The "overall package" made up the player's mind
Injury worries hopefully in the past
By Heikki Miettinen in Rostock
Jari Litmanen signed a contract with Hansa Rostock that runs until the spring of 2006.
In spite of what was initially said by the club, however hard you look through the small print, you will not find any clauses that terminate the agreement if Hansa make the drop into the Second Division.
Even if there is nothing in black and white, Litmanen remains careful in his comments on the future. "Let's just play these fifteen matches first. Nothing in football is ever 100% certain", he cautions.
Litmanen digs out an interesting detail from his memory. He has not played for any club outside Finland right through to the end of his contract since he left Ajax, amid tearful scenes from the Dutch fans, in the spring of 1999.
His next employer, Barcelona, drove him away from Catalonia in December 2000, the victim of a change of coach and the end of the "Dutch" phase under his old Ajax boss Louis van Gaal.
Litmanen headed for Liverpool, but he left Anfield voluntarily in August 2002, after a spell blighted by untimely injuries and the inability of the team to utilise his abilities as an attacking midfielder.
An emotional return to Ajax was again dogged by injuries, and in the end manager Ronald Koeman - his old Ajax colleague on the field - announced they would not be renewing Litmanen's contract. He chose instead to leave right away, coming back to Finland. Litmanen fulfilled his commitments with FC Lahti to the end of last season, but the time he spent on the field was very limited.
The midfielder and captain of the national squad says that there would have been other interested clubs beside Hansa Rostock, but he does not wish to go into names or countries.
"I could have got more money elsewhere, but what settled it for me was the overall package. I've never signed contracts just for the money."
What he does not say is how significant was the fact that it was an 18-month deal.
Niggling injuries have troubled Litmanen throughout his career, and most obviously in recent years, but he regards his situation as a relatively easy one, if one compares it with the Chelsea/Birmingham striker Mikael Forssell's two lengthy absences after knee surgery, or the repeated knocks suffered by Teemu Tainio of Auxerre, who is now bound for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premiership.
"Both of those two, who are still only 25 or younger, have already been on the sidelines through injury a good deal more than I was at that stage of my career."
During his second spell at Ajax, Litmanen was beset for nine months with Achilles tendon problems in his left leg. It was this as much as anything that caused the Dutch club to announce they were calling it a day in March 2004.
By the time the pain from the left foot had cleared up, Litmanen was already in Lahti, and after only a handful of games in the Veikkaus League he was out for a further two months with the right Achilles.
"When you get into a spiral like that, there is really no sure-fire way out", says Litmanen. "I've certainly not discovered any hocus-pocus miracle cures to get myself back in shape now."
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 2.2.2005
More on this subject:
 Litmanen facing new challenges in Germany
Previously in HS International Edition:
Litmanen parts company with Ajax Amsterdam ahead of schedule; midfielder signs with FC Lahti (13.4.2004)
Litmanen heading back to Amsterdam (30.8.2002)
Litmanen: doctor says it could have been worse (28.3.2001)
Strong rumours tie Litmanen to Liverpool FC (4.1.2001)
Links:
Finland-Football: Jari Litmanen
Hansa Rostock: Jari Litmanen (in German)
HEIKKI MIETTINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heikki.miettinen@hs.fi
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