Born in Finland, the attacking midfielder joined Ajax in 1992 after a stint with his native club and played there for a long time until 1999, when he moved to Barcelona for his performances in the Netherlands.
He failed to make any significant impact in Spain and was released by Liverpool after a year and a half.
He had a decent season at Anfield with a total of 43 games, 9 goals and 6 assists, and also experienced the treble in the 2000/01 season. He was never a regular player, but he was a team member and a stalwart of the team. A year and a half later, he returned to Ajax.
Although he did not play for Liverpool for a long time, he was a member of the team that achieved great things.
The Finnish hero, who has had some bad luck with injuries, is impressed with what the German coach has achieved and says he is one of the best managers at the club.
“Jurgen Klopp has done a great job as manager of Liverpool and, of course, he is the only person to give the answer for why he wanted to leave now, but he will be one of the greatest ever managers for the club, that’s for sure.
“It looks good [this season], a big fight for those trophies, but that’s top football, that’s the Premier League.
“They have all the quality to be No. 1, but of course we know the difference at the top is so narrow, so things can happen.”
This Is Anfield