John Arne Riise

Early career

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, playing the formative years of his professional career with French club Monaco. When Aalesund opened their new stadium in April 2005, businessman Olav Nils Sunde donated a statue to the club, which was erected in front of the stadium. While Sunde denied it, the statue bore a very strong resemblance to Riise. In 2007, when Riise played in the Champions League Final, a Norwegian commentator demanded the statue officially carry his name. Riise himself has said, "[The name change] is not for me to decide. Everyone sees who it is, and I know that it was made for me." Riise 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 a subject of interest from Premier League clubs, especially Fulham and Leeds United that both offered £4 million bids in 2000, though both came to nothing as Monaco wanted £6 million for him. He was then sold to Liverpool for £4 million the following summer.

Liverpool

He made his debut for Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Super Cup game against Bayern Munich played at the Stade Louis II. He scored as Liverpool went on to win the game 3–2. He also scored important goals throughout the Premier League season against teams such as Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle United and Manchester United.…

Riise made his debut for the Norway national team against Iceland on 31 January 2000. His first international goals came against Turkey in a Friendly match on 23 February 2000, a game Norway won 2–0. Later that year, he made the only international tournament appearance of his career at UEFA Euro 2000, but was an unused substitute in all three of the team's Group C matches. Through the next decade, Riise was Norway's first-choice left-back, and on 12 November 2011, he played his 100th international match when Norway lost 4–1 against Wales. On 15 August 2012, Riise played his 104th match for Norway and equalled Thorbjørn Svenssen's record as the most capped Norwegian player, eventually surpassing it before retiring from international football in 2013.

According to his profile on Fulham FC's website, Riise was "renowned for his unrivalled stamina and powerful shooting ... impressing both as an accomplished defender and as a marauding full-back." He also was a threat from set pieces. While primarily a left-back, he often also played as a left midfielder whilst at Liverpool.

On 4 January 2019, Riise joined Maltese club Birkirkara as a sports director but resigned after less than three months for personal reasons. On 5 November 2019, Riise was announced as the new manager of Norwegian Third Division club Flint Tønsberg. He left the club at the end of the 2021 season which ended with relegation to the Norwegian Fourth Division. On 8 December 2021, Riise was presented as the new manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes on a two-year contract. In the 2022 Toppserien, Avaldsnes had to contest the relegation playoff, but survived following a 3–2 aggregate score against Øvrevoll Hosle. Avaldsnes were relegated from the 2023 Toppserien due to financial problems and Riise announced his departure from the club on 20 December 2023.