Former defender Barry Smith has faced off against the likes of Ryan Giggs and Brian Laudrup - but even the two formidable footballing greats simply do not live up to Celtic legend Henrik Larsson.

The 49-year-old came up against the super Swede directly during his 11-year stint as a player with Dundee.

Larsson netted 242 goals in 315 games for the Hoops in an unbelievable seven-year spell in Glasgow's east end. Smith had a front-row seat for every bit of the striker's reign and, for him, nobody will ever top the King of Kings.

Smith, a former Celtic defender himself, had the honour of facing Giggs during Mark Hughes' testimonial at Old Trafford in May 1994 when Celtic defeated the Red Devils 3-1. 

October that same year had a huge bearing on the player Smith went on to become as he was tortured and turned inside out by then Rangers winger Laudrup during a 3-1 derby defeat which saw him hauled off at half-time.

It was the steepest of learning curves but, true to form, Smith was never substituted at the break ever again throughout his whole distinguished career.

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"I played against Giggs during Mark Hughes's testimonial at Old Trafford - and it was a straight strange experience," Smith told The Celtic Way. "The background to that is we played Aberdeen in the last game of the season at Pittodrie and we've come back down the road and I played in the reserve game on Sunday.

"I think it was a League Cup game as there were injuries in the reserve team. Then on the Monday I went to Manchester and played the testimonial against United and Giggs.

"By the time I got there my legs were dropping off. In saying that, even if I had been fully fit I would still not have been able to catch up with Giggs. He sent me for a fish supper a couple of times but that's how you learn to play the game - by competing against the best.

"I remember the Hampden one against Rangers - the Brian Laudrup game. I played in that and was just up against a guy at the peak of his powers in arguably the best Rangers team ever. 

"Laurdup gave me the biggest doing I'd ever had as a player. That's the brutal honesty of it all.

Celtic Way:

"If I went tight with Laudrup, he went in behind. If I stayed off him, he was quick enough to get by me and skilful enough. I couldn't get close to him. You learn from that experience and I was taken off at half-time.

"That probably made me a better player on the whole as I learned from that whole experience. I was never get taken off at half-time ever again during my career after that. 

"He was up there and football is a learning curve. Laudrup was the best player I've played against - until I came up against Henrik Larsson.

"He played football at a different level. He was not called the King of Kings for nothing. He was just brilliant. His movement was excellent. He wasn't the tallest but he was good in the air. He was just a clever, clever player in and around the box and outside the box.

"I always remember thinking that normally, as a defender, you're feeling for the striker so that you know where he is. Henrik was actually touching me and all the time I'm thinking he was near me. The next thing the ball was played over my head and he was standing 10 yards behind me.

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"It was just small things and details like that. He was just so clever. He knew how to play the game. It was like a cat-and-mouse game with Larsson and he loved that challenge. He loved getting the better of defenders. I couldn't get quite close to him at all - but I was certainly not alone in that."

Smith reckons that Celtic's Japanese goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi possesses similar traits to his predecessor, even if he will not quite reach the same heights as the goalscoring phenomenon that was Larsson.

"I think the good thing from a Celtic point of view is that Kyogo has got similar traits to Larsson," he added. "He never seems to be picked up in the box. He always seems to get that wee half-yard of space to get his shot away.

"Whether Kyogo will end up as big a Celtic legend as Larsson I am not sure - but there are definite comparisons in terms of their movement and ability to find the back of the net.

"I still look at Larsson's goals from time to time and I think 'how did he manage that? I was sure I was picking him up!'"