Finnish strikers Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypää were in their teams’ lineups in the charity match between Liverpool and Ajax player legends.
Legendary football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson76, was able to fulfill his long-held dream on Saturday at Liverpool’s fabled Anfield stadium.
The Swede has said that he supported Liverpool in his father’s footsteps since childhood. Eriksson revealed in January that he was suffering from incurable cancer and said that he had always hoped that he would one day work as the team’s head coach.
In a highly publicized, arresting interview at the beginning of the year, Eriksson estimates that he has about a year left to live in the best case scenario.
Liverpool made Eriksson’s dream come true on Saturday, when the Swedish pilot was honored to be the head coach of the club’s legendary team made up of former players in a charity match against Ajax’s counterpart.
Eriksson said that at first he thought it was a joke when he was asked about his willingness to do the job.
– When I realized that they were serious, I immediately agreed. It has always been my dream, Eriksson says for Aftonbladet.
Everyone won
On Saturday, Eriksson walked onto the field with a crowd of almost 60,000 giving him a standing ovation. The coach watched with emotion as Anfield belted out the iconic You Never Walk Alone anthem.
Before the match, he got to meet the head coach of Liverpool’s national team Jurgen Klopp’s.
Liverpool crowned Eriksson’s night by rising from a 0–2 loss to a 4–2 victory. Ajax played the opening half strongly when Derk Boerrigter and Kiki Musampa succeeded in scoring.
They were responsible for Liverpool’s goals in the second half Gregory Vignal, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar and Fernando Torres. A Finnish couple sami Hyypiä was allowed on the field from the substitution at halftime.
– Today everyone was a winner. This was really beautiful and absolutely incredible. Everything from You Never Walk Alone to The Match. Nice win! Eriksson set the mood after the match and admitted to tears during the atmospheric opening moments.
Litmanen on the dressing room floor
Played in both teams in his career Jari Litmanen started the legendary match in the Ajax team, but came on at the end of the second half to replace Torres in the Liverpool shirt.
At the same time, Litmanen played his first match in Liverpool in ten years. He last represented the club in 2014, even then in a charity match.
Litmanen, who played the peak seasons of his career in Ajax, represented Liverpool in 2001–2002. However, the Suomalaistahtahti remained in the side role in the team. He was only in the starting line-up 19 times and scored nine goals in 43 matches in a Liverpool shirt.
Litmanen suffered from several injuries in his career, such as in March 2001, when he broke his wrist in an international match against England at Anfield.
– My wrist broke into eight parts. After the match, I collapsed on the dressing room floor when the adrenaline ran out. I was taken to the hospital, but I don’t remember anything about it, Litmanen recalled before the legend match.
Litmanen denied that injuries were the only reason for the limited playing time in red shirts. He never particularly demanded playing time.
– I played a lot more by Gerard Houlier under, but when he had heart problems, Phil Thompson stepped into the thong and my minutes decreased. Suddenly I wasn’t playing at all, Litmanen said.
– As a player, you always wonder why you don’t play. But I never asked about it. I didn’t miss any practice or games, it was my best year physically. I was asked in the grocery store why I don’t play, and I couldn’t answer.