THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Veteran striker Henrik Larsson will make a surprise return to international play after being named to Sweden’s squad for the European Championship on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old Larsson retired from the national team after the 2006 World Cup, but has kept playing for Helsingborg in the Swedish league and led his team with six goals in this season’s UEFA Cup.
Larsson said he received a call Monday from coach Lars Lagerback asking if he wanted to be included in the 23-man squad for next month’s Euro 2008 tournament.
"I said yes pretty much right away," he said during a conference call. "I think football is extremely exciting and I love playing football… . I wasn’t counting on playing football this long and above all that I would be doing this well."
Lagerback said he had started thinking about Larsson when he played in last year’s UEFA Cup.
"He is a very allround player, he can do almost anything," Lagerback said. "He is also a very good goal scorer. He is a great guy to have in the squad."
The former Celtic, FC Barcelona and Manchester United striker could team up again with Inter Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front for Sweden, which plays Spain, Greece and Russia in Group D.
It will be Larsson’s sixth major championship — he was a substitute for Sweden in the 1994 World Cup — and his experience could be needed on a team that has been plagued by injuries to key players. Left back Erik Edman has been ruled out with a torn knee ligament, while Ibrahimovic and midfielder Tobias Linderoth are recovering from knee injuries.
Captain Fredrik Ljungberg cracked a rib during a recent Premier League match for West Ham, but is expected to recover in time for the tournament.
The team will gather for a training camp in Stenungsund in southwestern Sweden on May 22-25. Two friendlies are planned — against Slovenia on May 26 and Ukraine on June 1 — before the squad departs for the European Championship.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Andreas Isaksson (Manchester City), Rami Shaaban (Hammarby), Johan Wiland (Elfsborg).
Defenders: Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Petter Hansson (Rennes), Daniel Majstorovic (Basel), Mikael Nilsson (Panathinaikos), Fredrik Stoor (Rosenborg), Mikael Dorsin (CFR Cluj), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg).
Midfielders: Anders Svensson (Elfsborg), Kim Kallstrom (Lyon), Tobias Linderoth (Galatasaray), Fredrik Ljungberg (West Ham), Christian Wilhemsson (Deportivo La Coruna), Niclas Alexandersson (IFK Goteborg), Daniel Andersson (Malmo FF), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham).
Forwards: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Johan Elmander (Toulouse), Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen), Henrik Larsson (Helsingborg), Marcus Allback (FC Copenhagen).