John Arne Riise

John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional footballer and coach who plays as a left back and a left midfielder and serves as a player-manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes.

With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national team.

After a single season as a senior player for the club, he moved abroad in 1998, playing the formative years of his professional career with French club Monaco.

Riise was a regular member of the 1999–2000 Ligue 1 championship-winning side, however, he fell out of favour with coach Claude Puel after admitting his desire to leave.

He was named in the Norway squad for UEFA Euro 2000 but did not play in the tournament.

Riise was a subject of interest from Premier League clubs, especially Fulham and Leeds United that both offered £4 million bids in 2000, though both came to nothing as Monaco wanted £6 million for him.

He was then sold to Liverpool for £4 million the following summer.

He made his debut for Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Super Cup game against Bayern Munich played at the Stade Louis II.

He scored as Liverpool went on to win the game 3–2.

He also scored important goals throughout the Premier League season against teams such as Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle United and Manchester United.

Riise endured what were considered below-average seasons by most in the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, but he rediscovered his form in 2004–05 following the appointment of Rafael Benítez as manager.

He won a UEFA Champions League winner's medal, providing the assist for Liverpool's first goal of the final, although his attempt in the penalty shoot-out against Milan was saved.

He spent seven years playing for Premier League side Liverpool, in which he won many honours, including the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, before moving to Roma in 2008.

Riise began his career in his homeland with Aalesund.

Riise initially wore the number 18 shirt but changed to the number 6 shirt in 2004–05 season, which had been vacated by defender Markus Babbel.

He scored 8 goals in his first season with Liverpool.

When Aalesund opened their new stadium in April 2005, businessman Olav Nils Sunde donated a statue to the club, which was erected in front of the stadium.

While Sunde denied it, the statue bore a very strong resemblance to Riise.

In the 2005 Football League Cup Final, he scored 45 seconds into the game, the fastest goal in the fixture history, according to the official Liverpool homepage; however, Chelsea eventually prevailed 3–2 after extra time.

Riise helped the club to win the 2005–06 FA Cup, scoring in the semi-final against Chelsea and successfully converting his attempt in the penalty shoot-out against West Ham in the final.

In January 2006, Riise signed a new contract at Anfield to keep him at the club until 2009.

After a poor run of form in Liverpool's away games in the autumn of 2006, Riise reacted to comments made by teammates Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher that Liverpool could effectively write off their chances of winning the league, saying, "We never give up. Cowards give up."

In 2007, when Riise played in the Champions League Final, a Norwegian commentator demanded the statue officially carry his name.

Riise himself has said, "[The name change] is not for me to decide. Everyone sees who it is, and I know that it was made for me."

Throughout the 2007–08 season, Riise's natural place in the side was often taken by Fábio Aurélio, the Brazilian establishing himself as the club's first choice left-back.

In February 2008, Riise announced his desire to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career.

Riise made it into the list of the top 50 Liverpool appearance-makers of all time when he played in the 5–0 victory over Luton Town on 15 January 2008.

On 22 April 2008, in Liverpool's Champions League semi-final first leg against Chelsea at Anfield, Riise scored an own goal in the 95th minute to equalise.

Liverpool went on to lose 3–2 after extra time in the away match and were eliminated from the tournament 4–3 on aggregate.

On 18 June 2008, after being linked with moves to other English clubs, Riise signed a four-year contract with Italian Serie A club Roma.

The club paid €5 million total (which could go up to €5.5 million), including €2.8 million per year.

Riise soon became a fan favourite with his hard working spirit which drove Roma to several important victories.

In fact, Riise's first goal for the club was against league leaders Internazionale in a pivotal top of the table game.

Two months later, he scored again in the same stadium against Milan with a free kick into the top right corner, also providing an assist for Roma's second goal of the game.

Riise was named the Man of the Match for the game, which ended 3–2 in favour of Roma.

On 24 January 2010, Riise scored a late header three minutes into injury time in Roma's 2–1 away win over Juventus.

He was also responsible for the dismissal of influential goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in the same game after making a terrific run leaving Buffon no choice but to foul the full-back.

Given the nature of the game, it is seen as one of Riise's most memorable moments in a Roma jersey.

On 13 July 2011, Fulham announced that Riise had signed a three-year-deal with the club for an undisclosed fee.

Riise scored 16 goals before his retirement from international duty in 2013.