International Career
Litmanen is Finland's all-time leading scorer. His international career spanned four decades.
Litmanen made his Finland debut on 22 October 1989 against Trinidad and Tobago, and scored his first goal on 16 May 1991 against Malta. The fact that Finland have never qualified for a major tournament has also prevented Litmanen from proving his talent at the highest level in international competition. 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 on 25 January 2006 against South Korea. He now holds the record for most caps for Finland, and is one of only four Finns to have reached a century of caps, the others being Ari Hjelm, Sami Hyypiä and Jonatan Johansson.
On 19 January 2010, he played for Finland against South Korea in a friendly international in Malaga. He had the distinction of playing for Finland In four different decades.
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 qualification competitions for the European championships when he netted a penalty in an 8–0 win over San Marino, which was his last international game so far. Litmanen has not yet stated, whether he is going to continue playing or not.
Read more about this topic: Jari Litmanen
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)