John Arne Riise

John Arne Riise

Personal information
Full name	John Arne Semundseth Riise
Date of birth	24 September 1980 (1980-09-24) (age 30)
Place of birth	Ålesund, Norway
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Left Back
Club information
Current club	Roma
Number	17
Youth career
Years	Team
1997	Aalesund
1998–2001	Monaco	44	(4)
2001–2008	Liverpool	234	(31)
2008–	Roma	66	(7)
National team‡
Years	Team	Apps†
1996	Norway U-15[1]	9	(3)
1998–2000	Norway U-21[1]	17	(2)
2000–	Norway[1]	88	(12)
† Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 June 2009

John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian footballer who currently plays for Italian Serie A club A.S. Roma. He is the older brother of Bjørn Helge Riise. Before moving to Roma Riise spent seven years in England playing for Premier League side Liverpool F.C..

Club career

Early career

John Arne Riise began his career in his homeland with Aalesund. After a single season as a senior player for the club, he moved abroad in 1998, and played the formative years of his professional career with French club Monaco. He 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. Riise was subject of interest from English Premier League clubs, especially Fulham and Leeds United that both tabled £4m bids in 2000,^[2] though both came to nothing as Monaco wanted £6 million for him. He was then sold to Liverpool for £4 million the following summer.^[3]

Liverpool

Riise became Liverpool's first signing during the 2001 transfer window, when he moved from Monaco in a £4 million deal. He made his début for Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Super Cup game against Bayern Munich on 24 August 2001, played at the Stade Louis II, and scored as Liverpool went on to win the game 3–2. He also scored many important goals throughout the season against teams such as Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle and an especially memorable goal against Manchester United. Riise initially wore the number 18 shirt, but from the 2004–2005 season he wore the number 6 shirt, vacated by defender Markus Babbel. He scored ten goals in his first season with Liverpool.

He endured what were considered below-average seasons by most in the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons,^[4] but he rediscovered his form in 2004–05 following the appointment of Rafael Benítez as manager, winning a Champions League winner's medal and providing the assist for Liverpool's first goal of the final, although his attempt in the penalty shoot-out against A.C. Milan was saved. In the 2005 Football League Cup Final he scored in the first minute of the game, however Chelsea eventually prevailed 3–2 after extra time. In January 2006, Riise signed a new contract at Anfield to keep him at the club until 2009.^[5] In February 2008, Riise announced his desire to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career.^[6] He earned an FA Cup winner's run in 2006, scoring in the semi-final against Chelsea and being successful in the penalty shoot-out against West Ham in the final.

After a poor run of form in Liverpool's away games in the autumn of 2006, Riise reacted to comments made by team-mates 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."^[7]

Riise competing in a match against Everton.

Riise made it into the top 50 Liverpool appearances 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 in the away match and were eliminated from the tournament 4–3 on aggregate.

Riise playing for Liverpool.

Roma

Throughout the 2007–08 season, Riise's natural place in the side was often taken by Fábio Aurélio, when the Brazilian established himself as the club's first choice left-back.^[8] After being linked with moves to other English clubs, on 18 June 2008 Riise signed a four-year contract with A.S. Roma. The club paid €5M, which could rise up to €5.5m, with pay of €2.8m per year.^[9] Riise scored his first goal for the club against league leaders Internazionale. Two months later, he scored again in the same stadium against Milan with a free-kick into the top right corner. He also provided the pass that scored Roma's second. Riise was the man of the match for the game, which ended 3–2 in favour of Roma.^[10] On 24 January 2010, Riise scored a late header three minutes into injury time in Roma's 1–2 away win over Juventus.

Personal life

Riise married his childhood sweetheart, Norwegian model, Guri Havnevik in 2003,^[11] but later divorced in 2004. He has one daughter with Guri called Ariana, born in January 2001. He has Ariana's name tattooed on his right arm.

In 2005 Riise was thrust into the spotlight by the Norwegian press, when it emerged he had recently sent out text messages to a number of celebrity women with the same chat-up lines. He was dubbed "SMS-kongen" ("The SMS King" in Norwegian).^[12]

In October 2007, details of Riise's payslip were stolen from his dustbin and leaked to the internet, revealing his monthly take home pay to be £82,413.^[13]

He is now married to Maria Elvegard. They got engaged in 2007. The couple were due to be married in the summer of 2008, but had to postpone the day after moving to Rome. They married on 21 June 2010 in a private ceremony in New York, inviting only their family and close friends. ^[14] Maria decided on having a double barrelled surname, (Elvegard Riise).

On 4 August 2009, Maria gave birth to the couple's first child, Emma. ^[15] He has Emma's name, plus her date of birth tattooed on his left arm.

Career statistics

Correct as of 24 January 2010.^[16]

Honours

Monaco

• Ligue 1: 1999-00
• French Super Cup: 2000–01

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 2005–06
• League Cup: 2002–03
• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
• FA Community Shield: 2001, 2006
• European Super Cup: 2001, 2005

Individual

• Kniksen of the Year: 2006

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	23 February 2000	Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul	Turkey	2–0	Win	Friendly
2	7 September 2002	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Denmark	2–2	Draw	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3	16 October 2002	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
4	9 February 2005	Ta'Qali Stadium, Valetta	Malta	3–0	Win	Friendly
5	8 June 2005	Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm	Sweden	3–2	Win	Friendly
6	2 June 2007	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Malta	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
7	12 September 2007	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Greece	2–2	Draw	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
8	28 May 2008	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Uruguay	2–2	Draw	Friendly
9	1 April 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Finland	3–2	Win	Friendly
10	12 August 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Scotland	4–0	Win	World Cup 2010 qualifying
11	5 September 2009	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík	Iceland	1–1	Draw	World Cup 2010 qualifying
12	9 September 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Macedonia	2–1	Win	World Cup 2010 qualifying

References

External links

• Thisisanfield.com player profile
• John Arne Riise career stats at Soccerbase
• Official Liverpool profile
• LFChistory.net player profile

Norway squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Myhre • 2 Bergdølmo • 3 Bragstad • 4 Berg • 5 Andersen • 6 Strand • 7 Mykland • 8 Solbakken • 9 T. Flo • 10 Rekdal • 11 Skammelsrud • 12 Olsen • 13 M. Bakke • 14 Heggem • 15 Riise • 16 Eggen • 17 Carew • 18 Iversen • 19 E. Bakke • 20 Solskjær • 21 Riseth • 22 Bjørnebye • Coach: Semb