A decade at Celtic, working with Lennon and why O'Neill could've been a world leader - Johan Mjallby Big Interview

The rugged, no-nonsense defender proved to be an absolute steal when he moved to Celtic from AIK Solna for £1.5million in November 1998.

Sadly for the Swede, he only got to work with Venglos for the best part of six months. Mjallby insists that Slovak was a wonderful and knowledgeable football man who was the right manager at the wrong time for Parkhead - because he was just too nice.The 51-year-old is adamant that he owes Venglos a huge debt of gratitude not only for believing in him but for also giving him the platform to shine at a club like Celtic.

"Dr Jo knew football inside out but he was too nice for his own good and probably too nice to be a Celtic manager," Mjallby said. "He was such a gentleman and he had loads of experience.He was definitely a case of the right manager at the wrong time.

"I am delighted he signed me as he believed in me and I thought the world of him and I was so sorry to hear when he passed away. I met him a few times when he worked with UEFA when I was with Sweden and when Celtic played in the Champions League. He was an absolutely fantastic man.

"I didn't have enough time to work with him as a coach but he was a great, great man."

The pair will always have Mjallby's unforgettable debut against Rangers which saw the Hoops hammer their rivals 5-1 just two days after the Swede had put pen to paper.

"I signed for Celtic on the Thursday," the Swede recalls. "Two days later I made my debut in the infamous 5-1 game.

"I had a very intense medical as I had a screw in my knee after I suffered a cruciate ligament surgery in 1992. Celtic had to be sure everything was OK.

"I signed late on Thursday because Fergus McCann was quite difficult to deal with. He was brilliant for the club and he was a tough negotiator. I was desperate for the deal to go through as I had been at AIK forever, since I was a young kid. I was ready to start a new chapter and I was chuffed to bits to sign.

"I knew Henrik Larsson from the international team and he was the one that sold me on the move. When I knew Celtic were keen on me I sounded him out and he told me all about the club. I was hooked and I was really sold on the idea.

"I just hit it off straight away with all my team-mates - they were brilliant. I'm glad I decided to take the plunge and sign for such a wonderful football club.

"So I trained on Friday morning and I was pitched straight into the team on Saturday. You just have to go with the flow and you try and get to know as much as possible about your team-mates and the opposition.

"I wasn't cocky but I had played in a number of derbies in Stockholm, although I knew an Old Firm game was a much bigger deal. I never have experienced anything like it in my life. The atmosphere was just electric and I knew about Celtic - or I thought I did.

"I didn't know about the passion of the supporters and how important the derby was to the fans. In the first 10 minutes, I don't think I asked for the ball. I didn't go hiding but it felt like it.

"I was really nervous and I was just trying to make sure I was in the right positions and I needed to get into the game. I did not really know my team-mates and I wasn't sure how Dr Jo wanted us to play.

"We battered Rangers that day and you can't get your Celtic career off to a better start than by beating your rivals 5-1. It was Lubomir Moravcik's first game, too, and he became the star of the show as he scored two cracking goals. It was a fantastic start and what an experience."

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However, things went rapidly downhill for Mjallby with the arrival of John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish.

The former Liverpool duo were introduced as Celtic's managerial dream team. It would initially turn out to be a bit of a nightmare for Mjallby, who was played out of position when he was deployed in midfield and then dropped to the bench a few times in the early days of Barnes's reign.

The Swede revealed that he held showdown talks with Barnes and he told him that he was ready to quit Celtic in January if the situation did not improve because he did not want to jeopardise his place in the Sweden international squad for Euro 2000.

Mjallby, who won 49 caps for Sweden and scored four goals, points out that there is no bad blood between the pair but Barnes's plans to turn Celtic into some sort of 'Liverpool-lite' spectacularly backfired.

Barnes's exit in February after the 3-1 Scottish Cup loss to Inverness Caley Thistle was to signal the start of a revival in fortunes for the defender, who would then go on to establish himself as a fan's favourite and a vital cog in O'Neill's green and white machine.

Mjallby said: "Barnes wanted to build his own team and I understood that. He brought in a number of new players that he obviously wanted to play and I had to be content with a place on the bench quite often at the start.

"I was afraid that I would lose my international place for Sweden and, by 1999, I hadn't played in a big tournament for my country and was desperate to do that. I was a bit nervous about my position at the club and I told John in November that if things didn't pick up for me personally - and by that I mean getting more game-time - then I would have to leave the club during the January transfer window.

"John did not use me as a centre-back, which was my best position. Maybe he didn't know that. I could understand that but I wasn't the perfect midfielder for Celtic.

"He wanted to play like the way he used to do with Liverpool but it didn't feel right. I have nothing against John, I understand as a coach having done it for myself at Celtic that you need to follow your own ideas. But it backfired spectacularly.

"We were struggling big time but, when John left, I started to play much more under Kenny in the run-up to Euro 2000. That was good for me in terms of retaining my Sweden international place.

"It wasn't a great start to my Celtic career but we all knew there was a new manager coming in during the summer of 2000. I played at the Euros with Sweden but I was also looking forward to seeing who would come in at Celtic."

The man that came in was none other than Northern Irishman O'Neill, who worked wonders for Mjallby's career.

Under O'Neill, the Swede scooped three Scottish Premiership titles, one Scottish League Cup and two Scottish Cups as well as, of course, a UEFA cup final appearance.

Celtic were relentless back then, both domestically and in Europe, with the Swede insisting O'Neill could easily have been a world leader, statesman or politician because his legendary team talks had to be heard to be believed.

The players from that era are still lauded as heroes - in large part because the manager fostered a team spirit that was second to none. They remain a band of brothers to this day, so much so that they still refer to O'Neill as 'the gaffer' whenever they meet up.

"I love Martin O'Neill, he was such a clever man," Mjallby said. "He was so good at knowing every member of the playing squad. We were all differently mentally and he treated every player differently to get the best out of us. That was his trademark as Celtic manager.

"In a way, Martin is a relentless guy in the way that he knew what he wanted for Celtic. He brought players in with experience who knew the game. There were big characters in that Celtic dressing room back then and I mean big characters. He mixed us all in together and he kept us all happy.

"The way we trained was not relentless because we could be out on the training pitch for 45 minutes but we replicated game-day during those sessions. The character of the team was all about winning.

"It was a fantastic time to be at Celtic. Our only regret is that we did not do better in the Champions League. We had a team that was capable of doing so much better there.

"The Celtic players of that era still call him 'gaffer' to this day. When he spoke, you listened. He could have been a world leader.

"Some of his team talks and speeches were legendary. I think a lot of fans have heard about Martin's team talk at Anfield.

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"You would run through a brick wall for Martin by the time he'd finished speaking. He is the best manager I have ever had and he's definitely the one that I would do anything for.

"He really simplified my game, he was a great coach. He told me what I had to do and he kept the message so simple.

"When I got confident in a game I would often start to dribble with the ball and Martin once said to me in front of everyone: 'Johan, Johan, you have played over 100 games for Sweden (I hadn't) and you have so much experience. Don't dribble with the ball. Win the ball and give it to the better footballers in the team but defend your penalty box with your life. Head it, block it... if you do that you will always play for me!' How simple was that?"

O'Neill got off to the best possible start by winning the treble in his first season. Mjallby, though, acknowledges that the impact of this particular season went beyond the three pieces of silverware.

"When Martin came on board we knew we had a chance to redress the balance and become the best team in Glasgow again," he said. "The treble in the 2000-01 season was a major highlight as that was an unbelievable start for Martin, John Robertson and Steve Walford. We all loved that experience.

"It's all about winning at Celtic and it takes a special kind of talented player to handle pressure like that. You are there to win trophies and be successful.

"That Celtic team had a fantastic camaraderie. There were bust-ups, fights, egos and characters galore in that dressing room. We had an unbelievable team spirit. We are not all best friends off the pitch but that particular team shared an unbreakable bond.

"We played hard and we celebrated hard when we won. There were some big characters in that dressing room and we were not young guns as we had experience and had been round the block. We all had a point to prove that we were still really good players and that mix was potent."

Despite claiming many top European scalps back then Mjallby can never quite square the circle on the one that got away.

Celtic's 3-2 UEFA Cup final extra-time loss to Jose Mourinho's Porto in Seville back in 2003 still hurts. He has never watched the highlights of the game back.

He said: "We were scared of nobody and many European heavyweights came to Celtic Park and left with nothing. The Celtic supporters must take a lot of credit for that.

"The fans never expected us to lose. The players would shake their heads sometimes and think 'the supporters don't really expect us to beat Juventus or Bayern Munich - do they?' They did you know.

"That gave us a massive boost and a lot of confidence knowing that our home was a fortress.

"That Celtic team was good enough to win a European trophy. The 2003 final defeat is still sore today. I have never watched the match back and I don't think I ever will.

"I have a lot of highlights and memories of my time at Celtic. Reaching the UEFA Cup final in Seville was fantastic because of the Celtic supporters and the atmosphere was unbelievable.

"We were there to win the game and we didn't achieve that. Most of us knew that this was our last chance to win a European trophy for Celtic. The ending was dreadful. We gave our all and there was nothing left. We finished the game strong even with 10-men in extra time. It just wasn't to be and even now it is still hard to take."

READ MORE: Facing Henrik Larsson - Celtic's magnificent seven as seen by the defenders he tormented

Throughout Mjallby's six-year Celtic career, one man shone like a beacon: Larsson.

The 'King of Kings' plundered 242 goals in an incredible seven-year stay in Paradise and the love Mjallby has for his compatriot on and off the pitch is simply unquantifiable.

He offered a rare insight into the great man's character when he revealed that the striker received thousands of letters and requests by mail every week. Larsson personally answered and signed everyone.

Mjallby said: "I am the wrong man to ask about Henrik - I have too much love for him as a player and a person. He is the best player I have ever played with.

"As a player, you knew he would sacrifice everything for the team. Henrik was the first defender at Celtic and people forget how good he was off the ball as he pressed the opponent. That made the game easier for the midfielders and the defenders.

"His goalscoring record and his prowess in the air were incredible. He was a phenomenal player. He was always disappointed when he didn't score or didn't contribute and missed chances.

"He put a lot of expectation on his own shoulders and he wanted to be the main man. He was an ultimate team player, all about winning football matches and titles. He was at his peak for each and every game.

"Off the pitch, he is just a great guy. The way he conducted himself at Celtic Park was exemplary. I have never seen a Celtic player receive more letters than Henrik Larsson from all over the world and he must've answered and signed them all. That's the Henrik Larsson that people don't get to see. He was just a fantastic guy."

Mjallby's Celtic career highlights are many. The 5-1 win over Rangers on his debut, the domestic treble during O'Neill's first year, a 3-0 rout over Rangers at Ibrox when Henrik Larsson scored his 50th goal of the season.

However, his personal favourite occurred during the UEFA cup run to Seville when Celtic defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield and became, in his opinion, the third-best team in Britain behind English Premier League giants Manchester United and Arsenal. It is no idle boast. 

"This is before Chelsea and Manchester City were bought over by rich investors and foreign money came into the English game," he said. "I personally think the night Celtic beat Liverpool at Anfield that we were the third-best team in Britain just behind Manchester United and Arsenal. That's how good we were at that point.

"It was great to show everybody how good a team Celtic was by beating Liverpool at Anfield. The press down south wrote us off and said we had no chance after the first leg had ended 1-1 at Celtic Park.

"That is a special memory as not many teams go to Anfield and do a number on Liverpool on a European night."

Mjallby though reckons one football experience tops the lot: playing in an Old Firm.

Mjallby said: "I feel sorry for players who have won everything in their careers but have never experienced an Old Firm game. It is a wonderful experience.

"Sometimes the football suffers a bit because of the intense atmosphere and the importance of the game. You really have to make sure you are not weak in derby matches. You will not win them all but it is important to compete in every one."

Mjallby played 171 times for Celtic and scored 14 goals. He parted company with the club in 2004 - ironically the same year that Larsson left - to sign for Spanish top-flight side Levante.

It would not be the last time the Celtic fans were to see Mjallby, though.

In March 2010 following the sacking of Tony Mowbray as Celtic manager, Neil Lennon was appointed caretaker until the end of the season.

Lennon brought Mjallby back to the club as his assistant manager. The move was warmly welcomed by the supporters, and the duo formed a strong double act in the management team clinching their coveted first league title as a management duo in 2011-12.

Mjallby said: "The call to become Neil Lennon's assistant came right out of the blue. After we both retired, I knew Neil has started to work with the youths and was part of the under-21s and when we met up now and then he told me that he wanted to bring me on to the staff if he landed the Celtic job or got a gig elsewhere.

"He trusted me and my ability and the way I looked at the game and my character. What an opportunity we had and there were no guarantees of success but we wanted to give it a go and see what we could do.

"We had three months left of the season and won all the remaining games but we lost in the Scottish Cup to Ross County which was a shock defeat - we didn't really think we would land the job on a permanent basis.

"But Peter Lawwell gave us the green light and it was fantastic to be back working with players with great ability. It was a great four years in management alongside Neil and it was an amazing experience.

Mjallby helped Lennon to win three league titles in a row and a miraculous success in Europe when they defeated the mighty Barcelona at Parkhead in 2012. 

"It is nice to say that I spent 10 years of my career - six as a player and four as an assistant manager - in Glasgow with Celtic. The highlight of that was obviously beating Barcelona in the Champions League.

"Let's put it this way: we knew that it was going to be incredibly difficult against Barcelona and it was an extremely strong and talented team. They hadn't lost a game for a long time and especially in Europe.

"We knew we would not have the ball and we would not have a lot of possession and we worked on set-pieces before the game as we thought that would be one of our best chances to score.

"We worked on playing on the counter and banking on the fact that Fraser Forster, our goalkeeper, was going to have a world-class match. We factored in all of those things.

"Victor Wanyama scored a header from a training ground routine which we worked on getting him in at the back post to contest the ball with Jordi Alba who is not the tallest and that worked a treat."

Rangers' financial implosion that same year was the catalyst for Mjallby to eventually call it a day as Celtic assistant in 2014, having served the club for a further four years.

"We signed a lot of good, young players cheaply and they turned out to be real stars for the club," Mjallby said. "The balance of power in Glasgow was shifting again.

"Everybody knows that happened to Rangers and my motivation in the job disappeared a wee bit when they imploded. It was a shame in that sense as you always need a big rival."

Lennon, of course, would later return to the role and win five more trophies before an acrimonious departure in early 2021 after falling short in the club's bid for 10 titles in a row. 

Mjallby reckons time will prove a great healer where Lennon is concerned.

"I had the utmost respect for Neil as a player and manager," he said. "Neil was an unsung hero for Celtic and he was a very good footballer and did the dirty work a lot that people take for granted.

"It has been a tough and stormy time for Neil after the events of last season. I think when everything settles down then people will count Neil Lennon as a proper Celtic legend because he was very successful as a player and a coach."

No interview with Mjallby would be complete without him addressing the Dolph Lundgren nickname.

He joked that, while he didn't exactly model himself on the Ivan Drago character in Rocky IV, it added to the Celtic defensive hard-man image.

He said: "I didn't mind the Dolph Lundgren comparison. I don't think I helped myself in that respect as I used to have haircuts that were similar to Dolph's.

"I was a hard and aggressive player but I wasn't a dirty player - the Ivan Drago Rocky character did not do my reputation any harm at all as he was such a big man."

Mjallby wore his heart on his sleeve as a Celtic player and coach. He was a ferocious and fierce competitor. A fully committed type who would never claim to be a star of the show as he usually left that to his fellow countryman Larsson.

Mjallby said: "I am just proud to be part of the Celtic history and family. I never put myself on a pedestal. I knew I was never a star turn. I was a hard-working guy who played his heart out and I played for the jersey and that badge.

"That was really important to me as that was the only way I could play. There are times when I miss Glasgow now and then and if you are involved in football Celtic is the number one place to be.

"Having the chance to be part of Celtic which is such a magnificent club gives me great satisfaction to this day. It was just a special treat and fantastic to play for such a wonderful and illustrious club like that.

"I am proud to say that I have represented two clubs with distinction in my career AIK and Celtic. They are the two football clubs that I follow and who I love with all my heart."

Larsson was often referred to as the Super Swede during his 'magnificent seven' years at the club. The truth of the matter was that Celtic possessed a pair of Super Swedes.