CELTIC hammered Hibs 3-0 in the Scottish Cup Final on May 26 2001 to seal the treble.
Henrik Larsson turned in a Man of the Match performance with a double after Jackie McNamara had opened the scoring in the first-half.
The defeated Easter Road players trudged off the Hampden pitch following a 90-minute pummelling in the soccer showpiece on a gloriously sunny afternoon at the national stadium. But it wasn’t all bad news for one of the losers.
Left-back Ulrik Lausen, who had joined the Edinburgh club on a free from OB Odense the previous year, had caught the eye of Martin O’Neill and the Hoops gaffer paid £1.5million to bring the Danish international defender to Parkhead the following summer.
ON THE BALL…Ulrik Laursen is in control.
Laursen made a winning debut as Celtic walloped Dundee United 5-0 on August 17 2002, but, alas, failed to become a regular in the line-up and made only 34 starts in the league spread over three years.
He also had an outing in the UEFA Cup Final in Seville in 2003 when Porto overcame the 10-man Hoops – following Bobo Balde’s red card – with an extra-time goal to claim the silverware with a 3-2 triumph.
The towering No.3, who could also play at centre-back, was hindered by persistent injuries during his time in Glasgow and new boss Gordon Strachan, who replaced O’Neill in the summer of 2005, allowed Lursen to return to OB Odense.
He also had two years at FC Copenhagen before retiring at the age of 34 in 2010. He now works as a physiotherapist.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
