Henrik Larsson may retire at the end
Coach Stuart Baxter said Helsingborgs IF had done "extremely well" to reach the last 32 of the UEFA Cup but they may be without two star players in 2008.
Final game
A 3-0 win at home against FK Austria Wien saw them take their total to seven points and they now have nothing at stake except for first place in Group H as they travel to FC Girondins de Bordeaux for their final game on 19 December. "The boys have done extremely well, and today they were fantastic," said Baxter, "It's been a difficult season where we've never really settled, at least not until now."
Hugs all round
The Englishman hugged every single player in his team as they came off, with UEFA Cup success having helped put a miserable eighth-placed finish in the 14-team Swedish table behind them. Ólafur Ingi Skúlason scored the opener against Austria before Razak Omotoyossi scored twice to displace team-mate Henrik Larsson at the top of the UEFA Cup top scorers list with six goals since the first round. "We were a bit too cautious in the first half, but Skúlason's goal helped us and then Omotoyossi scored two great goals," said Larsson.
Larsson question
Larsson's future is the big concern for most Helsingborg fans, with the 36-year-old yet to decide whether he will retire when his contract expires at the end of the year. "It feels great to go through, but I've been here before and I'm happier for many of my team-mates," said Larsson. "I've not yet decided what will happen after this season. I'm going to make my decision in the coming days and I'll let everyone know about it as soon as possible."
Jakobsson plans
Defensive midfielder Andreas Jakobsson has already made his decision, with the former Sweden international deciding to hang up his boots after the Bordeaux game to take up a coaching post at lower league side Svalövs BK. However, he may yet be persuaded to stay on for a little while longer. "There's one game to go and that's all that I'm thinking about at the moment," he said. "I'm focused on Svalöv after this season, but who knows?"
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