FREDDIE LJUNGBERG, one of Arsenal’s Invincibles in season 2003/04, was 33 years old when he arrived at Celtic.
It is fair to say he was past his best by the time he signed terms on December 30 2010 and made a quickfire debut in a 2-0 Scottish Cup win over Berwick Rangers at Shielfield 10 days later.
The midfielder, capped 75 times by Sweden, would play only seven more games for Neil Lennon’s side before his brief stay in Glasgow came to a halt in June 2011 to no-one’s surprise.
SWEDE DREAMS…Freddie Ljungberg in action during his Celtic debut, a Scottish Cup win at Berwick Rangers in January 2011. It was just one of the midfielder’s eight appearances in the green-and-white hoops.
Ljungberg had been a fabulous player at Arsene Wenger’s London club, but had left in June 2007 to sign a four-year deal with West Ham. However, he was at Upton Park for just one season before his contract was scrapped by mutual consent.
He moved to the MLS for stints with Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire before signing a six-month contract with the Hoops.
After leaving Parkhead, he joined Japanese team Shimizu S-Pulse in September 2011 before announcing his retirement as a player a year later.
However, he was persuaded to return to action with Mumbai City in the Indian Super League in September 2014 before persistent back problems forced him to hang up his boots – and on this occasion there was to be no return.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
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