OPPOSITION LEGENDS – JARI LITMANEN

Legend is an overused term in the modern game, but when you are the all-time leading appearance holder and all-time leading goalscorer for your country, and are considered the greatest player in the history of the national team, the term is justified.

Jari Litmanen may not be considered an out-and-out striker, but his talent to play across the front-line and in a deeper position in-front of the midfield enabled him to score 32 goals in his 137 international appearances for Finland between 1989 and 2010.

Although he never got to show his talent at the finals of a major tournament, Litmanen established himself as one of Europe's best players during his best years as he represented Ajax, Barcelona and Liverpool during a 10-year period. It was in the 'total football' environment of Ajax that he was at his most prolific in-front of goal, scoring an incredible 91 goals and winning the UEFA Champions League in 1995. Playing until he was 40 with HJK Helsinki, Litmanen retired in 2011, having played 200 games in the Finnish top-flight.

Injuries prevented Litmanen from achieving much more, especially at club level, but he remains a hero and a statue of him stands at the stadium of his home town club Lahti, who he represented over two separate spells during his career. Although his professional career spanned an incredible four decades, he was labelled as the 'man of glass' due to the time he spent on the treatment table rather than on the pitch.

During his international career, Litmanen played four games against Cymru. He was the captain for the first football match played at the Millennium Stadium in March 2000 as Finland claimed a 2-1 victory, but he could not prevent Cymru from claiming a 2-0 win in Helsinki in September 2002 when John Hartson and Simon Davies were both on target. Another victory for Finland followed in Cardiff in March 2009 with a 2-0 success, and the return match the following October also resulted in a 2-1 win for Litmanen's side.