trophy celebrations.[6][7]

Club career

Early 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. On 19 June 2013 in a match against Tenhults IF, 15-year-old Larsson played alongside his 41-year-old father, who was making a comeback due to an injury crisis at Högaborg.[8][9]

Aged 16 in January 2014, Larsson was tracked by another of his father's former employers, Manchester United.[6] 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.[4]

Helsingborgs IF

Larsson made his first team debut in the Allsvenskan 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.[10] 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.[11] That November, his father took over as the team's manager, and assured the public that he would not practise nepotism.[12] 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.[2][13][14]

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.[15] On 19 July, he added two more in a 3–1 win over AIK at Olympia,[16] 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.[17]

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.[18]

NEC

On 2 January 2017, Larsson transferred from Helsingborg to the Dutch Eredivisie as his father did in 1993, and signed for NEC.[19] He made his debut eleven days later in a 1–0 win at Willem II, replacing Kévin Mayi after 59 minutes.[20] He scored his first goals in Dutch football on 18 August, one in each half of a 3–1 home win over Almere City FC on the first game of the season.[21] NEC finished the season with relegation to the Eerste Divisie via the play-offs.

IFK Norrköping

Larsson returned to the Allsvenskan on 2 January 2018, when he signed a three-year deal with IFK Norrköping.[22] Mainly a substitute in his first season back in the league, he scored just once, in a 3–1 win over Kalmar FF on 15 April.[23] Two weeks later he was sent off as the VitBlå suffered a first home defeat of the season to Trelleborgs FF, for a high challenge on Robin Nilsson.[24] On 23 August, in the second round of the Svenska Cupen, he scored a hat-trick in a 10–0 win at sixth-tier Brottby SK.[25]

In July 2019, in his first European tie, Larsson scored in a 2–1 (4–1 aggregate) win over Ireland's St Patrick's Athletic in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[26]

Spartak Moscow

On 2 August 2019, Russian Premier League club FC Spartak Moscow announced the signing of Larsson for around €4 million.[27] He scored his first goal for Spartak on 25 August in a game against PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara.[28] On 27 October 2019, he scored twice after coming on as a substitute in the second half in a 3–0 victory over FC Lokomotiv Moscow.[29]

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.[30] 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.[31]

Larsson was one of three forwards chosen by coach Håkan Ericson for the team at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.[32] However, he was withdrawn by his father and club manager, as Helsingborg only had one other striker available.[1]

On 7 January 2018, he made his debut for the senior national team playing 64 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw with Estonia in Abu Dhabi.[33] Two years and two days later he scored his first international goal, the only one of a friendly win against Moldova in Qatar.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of 12 November 2018[35]
Club League Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Högaborg Division 2 Södra 2012 – –
Division 2 Västra 2013 – –
Division 2 Västra 2014 – –
Total 4312– – 4312
Helsingborg Allsvenskan 2014 905 3– – 143
Allsvenskan 2015 253 4 3– – 296
Allsvenskan 2016 27 7 1 1 – 2 1 30 9
Total 611010 7– 2 1 7318
NEC Eredivisie 2016–17 8000– 1 090
Eerste Divisie 2017–18 13420– – 154
Total 21420– 10244
IFK Norrköping Allsvenskan 2018 26143– – 304
2019 16 11 4 5 2 1 – 22 17
Total 42 12 8 8 2 1 – 52 21
Career total 1673820152 1 3 1 19255

International
As of 10 January 2020[36]
Sweden
YearAppsGoals
201820
201900
202011
Total31

International goals
Scores and results Sweden's goal tally first.[37]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.9 January 2020Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar Moldova1–01–0Friendly

References
  1. "Jordan Larsson out of Olympics at father Henrik's request". ESPN FC. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. "Henrik Larsson's son scores a fantastic goal for Helsingborg". Talksport. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. Lalor, Eric. "Watch out world, Henrik Larsson's son has just signed for Helsingborgs". Joe. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. "Ex Celtic star Henrik Larsson's son Jordan backed by Helsingborgs after vile abuse". Evening Times. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  8. "Henrik Larsson's son Jordan scores in his father's comeback game, for Sweden's Hogaborg". The Daily Telegraph. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  9. "Henrik Larsson makes cameo comeback". The Local. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  10. "Allsvensk debut för Jordan Larsson" [Allsvenskan debut for Jordan Larsson] (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  11. "Jordan Larssons första mål för HIF" [Jordan Larsson's first goal for HIF] (in Swedish). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  12. "Henrik Larsson steps down as Falkenberg coach to join Helsingborg". The Guardian. Reuters. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  13. 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.
  14. "Watch Henrik Larsson's son score wonder goal reminiscent of his father". Daily Mirror. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  15. "Jordan Larssons första allsvenska mål" [Jordan Larsson's first Allsvenskan goal] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  16. Green, Ben (19 July 2015). "Jordan Larsson, son of Celtic legend Henrik, scores quality curler for Helsingborg v AIK [video]". 101 Great Goals. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  17. "IFK Göteborg vill köpa loss Jordan Larsson" [IFK Göteborg want to buy Jordan Larsson]. Expressen (in Swedish). 22 August 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  18. "Henrik Larsson's son attacked after Helsingborgs relegation". BBC Sport. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  19. "Jordan Larsson emulates dad, Henrik, with Dutch move". Diario AS. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  20. "NEC maakt bij debuut Larsson einde aan reeks Willem II" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  21. Skeppstedt, Lisa (18 August 2017). "Jordan Larsson tvåmålsskytt" [Jordan Larsson two-goal hunter]. Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  22. "Officiellt: Jordan Larsson klar för Norrköping: "Rätt klubb att komma till"" [Official: Jordan Larsson signs for Norrköping: "Right club to come to"] (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  23. ""Peking" vände mot Kalmar – Jordan Larsson målskytt" ["Beijing" turned Kalmar over – Jordan Larsson scorer] (in Swedish). Omni. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  24. "Jordan Larsson expelled against Trelleborg". Vaaju. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  25. Daagh, Johny (23 August 2018). "IFK bjöd på tvåsiffrigt i cupen". Norrköpings Tidningar (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  26. Bennett, Stephen (18 July 2019). "Jordan Larsson does the damage as IFK Norrkoping end St Pat's' Europa League campaign". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  27. "Джордан Ларссон — игрок «Спартака»" [Jordan Larsson is a Spartak player] (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 2 August 2019.
  28. "Krylia Sovetov v Spartak game report". Russian Premier League. 25 August 2019.
  29. "Lokomotiv v Spartak game report". Russian Premier League. 27 October 2019.
  30. "FFF-Gustaf fick hål på Vitryssland" [FFF's Gustaf opened the goalscoring against Belarus]. HN (in Swedish). 7 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  31. 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.
  32. Karen, Mattias (15 July 2016). "Jordan Larsson, son of Henrik Larsson, makes Sweden Olympic team". ESPN. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  33. "Sweden 1-1 Estonia Match Report". Eurosport. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  34. "Moldova beaten by Sweden 0-1". IPN. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  35. "J. Larsson". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  36. "Jordan Larsson". EU Football. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  37. "Jordan Larsson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
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