Aki Riihilahti played for Crystal Palace between 2001 and 2006. During those 5 years the Finnish international footballer established himself as a firm fan favourite and cult figure. As a defensive midfielder he was never the team's biggest 'star' (I put 'star' in inverted commas because apart from an exilerating few months with Steve Bruce as manager the following few seasons were spent under the tergid watch of Trevor Francis). Riihilahti however, perhaps because of the general rubbishness of the club, stood out as a hard working player who was absolutely committed to the club, the sort of player that the fan's would have wanted to be, the one always chasing the ball and running tirelessly. He was however,more than a workhorse, whilst generally going about his business in a quiet, understated way he had the quality and the ability befitting someone capped more than 60 times for his country and had a penchant for attempting long-distance shots on goal.
Big as his personality was on the pitch, it was even bigger off it. Aki became famous for his personal website which featured regular blog postings on life and the universe written in charmingly imperfect English. These regular musings were soon picked up on by The Times who handed Riihilahti a regular column in their sports section.
Despite the huge number of players that have come and gone over the last 8 years i'm certain that Riihilahti is one that nearly all Palace fans will remember especially and have their own particular fond memories of. For me Aki will always be remembered most for this goal (I was sitting behind the goal).
Aki Pasinpoika Riihilahti, the footballer, the writer, the legend.
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