FC Lahti confirms signing of Jari Litmanen
13 April: FC Lahti, playing in the top flight of Finnish
football (the Veikkausliga), officially confirmed the
signing of former Ajax superstar Jari Litmanen
today. Litmanen signed a contract for one season at
the club from his city of birth. The Finnish football season
starts in May and ends in November.
The news does not come as a surprise. As Ajax and Litmanen
agreed on the immediate dissolving of the Finn's contract in
Amsterdam several Dutch and Finnish media reported
that one of the reasons for his untimely departure was the
kick-off of Finland's football league in May. Several clubs
were said to be interested in Litmanen's services. From the
outset it was reported that FC Lahti seemed the most likely
option.
FC Lahti is now officially the fourth Finnish club in
Litmanen's career. Before joining Ajax in the summer of 1992,
he started his career at Reipas Lahti. He left his first
club in the summer of 1990 for one year spells at HJK Helsinki
and Myllykosken Pallo 47 (generally referred to as MyPa in
Finland).
According to Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat Litmanen
may leave FC Lahti several months before the end of the
Veikkausliga. In its Tuesday edition the tabloid quoted the 33
year-old 'shadow striker' saying: "I will take my next decision
this summer. I have two options: staying until the end of the
Finnish season, or moving abroad once again."
On the official FC Lahti website, meanwhile, Litmanen's
comment were down to earth as usual: "The team has been built
without me and I will not take anyone's position. Just regard
me as an extra enforcement to the team. First I will have to
get used to the team, and vice versa. Moreover, I did not see
too much action lately due to injuries, so it will take
quite some time for me to get into the rhythm. (...) After
twelve years abroad it will be good to train properly and to
relax a little bit in Lahti."
Litmanen repeated the latter words in his open
letter to the Ajax supporters, which was published
in Dutch
and English
on the official Ajax website, several hours after the news of
his move to FC Lahti was announced.
Sources: Ajax.nl, VI.nl, Ajax Netwerk
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