Having been cruelly fired from Liverpool, the 42-year-old defender has come out of retirement.

Liverpool legend John Arne Riise, who was transferred to AS Roma on this day in 2008, recently retired at the age of 42.

Liverpool favorite John Arne Riise made headlines earlier this month after retiring at the age of 42, six years after hanging up his boots, and scoring on his return as a player.

The Norwegian, head coach of Avaldsnes women’s team in his home country, last played as a professional for SK Rollon in 2017. But he has now come out of retirement to play for Avaldsnes men’s team.

The defender made his comeback earlier this month, coming on as a substitute against Rubbestadnes IL in the Norwegian fifth division.

And he would enjoy the perfect comeback for Avaldsnes, who were already 3-0 up when Riise came on shortly after the break, recording an emphatic 9-2 victory and the Liverpool legend also scored a 73rd-minute penalty .

“It was a bad penalty,” he told NRK after the game. “I wanted to [break it], but I had a strain just before, so I didn’t dare to shoot hard.

At least he scored, though, when Riise admitted last year that he couldn’t look back on Liverpool’s famous 2005 Champions League final win against AC Milan because he’s still angry at himself for missed penalties of him.

“I only watched the game once, two years ago, and it was only because I had to work. I don’t watch it because I missed my penalty,” Riise told Ladbrokes exclusively.

“When the shootout broke out I had a lot of cramps… So when I walked towards the ball to take my penalty, I didn’t know what to do.”

“I put the ball on the spot, backed up and spun to start the momentum; it was only then that I decided to change what I was going to do. It’s the only time in my life where I didn’t do what I should have done: smash everything.

“Even though it’s by far the greatest moment of my life, winning the Champions League, I’m so bored with myself. Looking back, I realized I should have taken my penalty.”

Although Riise still appears to be in fine form in her 40s, it’s actually been a remarkable 15 years since Riise’s Liverpool career ended.

A fan favorite after joining Monaco in the summer of 2001 for £4m and winning the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and European Super Cup during his seven seasons at Anfield.

However, that didn’t stop his Reds career from coming to an unsavory end, as the Norwegian’s future was taken out of his own hands and he was eventually forced out by Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2008 at the age of 27 years.

In reality, the left-back’s standards had probably dropped over his last two seasons at Liverpool as he battled Fabio Aurelio for a starting place, with only the Brazilian’s injury record preventing him from holding the position on a permanent basis.

In January 2008, Riise scored an own goal against Luton Town in the FA Cup after failing to defend a cross from the right.

Three months later, he will do exactly the same against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, giving the Londoners a decisive goal in the 90th minute.

The 3-2 second leg defeat which began a week later turned out to be his last appearance for the club when Benitez called him into his office to say he was sold and would be out for the rest of the season.

“He smiled at me from behind his desk. He then said, ‘I think it’s time to part ways,'” Riise recalled in her 2018 autobiography. new left-back we’re counting on wanting’…”

“Liverpool had bought Andrea Dossena from Udinese for £7m but something like this had happened before. Each time I rose to the challenge and came out on top. “So I didn’t expect it.

I sat there, half in shock…. “You’re a big name, you can play anywhere. We’ll help you find another club if you want.”

“Can I play the last few games?” was all I could say. For some reason it was important to get 350 games and an exact average of 50 per season. Benitez just shook his head… I had been fired, plain and simple…’

Despite his departure, Riise still holds Benitez in high regard. It was just a case of his manager no longer wanting him in his squad, as the defender signed for Roma on this day in 2008 on a £4m deal.

Liverpool would ultimately regret Riise’s departure, with Dossena, Paul Konchesky, Jose Enrique and Alberto Moreno all struggling as left-back became a problematic position for the Reds for the better part of a decade.

Fortunately, Andy Robertson’s 2017 arrival Jurgen Klopp resolved at least one such dilemma. Riise, who scored 31 goals and 36 assists in 348 appearances for Liverpool, will stay at Roma and Fulham for three years before completing his career in Cyprus, India and Norway with short spells at APOEL, Delhi Dynamos, Aalesund, Chennaiyin and Rollen

But now that he’s dusted off his boots, it seems even in the fifth tier of Norwegian football there’s still life in the old dog, and Riise is simply delighted to still be involved in football.

“It’s probably the first time I’ve been happy to sit on the bench since the beginning!” He said of his recent return: “I feel the pressure, but I have nothing to prove. I’ve done my part in my career.

“It’s more about playing football and having something to do in your spare time between all the work. I’m looking forward to it and I hope the coach thinks I’m good enough to come up with something.

“It’s incredibly fun to train with the boys, the culture of the locker room. Sit in the dressing room and have messages thrown at you. You have no respect for what you have done in the pass.

“It’s something you missed. To get out on the pitch and play football without being so incredibly serious is fun.”