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During his time at Anfield, John Arne Riise became a fan favourite, helping the club to Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup glory with his no-nonsense defending, tireless running and sledgehammer shot.
But believes he wasn’t working hard enough during his last season at Liverpool before his unwanted exit in 2008.
“I was too comfortable with my position at the club and my position in the team,” he tells FFT on behalf of BetVictor Online Casino. “Basically I can blame myself for not being at my highest level when it comes to putting the hard work in.”
'I called my agent crying, because I was so upset' Riise recalls heartbreaking end to his Liverpool career
Riise reflects on one of the hardest moments of his footballing career: the meeting in which Reds boss Rafa Benitez told him his days with the club were done.
“There were two games left of the season,” Riise recalls. “I was called up out of the blue and he just said, “It’s time to part ways.
“The one thing I really respected was how honest he was with me. He didn’t try to make it look good or to be nice, it was just dead-on, time to go. I called my agent crying, because I was so upset. But he just said, 'Listen, the clubs will be queuing up for you.'
“A few days afterwards, Roma came in and I went there. But it wasn’t the way I wanted to leave, I had the best times of my career there, I won everything there, and we had such a great team.”
Riise had been getting ready to deal with some competition in the squad in the form of Andrea Dossena, the incoming Udinese left-back who was lined up to be his replacement. But Benitez had made up his mind, and the Norwegian never got the chance to prove him wrong.
Looking back today, Riise believes that he made the manager’s choice easier for him by resting on his laurels during the 2007/08 season.
“I had let myself slip in the last year, I didn’t work as hard as I normally did,” he says. “I was too comfy.”
