Joel Pohjanpalo

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Joel Pohjanpalo
Joel-Pohjanpalo-2018-08-19.jpg
Pohjanpalo in 2018
Personal information
Full name Joel Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo
Date of birth (1994-09-13) 13 September 1994 (age 27)
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Çaykur Rizespor
(on loan from Bayer Leverkusen)
Number 20
Youth career
1999–2005 PK-35
2006–2010 HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Klubi-04 2 (0)
2011–2013 HJK 50 (16)
2013– Bayer Leverkusen 22 (7)
2013–2014 → VfR Aalen (loan) 22 (5)
2014–2016 → Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) 55 (13)
2020 → Hamburger SV (loan) 14 (9)
2020–2021 → Union Berlin (loan) 19 (6)
2021– → Çaykur Rizespor (loan) 25 (12)
National team‡
2009 Finland U15 4 (0)
2010 Finland U16 13 (2)
2011 Finland U17 1 (0)
2011 Finland U18 10 (4)
2012 Finland U19 3 (1)
2012–2015 Finland U21 11 (2)
2012– Finland 51 (11)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Finland
Baltic Cup
Third place 2014 Latvia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:31, 12 February 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:31, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

Joel Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo (born 13 September 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. He also represents the Finland national football team.[1] Pohjanpalo was born in Helsinki, Finland where he began his career with HJK. He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 26 October 2011 at the age of 17[2] and moved out to Germany at age 19 in 2013.

Pohjanpalo made his international debut for Finland in November 2012, at the age of eighteen and has since made over thirty appearances, including playing in matches for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Club career[]

HJK[]

A product of his hometown club HJK, Pohjanpalo emerged through the youth ranks, first appearing with the reserve team (Klubi-04) in 2011 at the age of 16. He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 26 October 2011, starting against RoPS. During his first season in the Finnish 2nd division with Klubi-04, he made 21 appearances, scored a record-breaking 33 league goals and was awarded as the series player of the season.[3] Following his excellent performances with the reserves, Pohjanpalo signed a new contract with HJK on 7 December 2011, keeping him in the Finnish capital until 2015.

Pohjanpalo started HJK's first league match of the 2012 Veikkausliiga season on 15 April 2012, scoring a hat-trick within the space of three minutes (162 seconds) against IFK Mariehamn.[4] After a three-day trial with Liverpool in August 2012, Pohjanpalo was offered a three-year contract but rejected the deal due to a lack of guaranteed playing time for Liverpool F.C. Reserves.[5] He finished the 2012 season at HJK with 19 goals in 42 games in all competitions. He was awarded as the Veikkausliiga rookie of the season.[6]

Bayer Leverkusen and loans[]

On 1 September 2013, Pohjanpalo was loaned to German Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen, who then loaned him to 2. Bundesliga team VfR Aalen.[7] At Aalen, Pohjanpalo started thirteen matches and appeared as a substitute in a further nine, scoring five goals.

In April 2014, Pohjanpalo renewed his contract with HJK, extending it to 2018. At the same time HJK extended his loan contract with Bayer Leverkusen a further two years, which Pohjanpalo spent on loan at Fortuna Düsseldorf.[8] He was voted the 2. Bundesliga Player of the Month in October 2014, following a hat-trick against Darmstadt 98.

On 21 March 2016, Leverkusen announced that they had exercised their option to permanently sign Pohjanpalo.[9] On 27 August 2016, Pohjanpalo finally made his debut for the club in their opening game of the 2016–17 Bundesliga season against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored just a minute after being substituted on, but it was not enough to prevent Leverkusen from losing 2–1. Pohjanpalo came off the bench in Leverkusen's second game of the season and scored a hat-trick, helping his side achieve a 3–1 win over Hamburger SV. After these two appearances, Pohjanpalo had scored four goals in just thirty minutes of play during the first two matches of the season.

On 24 January 2020, Pohjanpalo joined Hamburger SV on loan for the rest of the 2019–20 season.[10] On 30 September 2020, Pohjanpalo joined Union Berlin on loan for the 2020–21 season.[11]

International career[]

Pohjanpalo with Finland U21 in 2015

Youth[]

Pohjanpalo made his debut for the Finland U21 side at the age of 17 on 5 June 2012 against Slovenia.[12]

Senior[]

Pohjanpalo made his senior national team debut on 14 November 2012 in a 3−0 victory against Cyprus when he replaced Teemu Pukki as a substitute on the 70th minute.[13] He was close to scoring in a friendly against Slovenia when his shot hit the post and was then finished by Hämäläinen. In the next friendly game against Hungary he finished his first international goal entering the field as a substitute and equalising the game. He made his UEFA European Championship qualification match debut on 7 September 2014 in a match against Faroe Islands when he entered as a 89th minute substitute for Teemu Pukki.[14] He scored his first goal in a competitive match on 4 September 2015 in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match in Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus against Greece.[15]

On 12 June 2021, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Denmark in the UEFA Euro 2020, to grant his country their first goal and win in a major competition.[16]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played on 26 December 2021[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Klubi-04 2010 Ykkönen 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2011 Kakkonen 25 33 0 0 — — 25 33
Total 26 33 0 0 — — 26 33
HJK 2011 Veikkausliiga 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2012 28 11 2 1 8 4 4[c] 3 42 19
2013 21 5 1 0 3 0 2[d] 0 27 5
Total 50 16 3 1 11 4 6 3 70 24
Aalen 2013–14 2. Bundesliga 22 5 0 0 — — 22 5
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2014–15 29 11 1 0 — — 30 11
2015–16 26 2 2 0 — — 28 2
Total 55 13 3 0 — — 58 13
Fortuna Düsseldorf II 2015–16 Regionalliga West 1 0 — — — 1 0
Bayer Leverkusen 2016–17 Bundesliga 11 6 0 0 — 2[d] 0 13 6
2017–18 7 1 1 1 — — 8 2
2018–19 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2019–20 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
2020–21 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
2021–22 2 0 1 0 — 0 0 3 0
Total 22 7 2 1 — 2 0 26 8
Hamburger SV (loan) 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 14 9 — — — 14 9
Union Berlin (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 19 6 0 0 — — 19 6
Rizespor (loan) 2021–22 Süper Lig 14 5 0 0 — — 14 5
Career total 223 94 8 2 11 4 8 3 250 103
  1. ^ Includes Finnish Cup and DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes Finnish League Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International[]

As of match played on 7 September 2021.[18]
National team Year Competitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 2012 0 0 1 0 1 0
2013 0 0 1 0 1 0
2014 4 0 5 1 9 1
2015 6 3 1 0 7 3
2016 1 0 3 0 4 0
2017 4 2 3 0 7 2
2018 0 0 1 0 1 0
2019 2 1 0 0 2 1
2020 5 0 1 0 6 0
2021 7 2 3 2 10 4
Total 29 8 19 3 48 11

International goals[]

As of match played on 21 June 2021.
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pohjanpalo goal.
List of international goals scored by Joel Pohjanpalo
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 March 2014 ETO Park, Győr, Hungary  Hungary 1–1 2–1 Friendly
2 4 September 2015 Karaiskaki Stadium, Athens, Greece  Greece 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
3 7 September 2015 Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Faroe Islands 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
4 8 October 2015 Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania  Romania 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
5 11 June 2017 Tampere Stadium, Tampere, Finland  Ukraine 1–1 1–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 9 October 2017 Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland  Turkey 2–2 2–2
7 12 October 2019 Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–4 1–4 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
8 31 March 2021 Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–1 2–3 Friendly
9 2–1
10 12 June 2021 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2020
11 4 September 2021 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Kazakhstan 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours[]

Klubi-04

HJK

Individual

References[]

  1. ^ "Joel Pohjanpalo" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  2. ^ "HJK:n huippulupaukselle pitkä sopimus" [A long contract for HJK's top talent] (in Finnish). MTV3. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Pohjanpalo awarded as "Player of the Year"". Archived from the original on 9 November 2011.
  4. ^ "HJK vs. Mariehamn". Soccerway. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Pohjanpalo signs until 2015". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Palkitut" [Award winners] (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ @Bayer04fussball (21 March 2016). "Bayer 04 Leverkusen sign Pohjanpalo" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "HSV leiht Joel Pohjanpalo aus" (in German). Hamburger SV. 24 January 2020.
  11. ^ "JOEL POHJANPALO SIGNS ON LOAN FROM LEVERKUSEN". 1. FC Union Berlin. 30 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Joel Pohjanpalo alle 21-vuotiaiden maajoukkueeseen" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Huuhkajat selkeään voittoon" (in Finnish). Palloliitto. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Suomi otti helpottavan voiton!" [A comforting win for Finland!] (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Suomalaisen jalkapallon komea ilta huipentui Kreikassa – Pohjanpalo nousi sankariksi!" [The excellent evening of Finnish football culminated in Greece - Pohjanpalo became a hero!] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Denmark 0–1 Finland". BBC Sport. 12 June 2021.
  17. ^ "J. Pohjanpalo". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Joel Pohjanpalo" (in Finnish). palloliitto.fi. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Kakkonen" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  20. ^ "Palkitut" [Award winners] (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Retrieved 3 October 2021.

External links[]

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