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The surprising endurance of Jari Litmanen’s legacy in the Netherlands

Published 15:26 19 Oct 2015 BST

Kevin Beirne
The surprising endurance of Jari Litmanen’s legacy in the Netherlands

Homesport

Everybody loves a good cult hero.

Few footballers can boast the kind of following that Finnish striker Jari Litmanen managed to gather during two spells at Ajax. After taking on the number ten shirt from  Dennis Bergkamp, Litmanen went on to top 20 goals in four of his next six seasons with the Dutch club before being sold to Barcelona in 1999. He returned to Amsterdam after two seasons at Liverpool, but it was his first spell at the club which stuck in the minds of the fans. During his time at Ajax, the Netherlands saw a massive increase in the usage of the name "Jari" - particularly after he helped steer the Dutch giants to a Champions League title in 1995. https://twitter.com/iammoallim/status/656096082552856576

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The surprising endurance of Jari Litmanen's legacy in the Netherlands