Jari Litmanen
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Jari Olavi Litmanen (; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
or a
second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...
. He was the first-choice
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
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. He was chosen as the best Finnish player of the last 50 years by the
Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...
in the
UEFA Jubilee Awards To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)'s 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years (1954–2003). ...
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. Litmanen was inducted into the Finnish Football Hall of Fame in 2015. 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 Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
in Finland, and
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...
and
Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...
abroad. Once considered one of the best
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
s in the world, 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 ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...
'' editor, went as far as to assert that "his career has not been worthy of his talent". In 2025, when Ajax was celebrating its 125th anniversary, the fans of the club voted Litmanen among the best 11 players in the club's entire history. He was also named the best midfielder of Ajax, per voting.


Club career


Early career in Finland

Litmanen made his first-team debut for Reipas in Finland's then top division
Mestaruussarja Mestaruussarja (Championship series) was the top division of Finnish football from 1930 to 1989. It was replaced by Veikkausliiga in 1990. In 1930 league format was used for the first time to decide the Finnish champion. Before that (1908-1929) ...
at the age of 16 in 1987. After four seasons with Reipas, he moved to HJK, Finland's biggest club, in 1991. A year later, he joined MyPa, where he was coached by Harri Kampman, who later introduced him to his agent, the late Heikki Marttinen. Litmanen did not win any medals in the Finnish league, but he did win the
Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...
with MyPa in July 1992 in a 2–0 win over
FF Jaro Fotbollsföreningen Jaro (''Jakobstads Rostfria''), commonly known simply as Jaro, is a Finnish professional football club based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. The club currently plays in Veikkausliiga, the top tier in Finland. History Ja ...
in the final at the
Helsinki Olympic Stadium The Helsinki Olympic Stadium (; ), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer ...
. His performance in the cup final, including a goal, convinced a scout of
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
that the club should sign him. "For me, he was the player," the scout later told Finnish television. His transfer took place during the same summer, and he did not complete the Finnish football season with MyPa.
Louis Van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
, the manager of Ajax at the time, later stated that Ajax paid a transfer fee of only £10,000 for Litmanen. However, the original fax document was later revealed in Finnish media, according to which the transfer fee was 100,000 + 800,000
Dutch guilder The guilder (, ) or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from 1434 until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. The Dutch name was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning 'golden', and reflects the fact that, when first introduced in 1434, its ...
, which corresponds roughly to €550,000.


Ajax

Before his move to Ajax, Litmanen had failed to earn a contract with the Romanian club
Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...
. A number of European clubs, including
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
and PSV, had shown an interest in him, but in the end it was Ajax that bought him. David Endt, who was Ajax team manager in the 1990s, described his first impression of Litmanen to the Finnish broadcasting corporation
YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
in 2010:David Endt in an interview to
YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
TV2, 28 September 2010, during a Champions League match half time.
During 1992–93, his first season at Ajax, he played mostly in the reserves. Then Ajax manager
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...
was apparently not overly impressed with him, but the team physiotherapist suggested using him as a stand-in for
Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who was most recently the Assistant manager of Ajax. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was ...
, who was injured at the time. Van Gaal liked what he saw, and knowing that Bergkamp was about to leave for
Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...
, he announced that Litmanen would be Bergkamp's successor, something that people in Litmanen's native Finland found difficult to believe. This turned out to be true, however, and he inherited from Bergkamp the famous number 10 shirt, which is often given to
playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...
s. He went on to score 26 goals in the 1993–94 season, becoming the league's top scorer, and leading Ajax to the title. He was also voted
Footballer of the Year Footballer of the Year may refer to: Association football World * FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) * FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) * The Best FIFA Men's Player (since 2016) Other * African Footballer of the Year * Asian Footballer o ...
in the Netherlands in 1993. Litmanen was one of the star players of Van Gaal's team that won three consecutive Dutch championships and reached the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
final twice in a row. From the beginning of the 1994–95 season to the middle of the 1995–96 season, Ajax went undefeated in both the
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
(a run of 52 games) and the Champions League (19 games). When Ajax beat
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in the 1995 Champions League final, Litmanen became the first Finnish player to win the Champions League. In the 1995–96 edition of the Champions League, he was the Champions League top scorer with nine goals, including the equaliser in the final against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
, which Ajax lost on penalties. In 1995, he also won the Intercontinental Cup against Grêmio and came third in the voting for the
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...
(European Footballer of the Year), having finished eighth the previous year. Litmanen spent seven years in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, winning four Dutch championships and three
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
s, and scored a total of 129 goals, 91 of them in the league. He is the club's top scorer in European competition with 26 goals in 54 matches (including two goals scored in the 2002–03 season). Litmanen has 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 Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
and
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
.
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...
, Litmanen's teammate in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, once said, "Dennis Bergkamp was brilliant for Ajax but the best No.10 we ever had was Jari." In his time at Ajax, some fans called him "
Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...
" because of the magic he brought to the pitch. But his proneness to injury also earned Litmanen the name "The Man of Glass", and injuries hampered his later seasons at Ajax causing him to miss many games (in his six seasons as a regular first-team player, he missed 57 out of a total of 204 league games, and in his last three seasons, he missed seven out of 24 European matches, playing only part of five others). His injury problems were to worsen as time passed, undermining his subsequent career.


Barcelona

In 1999, Litmanen was reunited with Louis van Gaal at
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, one of several former Ajax players recruited by Van Gaal in his time as manager. Litmanen's stint with the club was largely plagued by injuries. An article in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' in April 2000 likened him to
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
, in that he was " making few appearances and looking more frail each time". Litmanen also failed to adapt to his new conditions, and he was one of the players dropped by Van Gaal that winter. Van Gaal later expressed his disappointment with Litmanen at Barcelona: After an unsuccessful season, Van Gaal was replaced by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, and Litmanen was frozen out of the team, losing the number 10 shirt to
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (; born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo, is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as ...
, although he remained at the club until January 2001, when he moved to
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
on a free transfer.


Liverpool

"We have signed a world-class player. He comes with a massive reputation and I believe he's one of the most exciting signings we have made," said Liverpool manager
Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...
after the transfer had been completed. Litmanen also expressed his pleasure with the move: "It has always been my dream to play for Liverpool. I have supported them since I was a child and there has been talk about me joining them before." He wanted to wear the number seven shirt as worn by his boyhood hero
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
, but this had already been taken by
Vladimír Šmicer Vladimír Šmicer (; born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he play ...
. As shirt numbers 17 and 27 were also in use, he settled for the number 37. Litmanen made a good start at Liverpool but broke his wrist playing for
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
in late March 2001 and missed the rest of the season. Although he was part of the Liverpool team that won the treble of the League Cup,
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
and
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
in 2001, he missed all three finals because of injury. The following season, he was used sparingly by Houllier but did score goals against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
and
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and against
Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...
,
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
and
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in the Champions League. According to his profile on LFCHistory.net, "Litmanen had difficulties in training due to his ankle problems and was hardly able to play for ninety minutes week in and week out." Litmanen himself was frustrated by his lack of playing time at Liverpool: Litmanen was again given permission to move clubs for free after the 2001–02 season, having scored a total of 9 goals in 43 official matches during his one and a half seasons at the club.


Return to Ajax

Litmanen decided to return to Ajax, and was given a hero's welcome with the crowd again singing his name. He was one of the key players as Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the 2002–03 Champions League, but he continued to be plagued by injuries, and much of the following season was once again spent on the sidelines. In the spring of 2004, the club released him from his contract.


Lahti and Hansa Rostock

Litmanen's return to Finland, where he joined
Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
, was much hyped and was hailed as "
the return of the king ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...
". Litmanen, however, moved to German
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
strugglers
Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...
in January 2005, but he was unable to prevent them being relegated, which ended his stint at the club.


Malmö FF

Litmanen joined the Swedish club
Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...
in July 2005 in an attempt to help them qualify for the Champions League. This attempt, 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 2006 but was again sidelined with a number of injuries for much of the season. However, the matches he did play showed he remained a brilliant player when fit. After an operation to repair a damaged ankle during the winter break, Malmö decided to extend his contract over the 2007 season, but an ankle injury suffered in June 2007 forced Litmanen to cancel it.


Fulham

In January 2008, Litmanen received a ten-day trial invitation from Fulham under former Finland manager
Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...
, and was signed on 31 January 2008 together with fellow countryman Toni Kallio. Just weeks after signing with Fulham, Litmanen had to return to his native Finland to rest, after serious heart concerns. Litmanen eventually made his debut for Fulham in a reserve-team match against Tottenham on 31 March 2008, but he was released in May of the same year without playing a single game for the first team.


Return to Lahti

On 8 August 2008, it was announced that Litmanen would join his former club Lahti of the Finnish Premier Division for the remainder of the 2008 season. Although he only played 34 minutes in his first match, he scored twice and provided the passes for two other goals. He played an important role in helping Lahti to finish third in the league and qualify for Europe for the first time in the club's history. He signed a new one-year contract with Lahti on 16 April 2009. Litmanen scored his first European goal for Lahti in a 2–0 win against Gorica in the second qualifying round of the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
, with the final aggregate score being 2–1. This was his 30th goal in 83 European matches. On 18 September 2010, he scored a
bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...
goal against
Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...
in a 2–1 away victory. On 23 October 2010, he scored his 50th
Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...
goal, but this happened in a 3–2 defeat against
TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...
and didn't stop the club from being relegated to
Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...
.


Return to HJK

On 20 April 2011, Litmanen signed a one-year contract with the reigning Finnish champions HJK at age 40, making him one of the few footballers to play at professional level in four different decades (1980s–2010s). He usually started as a substitute and played for 10–30 minutes. The HJK coach Antti Muurinen described Litmanen as something akin to a "precision munition" for HJK. He played in this role on 24 September 2011 in the
Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...
final against
KuPS Kuopion Palloseura, commonly referred to as KuPS, is a Finnish professional football club based in Kuopio. KuPS competes in Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish football. The team plays its home matches at Kuopio Football Stadium. KuPS ha ...
, coming on in the 80th minute when the score was 0–0. During the second half of
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
, he scored a spectacular half volley to make it 1–0 to HJK in the 108th minute. They went on to win the match 2–1. This was Litmanen's first
Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...
final after winning it with MyPa in 1992. On 2 October 2011, HJK secured their third consecutive Finnish championship, thus winning the
Double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
. As of that day, Litmanen had played 18 matches for HJK that season, and they had won every single match in which he had been on the field. On 14 October 2011, this run ended when HJK drew 0–0 with
JJK Jyväskylä Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly referred to as JJK Jyväskylä or simply JJK, is a Finnish football club, based in Jyväskylä. JJK plays its home matches at Harjun Stadion. History Early years 1923–1992 Jyväskylän Palloilija ...
. On 29 October 2011, Litmanen celebrated his 200th league match by giving three assists in HJK's 5–2 home win over
Haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...
. It was also his last game of the season and would prove to be the last of his professional career.


International career

Litmanen is Finland's most capped player and was Finland's leading goalscorer until 12 October 2021, when
Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level on 23 June ...
broke the record with two goals against
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
in a World Cup qualifier. His international career ran for 21 years from 1989 to 2010. Litmanen made his Finland debut on 22 October 1989 against
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
, and scored his first goal on 16 May 1991 against
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. Litmanen served as Finland's captain from 1996 to 2008, and was arguably their key player for more than a decade, helping the team to many unexpected victories against higher ranked opposition. Litmanen earned his 100th
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
on 25 January 2006 against
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, one of only four Finns to have reached such a milestone, the others being Ari Hjelm,
Sami Hyypiä Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (; born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back. Hyypiä began his playing career with Ykkönen side Kumu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He s ...
and Jonatan Johansson. When he played for Finland against South Korea on 19 January 2010, Litmanen became one of a handful of male players to represent a national team in four different decades, a feat matched by
Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
's Ildefons Lima in June 2021. On 17 November 2010, Litmanen became the oldest player ever to score for Finland – and also the oldest player overall to score a goal in the qualifying stages for the
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...
– when he netted a penalty in an 8–0 win over
San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...
, which proved to be his last international match.


Later career

In February 2011, the sports news programme
Urheiluruutu ''Urheiluruutu'' is a daily sports news show produced and broadcast by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yle. The programme originally launched on 18 August 1963. The sportsreader was and the programme was gathered up by . Kukkonen is also the ...
of the Finnish Broadcasting Company
YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
interviewed two of Litmanen's former teammates about the possibility of his working for Ajax when he decides to end his playing career. Former Ajax captain
Danny Blind Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national t ...
said the following: Michel Kreek of the Ajax Academy was equally positive about this possibility: He served as a TV pundit for YLE during
Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...
,
Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
, World Cup 2014 and
Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
, and, during the latter, also wrote comment and analysis for the newspaper
Ilta-Sanomat is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid-size evening newspapers and the largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is '' Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019, ''Ilta-Sanomat'' is also the bi ...
. Jari Litmanen has confirmed in his autobiography that his professional career is over. He played his last professional game in 2011.


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. The couple's second son, Bruno, was born in September 2007. Although they avoid too much publicity, they are sometimes seen together in public. On 10 October 2010, Litmanen became the first Finnish
team sport A team sport is a type of sport where the fundamental nature of the game or sport requires the participation of multiple individuals working together as a team, and it is inherently impossible or highly impractical to execute the sport as a s ...
player to be honoured with a statue: it stands at Kisapuisto (Lahti) where he started his career in the 1970s. '' The King – Jari Litmanen'' is a 2012 documentary film about Litmanen's career. In late September 2019, Litmanen provoked controversy in Finland with his positive comments on the future
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
and Qatar. Later Litmanen explained that his comments were targeted only to football conditions and infrastructure, and said that according to freedom of speech, he has a right to express his personal opinion. On 11 May 2020, Litmanen said to
Unibet Unibet is a sports betting, online casino, bingo and online poker platform. Unibet is a part of Kindred Group–an online gambling operator which consists of 11 brands along with Maria Casino, Stan James, www.vladcazino.ro, 32Red, and iGame. Today ...
that his
coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...
test was positive, and he had been recovering for four weeks. He said of this time that "I've probably never been in such bad shape".


Influence in the Netherlands

Since the 1990s, name Jari has been a popular first name for newborns in the Netherlands and also in Belgium, due to Litmanen's influence. As of 2017, there were 2,188 people named Jari in the country, including professional footballers Jari Oosterwijk,
Jari Vandeputte Jari Vandeputte (born 14 February 1996) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Cremonese, on loan from Catanzaro. Career He made his debut on 27 July 2013 in the first round of the 2013–14 season against Wa ...
, Jari Schuurman, Jari Vlak and Jari De Busser. At the end of the 1990s, Jari was occasionally more popular name in the Netherlands than in Finland.


Career statistics


Club

*Finnish League Cup held for the first time in 1994.


International


Honours

MyPa *
Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...
: 1992 Ajax *
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2003–04 *
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
: 1992–93, 1997–98, 1998–99 * Dutch Supercup:
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
,
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
*
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
: 1994–95 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
:
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
* Intercontinental Cup:
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
Liverpool *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
: 2000–01 *
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
: 2000–01 *
FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...
:
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
*
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: 2000–01 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
:
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
HJK *
Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...
:
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
*Finnish Cup:
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
Finland *
Nordic Football Championship The Nordic Football Championship (, , , , commonly abbreviated NM or PM) was an international association football, football competition contested by the list of men's national football (soccer) teams, men's national football teams of the Nordic c ...
: 2000–01 Individual * Finnish Sports Journalists Player of the Year (8): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 * Finnish Football Association Player of the Year (9): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 *
Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...
Player of the Year: 1990 *
Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year ( Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Di ...
: 1993 * Dutch league top scorer: 1993–94 (26 goals) *
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...
:
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
(8th),
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
(3rd) * Finnish Sports Personality of the Year: 1995 *
Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...
: Captain's Ball 2002 * ''ESM'' Team of the Year: 1994–95, 1995–96 * UEFA Champions League top scorer: 1995–96 (9 goals) *Captain's Ball: 2002 *
UEFA Jubilee Awards To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)'s 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years (1954–2003). ...
– Greatest Finnish Footballer of the last 50 Years: 2003 *Most-capped player for the Finland national team: 137 caps *2nd all-time top scorer for the Finland national team: 32 goals *All-time top scorer in Europe for Ajax: 26 goals *Oldest Player to Score in
UEFA European Championship qualifying The UEFA European Championship qualifying, branded as the European Qualifiers, is the process that UEFA-affiliated national football teams go through in order to qualify for the UEFA European Championship. In this article, the years represent t ...
: 39 years and 270 days *FC Lahti Hall of Fame: 2016


See also

*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps In association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official appearance for their national team. This article lists all men's football players who have played in 100 or more official internat ...


References


External links


Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website
Profile at FA of Finland's official website




at scape To Suomi
Article
at
Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Litmanen, Jari 1971 births Living people Footballers from Lahti Finnish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Reipas Lahti players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players Myllykosken Pallo −47 players AFC Ajax players FC Barcelona players Liverpool F.C. players FC Lahti players FC Hansa Rostock players Malmö FF players Fulham F.C. players Mestaruussarja players Veikkausliiga players Eredivisie players La Liga players Premier League players Bundesliga players Allsvenskan players UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Europa League–winning players UEFA Champions League top scorers Finland men's international footballers FIFA Men's Century Club UEFA Golden Players Finnish expatriate men's footballers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Finnish Football Hall of Fame inductees