HENRIK Larsson's lethal predatory instincts were widely renowned during the seven seasons which the Swede spent as a player at Celtic.

But less well-known about the striker was his uncanny ability to sense which one of his team mates was going to score as well.

Few people expected Vidar Riseth to net the last time that Celtic faced Aberdeen in the League Cup final at Hampden back in 2000. The Norwegian had, after all, not done so once in what had been a tumultuous season for his club.

Yet Larsson, still recovering from the double leg break he had suffered in a UEFA Cup game against Lyon in France five months previously, had a premonition ahead of the match.

“Before kick-off Henrik came up to speak to me,” said Riseth. “He said: ‘Vidar, I’ve put £100 on you to score a goal’. I asked him: ‘How much will you get back if I score?’ He told me: ‘About £3,000. You’re not a regular goalscorer’.

“I played at right back that day. But, sure enough, I got the first goal in the first half. It was a good moment. That was the only goal I scored in a cup competition during my time in Scotland.

“When the players went up to receive the trophy after the game I spotted Henrik in the stand. He screamed over to me: ‘I’m going to buy you a beer tonight my friend!’ He had a good day. He put £100 in and got £3,000 back.”

That was, however, one of few highlights that Riseth enjoyed during a two year stay in Glasgow that was marked more by controversy and crises off the park than silverware and success on it.

He had arrived the season before after performing well for his country, including in a 1-1 draw with Scotland, in the World Cup finals in France. Dr Jo Venglos, the then Celtic manager, was impressed enough with the versatile player, who could be deployed in a number of positions in defence or midfield, that he sanctioned his £1.5 million signing from LASK Linz in Austria.

But Celtic were unable to compete with Rangers, where Dick Advocaat had spent lavishly on strengthening his squad with the likes of Gabriel Amato, Colin Hendry, Andrei Kanchelskis, Stefan Klos, Arthur Numan and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and the Ibrox club duly completed a clean sweep of all three domestic trophies.

The hysteria that surrounded Celtic at that time, when lurid stories about divisions in the boardroom and the dressing room abounded in the tabloids, proved difficult for Riseth, who prior to that had plied his trade for Kongsvinger in his homeland, Luton Town briefly in England and Mainz in Austria, to handle.

“It was a different world for me,” he said. “You were in the spotlight all the time. There was a story about Celtic or about somebody at the club almost every day. I had played down in England before, but that was a new experience for me."

The league campaign that term reached its climax in a now notorious Old Firm match at Celtic Park. Riseth, his emotions running high as the visitors won 3-0 to clinch the Scottish title at the home of their city rivals for the first time in their history, was one of three players sent off when he scythed down Claudio Reyna at the death.

He had anticipated the mayhem which would ensue beforehand. But it had not required the foresight of Larsson to do so. “All of the fans were so drunk,” he said. “The game kicked off on Sunday evening and many of them had been drinking all day. When we arrived at the stadium in the team bus that was obvious. I said: ‘Wow! What a game this is going to be!’ During the match, one of them fell off the top tier.

“That was a really tough match. There were so many yellow cards, so many red cards. There was a free-kick every minute. That game had everything. It was the craziest match I ever played in. I got a big fine from the club for my red card.”

Dr Jo was also deemed surplus to requirements that summer and replaced by John Barnes. The former Liverpool and England player’s reign was to prove every bit as turbulent and culminated in an infamous 3-1 defeat at home to second tier opponents Inverness Caledonian Thistle at home in the Scottish Cup.

Kenny Dalglish, who had been brought in as director of football when Barnes was appointed, took over as caretaker manager until the end of the season and was in charge when Celtic played in that League Cup final against Aberdeen.

The Scotland legend’s return to the club where he launched his career may not be remembered with particular fondness by supporters now, but Riseth had the utmost respect for Dalglish and believes he was largely responsible for a triumph that briefly lifted the mood at the besieged club.

“Kenny had obviously been a really good player, but he was also a really good coach,” he said. “Everything changed in the dressing room because we had a big respect for Kenny. Everybody wanted to work for him.

“Under John, we played one touch football.. When Kenny took over he wanted the ball brought in front of the goal as quickly as possible. He did an excellent job with the team and the players. We were very happy to win the final.”

Riseth accompanied Dalglish to the controversial pre-match media conference that his manager held at Bairds Bar in the Gallowgate that season. “That was brilliant,” he said. “Celtic Football Club isn’t just the manager and the players it is the fans as well. It was important to have a good relationship with them. That day we answered questions from the supporters as well as the press. It was the the best press conference ever.”

The League Cup was the only trophy that Riseth lifted with Celtic. After playing for Norway at the Euro 2000 finals that summer, he found himself unable to hold down a regular first team place at Parkhead and moved on.

“In my two years at Celtic I had Dr Jo Venglos, John Barnes, Kenny Dalglish and then, for a few months, Martin O’Neill as my manager,” he said. “I received offers during the Euros from Everton in England and 1860 Munich in Germany and signed for 1860.”

Riseth returned to his first club Rosenborg three years later and enjoyed arguably the best spell of his career. One highlight was playing in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge in 2007 that led to Jose Mourinho being sacked as manager.

Now 44 and working as a sponsorship manager in his homeland, he keeps an eye on how Celtic are faring and is confident they can enjoy another win over Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup final at Hampden tomorrow. He would be prepared to put money on it. “I am really happy to see Celtic doing so well because I liked the club,” he said. “Winning the cup was a great moment for me and I hope the current team can enjoy that experience this weekend.”