Jari Litmanen

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Jari Litmanen
Personal information
Full name Jari Olavi Litmanen
Date of birth February 20, 1971
Place of birth Lahti, Finland
Height 6'0" (182 cm)
Nickname Litti, Kuningas ("The King")
Position Attacking midfielder,
withdrawn forward
Club information
Current club Malmö FF
Number 10
Youth clubs
1977-87 Reipas Lahti
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1987-90
1991
1992
1992-99
1999-2001
2001-02
2002-04
2004
2005
2005-		 Reipas Lahti
HJK Helsinki
MyPa
Ajax
Barcelona
Liverpool
Ajax
FC Lahti
Hansa Rostock
Malmö FF		 86 (28)
27 (16)
18 (7)
159 (91)
21 (3)
26 (5)
20 (5)
11 (3)
13 (1)
10 (3)
National team**
1989- Finland 106 (28)

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of October 17, 2006.
** National team caps and goals correct
as of September 2, 2006.

Jari Olavi Litmanen (born February 20, 1971 in Lahti) is a Finnish footballer, widely considered the country's greatest ever. 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 [1]. Litmanen also finished 42nd in the 100 Greatest Finns voting the next year.

Litmanen currently plays for Malmö FF in the Swedish Allsvenskan, and is the captain of the Finnish national team. He has also represented Reipas Lahti, HJK Helsinki, MyPa and FC Lahti in Finland as well as Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool and Hansa Rostock abroad. Litmanen is a classic playmaker with excellent technique and vision, and has played either as an attacking midfielder or withdrawn forward throughout his career. He became the first Finnish footballing superstar while playing for Ajax in the mid-1990s, but consistent injury troubles have plagued his career in later years.

Litmanen was born into a strong 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 was a natural sporting talent as a boy, and also played many other sports besides football. He was especially good at ice-hockey, but at the age of 15 he chose football as his main ambition. Litmanen became a father in November 2005, when his girlfriend Ly Jürgenson gave birth to a son.

Contents

[edit] Club career

Litmanen made his first team debut for Reipas in Finland's top division Mestaruussarja at the age of just 16 in 1987. After four seasons at his home-town club he moved to Finland's biggest club, HJK Helsinki, for the 1991 season and then again to MyPa for the 1992 season. At MyPa 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.

Litmanen had been chased by a host of European clubs, but in the end it was Ajax Amsterdam who bought him. His first season in the Netherlands was spent in Dennis Bergkamp's shadow, but when Bergkamp moved to Inter 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.

It was, however, in the UEFA Champions League that Litmanen made his name. He was the leading star of Louis van Gaal's team which reached the final twice in a row. Ajax beat AC Milan in the 1994-95 final, and Litmanen became the first ever Finnish player to have won the European Cup. In 1995-96 Litmanen was the Champions League top scorer with nine goals, and also scored in the final against Juventus, which, however, Ajax lost. He also won the Intercontinental Cup with Ajax in 1995, and came third in the voting for the Ballon d'Or, having finished eight the previous year.

In total Litmanen spent seven years in Amsterdam, winning four Dutch championships and three Dutch Cups. He also became one of the most popular players and a legend at the club, and was given a memorable farewell (together with Danny Blind who was retiring) in his last match at the ArenA in 1999.

As Litmanen's contract with Ajax had expired, he was able to leave the club for free, and was re-united with his old boss van Gaal at FC Barcelona in 1999. 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 was given a free transfer by Barça in January 2001, and he moved to Liverpool.

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. But, once again, injuries and Houllier's inability to fit him into his long-ball tactics meant that Litmanen was given little playing time. This was much to the resentment of Liverpool fans who hadn't seen a player like him at Anfield since Kenny Dalglish, Litmanen's boyhood hero. He endeared himself to them with mercurial performances whenever he was given the chance, not least with magnificent goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Bayer Leverkusen. He played a starring role in Liverpool's remarkable victory over AS Roma in the Champions League, scoring an early penalty that set the tone for the required 2-goal-victory that would see the Merseyside club through against the Serie A champions. In the heartstopping 2nd leg of the next round against Bayer Leverkusen, Litmanen came off the bench and thought he had scored the winning away-goal with a fantastic individual effort. However, this was wiped out by Brazilian defender Lúcio's late winner for the German giant-killers and Liverpool's hopes of a dream semi-final tie against arch-rivals Manchester United were destroyed. He was a 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 he had become frustrated with his situation 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 also played quite a good season in 2002-03, and was one of the key players as Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Much of the 2003-04 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 was much hyped, and was hailed as "the return of the king". Unusually big crowds of over 10,000 turned up to matches to see their hero – more often than not just to find out that Litmanen wasn't able to play. All in all, his stint at FC Lahti turned out to be a big disappointment for all parties.

Litmanen was then given one more chance to play in one of Europe's top leagues when he was signed by German Bundesliga strugglers Hansa Rostock in January 2005 to help save them from relegation. Rostock's form improved significantly after Litmanen's arrival, and 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 to 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.

Litmanen is considered one of the most underrated players of 1990s in many circles. In a generation that produced wonderful playmakers as Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Baggio, Dennis Bergkamp and Luís Figo, he deserves a mention with the best of them, possessing wonderful craft and imagination with the ball at his feet and scoring supreme goals. He is revered near the top of Ajax's long list of legends. But for a long list of injuries and managers who were unable to accommodate his individuality on the pitch, he could have achieved greater things after leaving Amsterdam. He is also seen as one of the best penalty-takers in the world with his unmatched precision and nerve from 12 yards. Litmanen is a legend in Amsterdam and he is one of the three players presented in a special video featurette at the Ajax Museum. The other two players are Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff. Categorizing Litmanen in the same group with Cruyff and van Basten tells us just how great a player he really is.

[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 has been Finland's captain since 1996, and he has been the heart and soul of the team for over a decade now.

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. Litmanen is also Finland's all-time leading scorer with 28 goals, the latest coming on the 11th of October 2006 against Kazakstan. He is currently the leading goal scorer in Finland's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with three goals, one against Kazakstan and two against Poland.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club titles

[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
Preceded by
-		 UEFA Jubilee Awards
Finland		 Succeeded by
-

[edit] External links

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