Swedish legend Henrik Larsson had an emotional farewell from professional football on Wednesday night as he played his last ever professional game for Swedish side Helsingborg. Larsson had announced his intent to retire at the end of this season but decided to bow out one game early in order to play his last match in front of the Helsinborg supporters. The player was joined on the pitch by family and friends as the capacity crowd showed their appreciation for the former Celtic, Manchester United and Barcelona striker.

Larsson could not fight back the tears after he was presented with his club’s Player of the Year award and said his goodbyes to the supporters. Video tributes from the likes of Sweden coach Lars Lagerback, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and international team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic were played at the ground. The emotional night also saw Helsingborg announce the decision to retire the No 17 shirt in Larsson’s honour.

Though he won the Champions League with Barcelona and an EPL title with Manchester United, it was at Celtic that Larsson made his name. He still holds the record as the Scottish Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer, with 158 Premier League goals. He also holds four SPL winners medals and picked up the European Golden Boot in 2000-01 while at Celtic. That same season he was also the top goalscorer in the UEFA Cup as Martin O’Neill’s side reached the final against Porto. Larsson scored twice in that match in a losing effort.

Videos of his farewell and the tributes are up on YouTube.

Part of the changes to qualification this year sees the champions of smaller domestic leagues gaining the chance to reach the group stage of the Champions League.

In the Champions Path, the feature match-up should be between FC Zurich and FK Ventspils. Latvian titleholders Ventspils edged past last season’s group stage participant FC BATE Borisov on away goals despite losing 2-1 away in the second leg of their Third Qualifying Round tie. Ventspils have a balanced attack but their main goal threat is Andrejs Butriks, who had a trial with Blackpool in England during the January 2008 transfer window. Butriks has remained in Latvia and been a consistent threat.

Swiss champions FC Zurich have a couple of players to keep an eye on. Johan Vonlanthen, despite being only 23, has already gained extensive experience in his career in stints with PSV Eindhoven, Brescia and Red Bull Salzburg. Up front, the pair of Swiss youngster Almen Abdi and French import Eric Hassli combined for 36 goals in 36 Swiss league games.

The glamour matchup in the Non-Champions Path sees Arsenal take on Celtic but the game that may produce a shock result is the Panathinaikos – Atlético Madrid tie. Panathinaikos scored a massive 3-0 win to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the second leg of their Third Qualifying Round tie with AC Sparta Praha. With experienced players like Gilberto and Giorgos Karagounis complemented by the pace and skill of Sebastián Leto and Djibril Cissé, Atletico could have a tough scrap on their hands.

The full playoff round match-ups (games to be played on August 18 and 26) are as follows:

Non-champions Path
Arsenal FC (England) v Celtic FC (Scotland)
Olympique Lyonnais (France) v RSC Anderlecht (Belgium)
Sporting Clube de Portugal (Portugal) v ACF Fiorentina (Italy)
Panathinaikos FC (Greece) v Club Atlético de Madrid (Spain)
VfB Stuttgart (Germany) v FC Timisoara (Romania)

Champions Path
Olympiacos CFP (Greece) v FC Sheriff (Moldova)
FC København (Denmark) v APOEL FC (Cyprus)
PFC Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) v Debreceni VSC (Hungary)
Maccabi Haifa FC (Israel) v FC Salzburg (Austria)
FC Zürich (Switzerland) v FK Ventspils (Latvia)