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Birthdate:
20.02.1971
Birthplace: Lahti, Finland
Other clubs: Lahden Reipas, HJK Helsinki, MyPa 47, Ajax, Barcelona, Ajax (2), Lahti, Hansa Rostock, Malmo, Fulham, Lahti (2)
Bought from: Barcelona
Signed for LFC: £Bosman 04.01.2001
International debut: 22.10.1989 vs. Trinidad & Tobago
International caps: 133/31 (10/4 at LFC) - 29.05.2010
Liverpool debut:
10.01.2001
Last appearance: 27.04.2002
Debut goal: 10.02.2001
Last goal: 09.04.2002
Contract expiry: 30.08.2002
LFC league games/goals: 26 / 5
Total LFC games/goals: 43 / 9
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Player Notes:
Jari Litmanen is one of Europe's most renowned players. Litmanen played 5 years in his native Finland before moving to Ajax in 1992. He became European champion with Ajax 1995 and was voted the World's third best player. Jari scored Ajax's goal in normal time against Juventus in the European cup final a year later, but Ajax lost in a penalty shoot-out. He answered the call of his former coach Louis Van Gaal to join Barcelona on a Bosman in the summer of 1999 after 159 league games and 91 goals for Ajax.
Litmanen picked up an injury in the beginning and worse was to follow when Van Gaal was sacked. Llorenc Serra Ferrer took over and clearly wanted nothing to do with Litmanen. Houllier gave Litmanen the chance to join up with his boyhood idols. Litmanen had always been an avid Red and his former team mates at Ajax complained about Litmanen's constant talking about all things concerning Liverpool football club. When he left Ajax for Barcelona he said goodbye by having "You´ll Never walk Alone" played on the loudspeakers as he walked off the park.
There were no such ceremonious good-byes when Litmanen left Anfield after being mysteriously underused by Houllier. Twice he scored in two games in a row and was left on the bench for the next game. He scored the winning goals against Tottenham and Dynamo Kiev in September 2001, but was substitute against Newcastle. History repeated itself when goals against Arsenal and Aston Villa in December 2001 meant he was only considered good enough for the bench against West Ham. Apparently he was of no real use either in the starting 11 when Liverpool had progressed into the Champions league quarter final against Leverkusen, the only player of real experience in this competition in Liverpool's side. Litmanen finally came on as a sub in the 2nd leg after 41 minutes when Heskey hobbled off and scored a goal that almost put Liverpool into the semi-final.
Litmanen became Finland's most capped player when he surpassed Ari Hjelm's record by playing his 101st international against Belarus on 1st of March 2006.
Jari returned to Ajax in Holland after leaving Liverpool but now in his early 30's he was never able to reproduce the form he had shown during his first spell in Amsterdam. He returned to his homeland to play briefly for Lahti and then had equally-brief spells with Hansa Rostock in Germany and Malmö in Sweden. On the last day of the January, 2008 transfer-window Litmanen was unveiled as a Fulham player, now managed by Roy Hodgson. As Hodgson had previously managed the Finnish national team, he knew what Litmanen was capable of. Yet he surprisingly failed to use the player's experience in a Premier League fixture as Fulham battled, ultimately successfully, against relegation to The Championship. Before the end of the English season, Jari was back in Finland, playing again for Lahti and proving with two goals and two assists in the first match of his second spell there that he was still capable of doing a good job at a decent level of football even at the age of 37.
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