FOR Jari Litmanen, the transfer to Liverpool in January 2001 was in a way a childhood dream come true.
"I was a Liverpool fan as a kid and followed closely many players of the club. Being in Anfield Road, in the changing room and in front of the Kop stand for the first time was a touching moment" he recalls in his King’s speech podcast exclusive to Unibet.
Although Litmanen was part of the team that won the FA Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Cup, he soon become frustrated with his scarce playing time in the legendary club.
"When I joined Liverpool, Emile Heskey was considered to be too expensive an acquisition who didn't meet the expectations, Robbie Fowler wasn't in a great shape, and Michael Owen suffered from constant injuries. In about three months, they all were in the England national team, often all three in the starting line-up".
"The competition setting was as hard as it gets: Owen was the club's own boy and European Footballer of the Year. Robbie Fowler was one of Liverpool's all-time top scorers, who had earned the nickname "God" from the fans. Emile Heskey represented England in international football and was very physical, which the coaching team kept in high value.
"I, on the other hand, was a foreigner. I noticed there was lots of politics involved in me getting play time. Statistically, I should have played more but I was still on the bench", Litmanen recalls.
With statistics, he refers to goal and point statistics in relation to minutes, according to which Litmanen–Owen was the most efficient strike partnership for the club.
"I realised it didn't matter how well I played. The others would play first, and I would then fill in, if that. During my second season, when we finished second in the Premier League, I didn't miss any training sessions or matches because of injuries. It was the coaching team's decision not to play me".
Never change a winning team – except Jari Litmanen
In the latest podcast, Litmanen looks back on a certain Premier League game against Tottenham, in which he was in the starting lineup for the first time in a month. In that game he scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win and was voted man of the match.
A few days later, in the Champions League game against Dynamo Kyiv, Litmanen repeated his trick: scoring the only goal in another 1-0 win and, again, he earned the man of the match award. Nevertheless, for the next month, Litmanen was back on the bench.
According to an old English saying, you should never change a winning team. That year in the Liverpool dressing room there was a modified version: “Never change the winning team – except Jari Litmanen". After a season and a half Litmanen left Liverpool but he emphasises that there were no personal grudges against anyone.
"We had a great team back then. Even the bench was full of international players. The coaching team always makes their decisions based on their best judgement. I didn't always agree with them, but that's how it sometimes is in the pinnacle of football. I am still a Liverpool fan and in very good terms with the coaches, players and fans of the time".
National team stint caused debate in Fulham
Jari Litmanen's second visit to Premier League took place in the spring of 2008, when the 37-year-old joined Roy Hodgson's Fulham. Hodgson had previously coached the Finland national team, and had always been close with Litmanen.
However, Litmanen never got to play in the Cottagers team that were struggling to avoid relegation. At first, it was due to injuries and arrhythmia – an irregular heartbeat condition – but later also due to the cracks in the relationship with Hodgson. The cause of the rift was the international break at the end of March, when Litmanen decided to join Finland's practice match against Bulgaria.
"I was back in shape again and talked to Hodgson about the future. Roy then said the international break would be a great training week for me in Fulham. For four days, the team would only have two training sessions with eight players because about 15 guys were away with their national teams. I then did some math and realised that if I went to Bulgaria with Finland, I'd get three good training sessions and one game"
It would be nice, if you could score for us too
Litmanen decided that going with the Finland team would be more beneficial in getting back in touch with playing. He was under the impression that Hodgson was fine with it too. The break went well and back on the field, Litmanen scored his 29th international goal against Bulgaria. When the Fulham international players returned to the club, Hodgson shook hands with each, smiling. But when he reached Litmanen, his smile faltered.
"Apparently he didn't like it when I went with the national team. I guess I played too well there, because Hodgson said: 'It would be nice, if you could score for us too'".
"After that conversation Roy and I had nothing to do with each other in Fulham anymore. I quickly realised that my games there were over. That post was already done with, although there were still two months of the season left. I still wouldn't say the relationship with Roy was bad at the time. That is because we weren't in touch after the international episode at all", Litmanen recalls.
Despite that tense spring in West London, Litmanen says that he and Roy Hodgson are still in good terms.
"We have a lot of history. Hodgson wanted me in his team (Malmö FF) for the first time when I was 17. We were very close during the Finland national team era and I still get along with him well after Fulham".
Kuninkaan puhe ("King's speech") is Jari Litmanen's new podcast series. The Finnish podcast is produced and published by Unibet. The first five episodes are released daily from 11th to 15th May.
