Jari Litmanen

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Personal information
Jari Litmanen
Full name	Jari Olavi Litmanen
Date of birth	February 20, 1971 (1971-02-20) (age 37)
Place of birth	Lahti, Finland
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Striker, attacking midfielder, second striker
Club information
Current club	Unattached
Number	n/a
Youth clubs
1977–1987	Reipas
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1987–1990 1991 1992 1992–1999 1999–2001 2001–2002 2002–2004 2004 2005 2005–2007 2008	Reipas HJK MyPa Ajax FC Barcelona Liverpool Ajax FC Lahti Hansa Rostock Malmö FF Fulham	086 (28) 027 (16) 018 0(7) 159 (91) 021 0(3) 026 0(5) 020 0(5) 011 0(3) 013 0(1) 010 0(3) 000 0(0)
National team²
1989-	Finland	114 (30)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 17, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of June 2, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Jari Olavi Litmanen (pronunciation (help·info)) (born February 20, 1971 in Lahti) is a Finnish footballer, widely considered the country's greatest ever.^[1] He was chosen as the best Finnish player of the last 50 years by the Football Association of Finland in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003 ^[2]. Litmanen also finished 42nd in the 100 Greatest Finns voting in 2004. The Association of Football Statisticians' (The AFS) compendium of 'Greatest Ever Footballers' listed Litmanen as the 53rd best footballer ever ^[3]. In Finland he is often called "Litti" or "Kuningas" ("The King").

Litmanen was released by Fulham in May 2008, but is the captain of the Finnish national team, in an international career spanning almost two decades. He has also represented Reipas, HJK, MyPa and FC Lahti in Finland, as well as Ajax Amsterdam, FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC, Hansa Rostock and Malmö FF abroad. Considered one of the best attacking midfielders ^[4], he became the first Finnish footballing superstar while playing for Ajax in the mid-1990s.

1 Club career
2 International career
3 Personal life
4 Career statistics
5 Honours
- 5.1 Club titles
- 5.2 Personal awards and achievements
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Club career

Litmanen made his first-team debut for Reipas in Finland's top division Veikkausliiga at the age of 16 in 1987. After four seasons he moved to HJK Helsinki, Finland's biggest club, in 1991. A year later he joined MyPa, where he was coached by Harri Kampman, who later became his agent. Litmanen won the Finnish Cup with MyPa before moving abroad in the summer of 1992. His performance in the cup final convinced a scout of Ajax that the club should sign him. “For me, he was the player,” the scout later told the Finnish television.

Litmanen had been chased by a host of European clubs, but in the end it was Ajax who bought him. His first season in the Netherlands was spent in Dennis Bergkamp's shadow, but when Bergkamp moved to Inter Milan it was Litmanen who was given the famous number 10 shirt. He scored 26 goals in the 1993-94 season, becoming the league's top scorer, and leading Ajax to the title.

He was one of the star players of Louis van Gaal's team that reached the UEFA Champions League final twice in a row. Litmanen became the first ever Finnish player to have won the European Cup when Ajax beat AC Milan in the 1994-95 final. In 1995-96, Litmanen was the Champions League top scorer with nine goals, including the equaliser in the final against Juventus, which Ajax lost on penalties 4-2. He also won the Intercontinental Cup against Grêmio in 1995, and came third in the voting for the Ballon d'Or, having finished eighth the previous year.

Litmanen spent seven years in Amsterdam, winning four Dutch championships and three Dutch Cups. He is the club's top scorer in European competition with 24 goals in 44 matches. Litmanen owns the honour of being one of just three players presented in a special video featurette at the Ajax Museum. The other two are Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff.^[5]In his time at Ajax, some fans called him "Merlin" because of the magic he brought to the pitch.

In 1999, Litmanen was re-united with his old boss van Gaal at FC Barcelona. His stint with the club was, however, largely plagued by injuries, and when van Gaal was replaced by Llorenç Serra Ferrer, his chances of playing became even smaller. In the end, Litmanen moved to Liverpool FC on a free transfer, in January 2001.

Litmanen was hailed as "one of the most exciting signings Liverpool have ever made" by the manager Gérard Houllier upon signing for the club he had supported as a boy.^[6] But, once again, injuries meant that Litmanen was given little playing time. He did score goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Bayer Leverkusen, and scored a penalty in Liverpool's victory over AS Roma in the Champions League. He was part of the Liverpool team that won the "cup treble" of the Worthington Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001, even though he missed all three finals because of injury. Litmanen was again given permission to move clubs for free after the 2001-02 season.

Litmanen decided to return to Ajax, and was given a hero's welcome with the crowd once again singing his name. He was one of the key players as Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the 2002-03 Champions League. Much of the following season, though, was once again spent on the sidelines, and once again, in the spring of 2004, Litmanen was released.

Litmanen's return to Finland, as he joined FC Lahti, was much hyped, and was hailed as "the return of the king".^[7]However, Litmanen moved to German Bundesliga strugglers Hansa Rostock in January 2005 to help save them from relegation. At Rostock he had the longest run of first-team football in recent memory. In the end, though, Hansa were relegated, which ended Litmanen's stint at the club.

Litmanen joined Malmö FF in July 2005 in a bid to help the Swedes qualify for the Champions league. This bid, however, failed, and Litmanen himself was injured during the whole of the autumn, only making a few appearances. He decided to continue his career with Malmö in the 2006 season, which saw Litmanen continue to be sidelined with a number of injuries for much of the season. However, the matches he did play showed he remains a brilliant player when healthy. After an operation to repair a damaged ankle during the winter break, Malmö and Litmanen decided to extend his contract over the 2007 season. However, an ankle injury in June 2007 forced Litmanen to cancel it.[1]

In January 2008, Litmanen received a 10-day trial invitation from Fulham FC, managed by former Finland manager Roy Hodgson, and was signed on January 31, 2008 alongside countryman Toni Kallio. Just weeks after signing with Fulham, Litmanen had to return to his native Finland to rest, after serious heart concerns.

On March 31, 2008, Litmanen made his debut in a Fulham shirt, in a Reserve-team match against Tottenham Reserves. Five minutes before half time, Litmanen scored the opening goal from a penalty kick. He was substituted after 63 minutes, and Fulham Reserves went on to lose the match 1-3. Despite signing for the club in January, Litmanen was released by Fulham in May of the same year without playing a single game in the first team.^[8]

[edit] International career

Litmanen made his Finland debut on October 22, 1989 against Trinidad and Tobago, and scored his first goal on May 16, 1991 against Malta. The fact that Finland have never qualified for a major tournament has also prevented Litmanen from proving his talent at the highest level in international competition. Litmanen served as Finland's captain since 1996, and arguably its key player for more than a decade.

Litmanen received his 100th cap on January 25, 2006 against South Korea. He now holds the record for most caps for Finland, and is one of only two Finns to have reached a century of caps, the other being Ari Hjelm. Litmanen is also Finland's all-time leading scorer with 31 goals.

It was thought that Litmanen would miss the rest of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, due to the operation on his ankle in 2007, and would have to be out for 6 months. However, Finland coach Hodgson announced Litmanen once again for the squad on November 8, with two crucial qualifying games left. He was Finland's leading goalscorer in Finland's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with three goals, one against Kazakhstan and two against Poland. His last game for Finland was the qualifier against Portugal on 21.11.2007 as a starter (substituted on the 67th minute). On February 6, 2008, he scored his 29th international goal, giving Finland the lead in a friendly played in Nicosia, Cyprus, against Greece, eventually won 2-1 by the reigning European champions. On March 26, 2008, Litmanen played as a starter in a friendly against Bulgaria, and scored the opening goal, his 30th international goal, from a penalty kick. Although he played very well, he was substituted after the first half, and Bulgaria eventually won the friendly by 2-1.

[edit] Personal life

Litmanen was born into a footballing family. His father, Olavi Litmanen, was also a Finnish international and a Reipas player. His mother also played for Reipas at the women's highest level. Litmanen became a father in November 2005, when his Estonian girlfriend Ly Jürgenson gave birth to a son named Caro. In September 2007, the couple's second son was born.

[edit] Career statistics

Club Performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Finland			League		Finnish Cup		Finnish League Cup		Europe		Total
1987	Reipas Lahti	Veikkausliiga	9	0
1988			26	8
1989			25	6
1990			26	14
1991	HJK Helsinki	Veikkausliiga	27	16
1992	MyPa	Ykkönen	18	7
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1992-93	Ajax	Eredivisie	12	1
1993-94			30	26
1994-95			27	17
1995-96			26	14
1996-97			16	6
1997-98			25	16
1998-99			23	11
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1999-00	Barcelona	La Liga	21	3
2000-01	Barcelona	La Liga	0	0
England			League		FA Cup		Football League Cup		Europe		Total
2000-01	Liverpool	Premier League	5	1
2001-02	Liverpool	Premier League	21	4
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2002-03	Ajax	Eredivisie	14	5
2003-04	Ajax	Eredivisie	6	0
Finland			League		Finnish Cup		Finnish League Cup		Europe		Total
2004	Lahti	Veikkausliiga	11	3
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Premiere Ligapokal		Europe		Total
2004-05	Hansa Rostock	Bundesliga	13	1
Sweden			League		Svenska Cupen		League Cup		Europe		Total
2005	Malmö	Allsvenskan	2	1
2006			8	2
2007			0	0
England			League		FA Cup		Football League Cup		Europe		Total
2007-08	Fulham	Premier League	0	0
Total	Finland		142	54
	Netherlands		179	96
	Spain		21	3
	England		26	5
	Germany		13	1
	Sweden		10	3
Career Total			391	162

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club titles

Finnish Cup: 1992
Dutch championship: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998
Dutch Cup: 1993, 1998, 1999
Dutch Super Cup: 1993, 1994, 1995
FA Community Shield: 2001
UEFA Champions League: 1995
UEFA Cup: 2001
European Super Cup: 1995, 2001
Intercontinental Cup: 1995

[edit] Personal awards and achievements

Finnish Player of the Year: 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000
Finnish Sportsperson of the Year: 1995
Dutch Player of the Year: 1993
European Footballer of the Year, 8th place: 1994
European Footballer of the Year, 3rd place: 1995
Dutch league top scorer: 1993-94
UEFA Champions League top scorer: 1995-96
All-time cap leader of the Finnish national team
All-time top scorer of the Finnish national team

Awards
Preceded by Dennis Bergkamp	Dutch Footballer of the Year 1993	Succeeded by Ronald de Boer
Preceded by Jani Sievinen	Finnish Sportsman of the Year 1995	Succeeded by Mika Myllylä
Preceded by -	UEFA Jubilee Awards Finland	Succeeded by -
Sporting positions
Preceded by Dennis Bergkamp	Dutch Eredivisie Topscorer 1993 – 1994	Succeeded by Ronaldo
Preceded by Ari Hjelm	Finland football captain 1996–present	Succeeded by Incumbent