HENRIK LARSSON and Wim Jansen answered Celtic’s SOS as season 1997/98 loomed into view.
The Hoops had been lost in a title wilderness and Rangers were fixing their sights on their tenth successive championship.
Jansen took over as boss after fans’ favourite Tommy Burns had been ruthlessly sacked and, thankfully, the Dutchman was aware of the contractual situation of a Swedish player at his old club Feyenoord.
Larsson was eager to move and the Rotterdam giants were compelled to sell if another team offered £650,000. The new Hoops gaffer didn’t waste time in getting the deal over the line in time for the campaign kick-off.
READ ALL ABOUT IT…how the leagues were won.
There was a false start with back-to-back defeats from Hibs and Dunfermline, but, remarkably, on a sunny May 9 1998 afternoon in the east end of Glasgow Celtic were within one win of ending a decade of despair.
Jansen was 90 minutes away from succeeding where the three previous inhabitants of the Parkhead hot seat – Liam Brady, Lou Macari and Tommy Burns – had failed and the Premier league flag was about to be welcomed back to Paradise for the first time since 1988.
The position on the last day was clear: if Celtic, already two points ahead, beat St Johnstone by any margin they would be crowned champions of Scotland.
The Ibrox club, who had spent lavishly the previous summer in their quest for a historic ten in a row, were due to play Dundee United at Tannadice. The outcome would be rendered irrelevant if Jansen’s team avoided disaster against the visiting Perth outfit.
PARADISE…Henrik Larsson celebrates the opening goal against St Johnstone to power Celtic to a 2-0 win – and the 36th title in the club’s glorious history.
Celtic’s King of Cool Henrik Larsson admitted to being “a little bit nervous” as he waited in the tunnel before racing onto the pitch to a tumultuous welcome for the 3pm start.
Inside three minutes, the incomparable Swede had presented Celtic with the start they could only have dreamed of in this most crucial of encounters when he swept a cunning and wicked angled drive from 25 yards past keeper Alan Main.
News filtered through that Rangers had taken the lead on Tayside through Brian Laudrup and Jorg Albertz had added a second on the hour mark. The update added to jangling nerve-ends of the Hoops players and the supporters, both united in anxiety.
Jansen replaced midfielder Phil O’Donnell with striker Harald Brattbakk and the Norwegian, who had scored six goals in 17 appearances since his £2.2million December arrival from Rosenborg, netted the clincher that sealed the flag in the 72nd minute.
Celtic won 2-0 and title No.36 was on its way to Paradise!
* READ the full inside story of Celtic’s extraordinary 1997/98 championship triumph – and FIFTY other title successes – in ‘CELTIC: 50 Flags Plus One’ on sale now in CQN’s special Christmas sale. Just click below.
