Juhani Ojala

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Juhani Ojala
Juhani Ojala 2012.jpg
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-06-19) 19 June 1989 (age 32)
Place of birth Vantaa, Finland[1]
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Motherwell
Number 14
Youth career
VJS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Klubi 04 14 (1)
2009–2011 HJK 41 (1)
2011–2013 Young Boys 23 (0)
2013–2016 Terek Grozny 24 (0)
2015 → HJK (loan) 4 (0)
2016 SJK 9 (0)
2017–2019 Häcken 32 (4)
2019–2021 Vejle 45 (3)
2021– Motherwell 10 (1)
National team‡
Finland U-19 1 (0)
Finland U-20 3 (0)
Finland U-21 9 (0)
2011– Finland 31 (1)
Honours
Finland national football team
Runner-up Baltic Cup 2012
Third place Baltic Cup 2014
HJK Helsinki
Runner-up Finnish League Cup 2009
Winner Veikkausliiga 2009
Runner-up Finnish Cup 2010
Winner Veikkausliiga 2010
Young Boys
Third place Swiss Super League 2012
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:07, 29 November 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:16, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Juhani Ojala (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjuhɑni ˈʔojɑlɑ]; born 19 June 1989) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and the Finland national team. Ojala was born in Vantaa, Finland where he played for the local youth team before moving to HJK's organisation.

Club career[]

HJK Helsinki[]

During the 2009 season, Ojala represented mostly Klubi-04, HJK's reserve squad. In the beginning of the 2010 season, however, he was selected to HJK's first eleven, due to various injuries in the squad. His performances were outstanding, and he quickly established himself as one of the key players in HJK's victorious 2010 campaign, playing in all games. Ojala became one of the best and most talented players in the Veikkausliiga, and his performances provoked widespread international interest.[2] At the end of the 2010 Veikkausliiga season, he was officially selected as the defender of the year.[3]

Young Boys[]

On 9 April 2011 Ojala signed a contract extension with HJK, the new contract running until 2014.[4] But in July, HJK announced that Ojala would transfer to Swiss team BSC Young Boys on 13 August.[5]

He gained notoriety in England during Young Boys' 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage match against Liverpool at the Stade de Suisse. In an eventful match, which ended 5–3 to the Reds, Ojala opened the score with an own goal, putting the ball past Marco Wölfli, his own goalkeeper. He later made amends by scoring a header to bring Young Boys level at 2–2 just after half time.

Terek Grozny[]

After a year and a half in Switzerland on 12 February 2013 it was announced that Ojala would transfer to Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny.[6]

Loan to HJK Helsinki[]

On 29 July 2015, Ojala rejoined HJK on loan for the remainder of the 2015 Veikkausliiga season.[7] He had a trial with Coventry City F.C. at the end of the season, but was not signed.

SJK[]

On 1 September 2016, Ojala signed with SJK.[8]

Vejle[]

On 26 August 2019, Danish 1st Division club Vejle Boldklub confirmed, that they had signed Ojala.[9] He reached promotion to the Danish Superliga during his first season at the club,[10] and personally finished with 22 appearances in which he scored two goals.[11]

On 14 September 2020, his debut in the Superliga, he scored in a 4–2 loss to rivals AGF.[12]

Motherwell[]

On 29 July 2021, Motherwell announced the signing of Ojala on a two-year contract.[13]

International career[]

In November 2010, after representing Finland on youth levels, Ojala was called up to the national team squad to face San Marino. He made his national team debut on 15 November 2011 in a friendly match against Denmark in Esbjerg when Mixu Paatelainen used him as a substitute.[14] He gained his first FIFA World Cup qualification appearance 12 October 2012 in Helsinki Olympic Stadium in a match against Georgia.[15] During autumn of 2012 he established himself as a regular in the national team.

Ojala was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[16]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 6 November 2021[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Klubi 04 2009 Ykkönen 11 1 — — — — 11 1
HJK 2009 Veikkausliiga 4 0 — — 4 0
2010 24 0 4 1 7 0 6[a] 1 — 41 2
2011 17 1 2 0 2 0 2[b] 0 — 23 1
Total 45 1 6 1 9 0 8 1 0 0 68 3
Young Boys 2011–12 Swiss Super League 11 0 1 0 — — — 12 0
2012–13 12 0 0 0 — 10[c] 1 — 22 1
Total 23 0 1 0 0 0 10 1 0 0 34 1
Terek Grozny 2012–13 Russian Premier League 3 0 0 0 — — — 3 0
2013–14 20 0 1 0 — — — 21 0
2014–15 1 0 1 0 — — — 2 0
Total 24 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 0
HJK (loan) 2015 Veikkausliiga 4 0 0 0 0 0 2[c] 0 — 6 0
SJK 2016 Veikkausliiga 9 0 1 0 0 0 0[b] 0 — 10 0
BK Häcken 2017 Allsvenskan 23 3 1 0 — — — 24 0
2018 6 0 4 0 — 0[c] 0 — 10 0
2019 3 1 1 0 — 1[c] 0 — 5 0
Total 32 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 39 4
Vejle 2019–20 Danish 1st Division 22 2 0 0 — — — 22 2
2020–21 Danish Superliga 23 1 1 0 — — — 24 1
Total 45 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 3
Motherwell 2021–22 Scottish Premiership 10 1 0 0 1 0 — — 11 1
Career total 204 10 17 1 10 0 21 2 0 0 252 13
  1. ^ Four appearances and one goal in the UEFA Champions League, two appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances and goals in the UEFA Europa League

International[]

As of match played 29 May 2021[17]
Finland national team
Year Apps Goals
2011 1 0
2012 4 0
2013 4 0
2014 4 0
2015 1 0
2016 2 0
2017 6 1
2018 1 0
2019 2 0
2020 4 0
2021 2 0
Total 31 1

International goals[]

Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.[17]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 9 January 2017 Tahnoun bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates  Morocco 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Honours[]

Club[]

HJK Helsinki

Country[]

Finland national football team

Individual[]

  • 2010: Veikkausliiga defender of the year[18]

References[]

  1. ^ HJK Profile
  2. ^ Isotalo Mikko, Judesoturi, Iltalehti Urheilu 27 July 2010, p. 6
  3. ^ HJK:n Ojala ja Mäkelä pelipaikkojensa parhaat HS.fi, 21 October 2010
  4. ^ HJK:n oma kasvattitoppari jatkosopimukseen Archived 18 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
  5. ^ Toppari Juhani Ojala siirtyy Sveitsiin (in Finnish)
  6. ^ "Juhani Ojala siirtyy Venäjän liigaan Terek Groznyin riveihin" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  7. ^ "JUHANI OJALA LOPPUKAUDEKSI KLUBIIN!". hjk.fi/ (in Finnish). HJK. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Maajoukkueen puolustaja Juhani Ojala SJK-paitaan". sjk2007.fi (in Finnish). SJK. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  9. ^ Vejle Boldklub køber Juhani Ojala, vejle-boldklub.dk, 26 August 2019
  10. ^ Burkal Nielsen, Ronni (14 July 2020). "Vejle rykker op i Superligaen". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b Juhani Ojala at Soccerway
  12. ^ "Målfarlige AGF knækker Vejle i sæsonpremiere" (in Danish). TV 2. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020. Towards the end of the match, however, Vejle managed to score twice and create renewed tension. First, Ghanaian debutant Raphael Dwamena scored on a low strike from the edge of the box, and then Finnish Juhani Ojala came on the scoreboard with a header after a corner kick in the 84th minute.
  13. ^ "JUHANI OJALA SIGNS FOR MOTHERWELL". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Musta hetki koitui Suomen kohtaloksi" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Eremenko junior ulos, Suomi puristi vajaalla tasapeliin" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  16. ^ "Näillä pelaajilla Huuhkajat lähtevät kohti EM-kisoja – kaksi nimeä kiinnostivat yli muiden" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Ojala, Juhani". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Pelipaikkojen parhaat 2010 nimetty" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2015.

External links[]

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