- Birthdate: 24 September 1980
- Birthplace: Molde, Norway
- Other clubs: Aalesund (1994-98), Monaco (1998-2001), AS Roma (2008-11), Fulham (2011-14), APOEL Nicosia (2014-15), Delhi Dynamos (2015-16), Aalesund (2 / 2016), Channaiyin (2016)
- Signed from: Monaco
- Signed for LFC: £4m, 20.06.2001
- International debut: 31.01.2000 vs. Iceland
- International caps: 110/15 (64/6 at LFC) - 22.03.2013
- Liverpool debut: 12.08.2001
- Last appearance: 30.04.2008
- Debut goal: 24.08.2001
- Last goal: 03.04.2007
- Contract expiry: 01.07.2008
- Win ratio: 56.9% W:198 D:70 L:80
- Games/assists ratio: 9.67
- Honours: FA Cup 2006; League Cup 2003; Champions League 2005; European Super Cup 2001, 2005
- Total games/goals opposite LFC: 5 / 0
- League games / goals / assists: 234 / 21 / 23
- Total games / goals / assists: 348 / 31 / 36
Player Profile
Riise was bought to Monaco for £700,000 from Norwegian second division side Aalesund in the summer of 1998. After Jean Tigana left Monaco Riise wanted also to look for pastures new. Leeds showed interest but could not broker a deal with Monaco. Riise was frozen out of the first team but finally it looked like his old mentor Tigana would buy him to Fulham. Liverpool improved Fulham's offer after Riise has agreed terms with the London side and hijacked the deal. Riise benefited from his three-year-stay in France and combined good technique and power. He had no trouble in adapting to the English game and was a tremendous success in his debut season. He helped Liverpool bring in the Charity Shield and the European Super Cup to add to their impressive treble from the previous campaign and in only his second start in the Premier League Riise ran half the length of the pitch to score Reds' last goal in a 3-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. Two months later Riise's excellent engine and powerful left foot impressed the club's supporters when he unleashed an incredible shot outside the penalty area that reached 70 mph. (112 km.) before going in off the bar against Manchester United at Anfield. Ripping off his shirt in celebration became his trademark.
The Norwegian delivered on the attacking front, but sometimes his defensive skills left a lot to be desired so he was also used in left midfield. Following a disappointing 2003/04 when Riise was dropped on occasions and drew a blank in the scoring stakes he played in all but one league game under new boss Rafa Benítez in the 2004/05 season that culminated in the drama that was Istanbul. Riise was actually the only Liverpool player to miss in the penalty shoot-out, but he did provide the superb cross that enabled Gerrard to head in Liverpool's first goal in their astonishing revival. Riise, anyway made amends a year later for his penalty miss, in the FA Cup final against West Ham. "I asked the manager to let me take the fourth penalty given what happened in Istanbul last year. I was carrying an injury at the time which meant that I couldn't blast the penalty there which I'd normally do. I had to place it and their keeper (Dida) saved it. That was a nightmare, even though we won the cup, it still left me demoralised but I could use the power now. I blasted it down the middle and it flew in, and as soon as it hit the back of the net, I burst into tears. They were stinging my eyes," Riise explained.
Riise lost his way at Liverpool in his last two seasons often exposed by his lack of skill in receiving the ball and delivering it to a teammate with his personal nadir being his own-goal in the 2008 semi-final against Chelsea in the Champions League. Liverpool were heading for a priceless 1-0 win in the first leg when Riise dived to head the ball into his own net at the Kop end in the 90th minute. After eventful seven years of highs and lows at Anfield Riise left for Roma on 18 June 2008. Jamie Carragher said Riise would be missed. "He can be very proud of what he's achieved with Liverpool. He has played nearly 350 games and scored a lot of goals. He's played at a very high level for a long time now. He's never injured and he's a great professional who has always looked after himself." Riise had two decent seasons in Rome before joining his brother Björn Helge at Fulham in July 2011, at last joining the Cottagers after snubbing a move there in favour of Liverpool in 2001. John Arne was a regular at Fulham and deservedly got a great reception when he returned to Anfield as a visiting player on 1 May 2012 when the Cottagers beat Liverpool 1-0.
Riise appeared in thirty-one Premier League matches and one FA Cup-tie for Fulham in the 2012/13 season. Surprisingly, because he was known for the power of his shooting during his seven seasons with Liverpool, he was still waiting for his first Fulham goal after two full seasons with the Cottagers. At the end of his three-year contract, Riise was released by Fulham. He had played nearly a hundred matches for the Cottagers in three seasons but failed to score a single first-team goal during that time. At the start of September 2014, Riise signed a two-year contract with Cypriot club APOEL Nicosia but after winning the league and cup double in his first season his contract was terminated by mutual consent. He then announced he had joined Delhi Dynamos for the 2015 Indian Super League season. Riise rejoined his old club Aalesund in March 2016 but only three months later he confirmed his retirement from football, saying his body could no longer cope and he no longer had the motivation to carry on at a high level. However, he did change his mind for another stint in the Indian Super League. In 2018 he published his autobiography, "Running Man".
Appearances per season
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
23 |
1905 |
Chelsea |
17 |
1286 |
Arsenal |
16 |
1244 |
Manchester United |
15 |
1076 |
Blackburn Rovers |
14 |
1214 |
Aston Villa |
13 |
1015 |
Middlesbrough |
13 |
938 |
Everton |
13 |
932 |
Bolton Wanderers |
12 |
984 |
Tottenham |
12 |
902 |
Charlton Athletic |
12 |
847 |
Birmingham City |
11 |
962 |
Fulham |
11 |
914 |
Newcastle United |
10 |
769 |
Manchester City |
9 |
709 |
West Ham United |
8 |
506 |
Southampton |
7 |
630 |
Portsmouth |
7 |
378 |
Sunderland |
6 |
527 |
WBA |
6 |
300 |
Reading |
5 |
450 |
Leeds United |
5 |
388 |
Wigan Athletic |
4 |
359 |
Leverkusen |
4 |
347 |
Barcelona |
4 |
283 |
Watford |
4 |
279 |
Crystal Palace |
3 |
283 |
Ipswich Town |
3 |
270 |
Derby |
3 |
270 |
Luton Town |
3 |
270 |
Galatasaray |
3 |
245 |
PSV Eindhoven |
3 |
236 |
Sheffield United |
3 |
218 |
Marseille |
3 |
186 |
Leicester City |
2 |
210 |
AC Milan |
2 |
180 |
Bordeaux |
2 |
180 |
TNS |
2 |
180 |
Besiktas |
2 |
180 |
Olimpija |
2 |
180 |
Grazer AK |
2 |
180 |
Spartak Moscow |
2 |
180 |
Basel |
2 |
180 |
Auxerre |
2 |
180 |
Olympiacos |
2 |
180 |
Roma |
2 |
180 |
AS Monaco |
2 |
180 |
Valencia |
2 |
180 |
CSKA Sofia |
2 |
180 |
Juventus |
2 |
180 |
Celtic |
2 |
177 |
Anderlecht |
2 |
173 |
Norwich City |
2 |
168 |
Dynamo Kiev |
2 |
164 |
Borussia Dortmund |
2 |
156 |
Deportivo |
2 |
121 |
Toulouse |
2 |
115 |
Real Betis |
2 |
109 |
Boavista |
1 |
90 |
Barnsley |
1 |
90 |
Steaua Bucharest |
1 |
90 |
Yeovil Town |
1 |
90 |
FBK Kaunas |
1 |
90 |
Maccabi Haifa |
1 |
90 |
Deportivo Sap. |
1 |
90 |
Havant |
1 |
90 |
Benfica |
1 |
90 |
Wolves |
1 |
79 |
CSKA Moscow |
1 |
69 |
Bayern Munich |
1 |
13 |
Vitesse Arnhem |
1 |
11 |
Sao Paolo |
1 |
9 |
Millwall |
1 |
9 |
Inter Milan |
Total |
Started/substitutions |
296 |
Started |
26 |
On the bench |
52 |
Substitute |
41 |
Substituted |
Total |
Venue |
168 |
Away |
167 |
Home |
13 |
Neutral |
Goals per season
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
12.08.2001 |
Manchester United |
Millennium Stadium |
Other |
50 |
03.04.2002 |
Leverkusen |
Anfield |
Europe |
100 |
02.03.2003 |
Manchester United |
Millennium Stadium |
League Cup |
150 |
21.08.2004 |
Manchester City |
Anfield |
League |
200 |
30.04.2005 |
Middlesbrough |
Anfield |
League |
250 |
09.04.2006 |
Bolton Wanderers |
Anfield |
League |
300 |
21.04.2007 |
Wigan Athletic |
Anfield |
League |
Milestone Goals
# |
Minute |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
23 |
24.08.2001 |
Bayern Munich |
Stade Louis II |
Europe |
Related Articles
31 Oct, 2007 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo.
By "yorkykopite" on 21st of August 2007.
Silly season is upon us, transfer rumours rule the market. LFChistory decided to look at the lighthearted side of summer instead.
Related Quotes
"I asked the manager to let me take the fourth penalty given what happened in Istanbul last year. That hurt me. I was carrying an injury at the time which meant that I couldn't blast the penalty there which I'd normally do. I had to place it and their keeper (Dida) saved it. That was a nightmare, even though we won the cup, it still left me demoralised but I could use the power now.
"I know my penalty here wasn't a great penalty, but a goal's a goal. I blasted it down the middle and it flew in, and as soon as it hit the back of the net, I burst into tears. They were stinging my eyes. It was just so emotional after what happened last season. This was closure, a chance for me to get revenge and put things right."
Riise made amends in the FA Cup final after missing from the spot during the shoot-out in the European Cup final against AC Milan
"...But after about ten minutes yesterday, we witnessed 'that' moment. We were facing a corner, and the ball was deflected away to the edge of our area. Riise was on to it in a flash, and started thundering down the right flank with Pennant for company. Pennant stayed out wide a drew a defender, Gonzalez was tonking down the left flank and he too drew a defender. Riise turned infield and headed for the goal like a turbo-charged tank. Terry backed off - I swear to God he was bricking it - and Riise just kept steaming forward.
By now, everyone at our end had stood up. Hushed voices could be heard above the hum ... 'Go on, son - keep going John' We knew he was going to shoot, and we also new the chances were that he would probably not just miss the goal, but the crowd as well (in fact, that wouldn't have been hard, as only 17 Chelsea fans turned up). Eventually, Terry decided to confront Riise. Bare in mind here that Riise had been running at full pelt for probably 70 yards, and must have been puffing a bit. He was probably looking for a pass - but Pennant and Gonzalez were decoys, and no other Liverpool player had made up the ground. So as Terry stepped forward to block, Riise from all of 25 yards let fly. In truth, it was not the best ball he has ever hit, but it still flew like a cannon-ball towards the corner.
At this point, our whole end fell silent and held it's breath. Cudicini dived and it appeared he might get to it. But wether it was the power, or the dip, or the swerve, or the fact God is a scouser - he missed it, and the ball flew like a missile into the corner..... cue momentary disbelief. Had this really happened? TOO FECKING RIGHT - and we exploded as one with such noise and passion that it is beyond words. These kind of moments are rare, but frig me with a red hot poker, they are worth waiting for.
When the mayhem had died down, and we were just grinning inanely, some fella shouted out 'Even F*cking Ashley Cole couldn't do that!' - and I think he was right. In fact, I can't remember any full back doing what John did yesterday. That kind of ability is rare indeed. And we should cherish it."
A LFC fan called Shaybo describes John Arne Riise’s goal vs. Chelsea in the 2006 Community Shield
Other Clubs
Club |
Season |
Club rank |
League apps |
League goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
Aalesund |
1997-1998 |
Norway 2 |
25 |
5 |
25 |
5 |
AS Monaco |
1998-1999 |
France 1 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
AS Monaco |
1999-2000 |
France 1 |
21 |
1 |
27 |
2 |
AS Monaco |
2000-2001 |
France 1 |
16 |
3 |
18 |
3 |
Roma |
2008-2009 |
Italy 1 |
31 |
2 |
41 |
2 |
Roma |
2009-2010 |
Italy 1 |
36 |
5 |
52 |
8 |
Roma |
2010-2011 |
Italy 1 |
32 |
0 |
42 |
1 |
Fulham |
2011-2012 |
England Premier League |
36 |
0 |
44 |
0 |
Fulham |
2012-2013 |
England Premier League |
31 |
0 |
32 |
0 |
Fulham |
2013-2014 |
England Premier League |
20 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
Apoel Nicosia |
2014-2015 |
Cyprus 1 |
25 |
4 |
26 |
4 |
Delhi Dynamos |
2015-2016 |
Indian Super League |
15 |
1 |
15 |
1 |
Aalesund |
2016-2017 |
Norway 1 |
10 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
Chennaiyin |
2016-2017 |
India 1 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
Total |
315 |
21 |
376 |
26 |