John Arne Riise: Five unforgettable memories
John Arne Riise announced his immediate retirement from football today after a memorable career with trophies from England, France and Cyprus – including Liverpool’s miracle in Istanbul.
The former Liverpool-player, now 35, has decided to hang up his boots today at the same place where it all started: His local club Aalesund.
He came back to Norway and Aalesund in March, but has struggled to find his old self on the pitch and revealed today on his blog that he no longer has the required motivation to succeed at a high level.
Riise, who is the most-capped player for Norway with 110 games, has played for Aalesund, Monaco, Liverpool, Roma, Fulham, APOEL and Delhi Dynamos.
However, the left-back is best known for his seven years at Anfield, where he won one FA cup, two Community Shields, two UEFA Super Cups and of course the Champions League in 2005.
The defender with a thunderbolt of a left foot scored 31 goals in 348 appearances for Liverpool. He has experienced many peaks and valleys during a career that lasted 20 years.
Here are our five unforgettable Riise-memories:
How did he score that goal?
If you ask a Liverpool-fan of one single Riise-moment to remember, most of them will probably mention the goal against rivals Manchester United in 2001. The magical free kick came just three months into Riise’s first season at Anfield, and secured him a song the Kop still sings today. The goal also inspired a memorable spot-on commentary from Martin Tyler, and is a goal that will be remembered for a long, long time.
“Out of all the goals I've ever scored, that's my favourite because of the opponents, the timing of it and how I hit that ball,†Riise told the Liverpool Echo last year.
Own goal against Chelsea
2008. First leg of the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield. The home side are 1-0 up and seems to go to Stamford Bridge with a small advantage when the clock hits 90 minutes. Liverpool have the chance to go through to their third final in four years, but is not to be this time. Five minutes into injury-time, Riise is unlucky and heads a cross from Salomon Kalou into his own net. The second leg ends 1-1, but Chelsea are the best team in extra time and goes to the final where they lose to Manchester United. Riise’s left-back position was often taken by Fabio Aurelio that season, which resulted in the Norwegian leaving the club for Roma in June.
Fastest goal in a Capital One Cup final
The 2004/2005 Liverpool side only finished 5th in the league, but performed much better in the cups, and came to two finals: The Capital One Cup and the Champions League. The Reds narrowly lost the League Cup final against Chelsea after extra time, and Jose Mourinho took his first trophy as a Chelsea-manager. However, a small consolation for Riise is that his beautiful volley inside 45 seconds is still the quickest goal ever in a League cup final.
The famous incident with Craig Bellamy
Riise and Craig Bellamy were teammates in the 2006-07 season and clashed in a training camp in Portugal where Liverpool were preparing for the first leg of their Champions League tie against Barcelona. The Norwegian’s refusal to sing karaoke made Bellamy angry, and the Welshman attacked Riise with a golf club at the hotel when he came back. The incident made headlines back home, but Bellamy and Riise buried the hatchet quickly. In fact, both of them scored against Barcelona the following week as Liverpool won 2-1 in a year they made it all the way to the final. Bellamy could not help himself and celebrated his goal by swinging an imaginary club.
Miracle in Istanbul
Liverpool vs AC Milan. Champions League Final 2005. Are any words necessary? Liverpool were 3-0 down at half time but miraculously came back and scored three goals in the second half. Riise played an important role, particularly when he found the head of Steven Gerrard, who scored and started the amazing comeback that led to Champions League glory after a penalty shootout. Riise actually missed his penalty (Saved by Dida), but Liverpool still won 3-1 and could celebrate their fifth win in Europe’s most prestigious club tournament.
