Back ياري ليتمانن Arabic يارى ليتمانن ARZ Yari Litmanen Azerbaijani یاری لیتمانن AZB Яри Литманен Bulgarian Jari Litmanen Catalan Jari Litmanen Czech Jari Litmanen Danish Jari Litmanen German Γιάρι Λιτμάνεν Greek
 Litmanen in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jari Olavi Litmanen | ||
| Date of birth | 20 February 1971[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Lahti, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) |
Attacking midfielder Second striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1977–1987 | Reipas | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1990 | Reipas | 86 | (28) |
| 1991 | HJK | 27 | (16) |
| 1992 | MyPa | 18 | (7) |
| 1992–1999 | Ajax | 159 | (91) |
| 1999–2001 | Barcelona | 21 | (3) |
| 2001–2002 | Liverpool | 26 | (5) |
| 2002–2004 | Ajax | 20 | (5) |
| 2004 | Lahti | 11 | (3) |
| 2005 | Hansa Rostock | 13 | (1) |
| 2005–2007 | Malmö FF | 10 | (3) |
| 2008 | Fulham | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Lahti | 40 | (10) |
| 2011 | HJK | 18 | (1) |
| Total | 449 | (173) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–2010 | Finland | 137 | (32) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jari Olavi Litmanen (pronounced [ˈjɑri ˈlitmɑnen] ; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He was the first-choice captain of the Finland national team between 1996 and 2008 in an international career that ran from 1989 to 2010. Litmanen is widely considered to be Finland's greatest football player of all time.[3] 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. He 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.[4]
In Finland, he is often called "Litti" (after his own surname), which dates from his early years, and is also known as "Kuningas" ("The King").
During his club career, Litmanen represented Reipas, HJK, MyPa and Lahti in Finland, and Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool, Hansa Rostock and Malmö FF abroad. Once considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world,[5] he became the first Finnish footballing superstar while playing for Ajax in the mid-1990s, winning the Champions League in 1995, the peak year of his career.
His later career was marred by injuries, and he was unable to repeat the success of his Ajax years either at Barcelona or Liverpool, often finding himself on the bench, despite some impressive performances for the latter. Writing about Litmanen in 2009, Paul Simpson, former FourFourTwo editor, went as far as to assert that "his career has not been worthy of his talent".[6]
- ^ "Jari Litmanen: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Jari Litmanen". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 10 June 2001. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Litmanen heads home". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. Archived from the original on 5 February 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Your Verdict: 100 greatest ever footballers". ESPN Soccernet. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ Kuper, Simon (8 October 2000). "Jari sets England a poser". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 March 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Jari's game: How did Litmanen fade away?". FourFourTwo. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013.