Markus Heikkinen

Markus Heikkinen

Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-10-13) 13 October 1978 (age 43)
Place of birth	Katrineholm, Sweden
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre back, Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1997	Oulun Palloseura	24	(5)
1997–1999	TPS	22	(0)
1999–2001	MyPa	43	(1)
2001–2003	HJK	85	(1)
2003	→ Portsmouth (loan)	2	(0)
2003–2005	Aberdeen	68	(2)
2005–2007	Luton	76	(2)
2007–2013	Rapid Wien	173	(4)
2013	Start	10	(2)
2014–2015	HJK	42	(0)
2016–2018	AC Oulu	39	(0)
National team‡
	Finland U18	2	(0)
	Finland U21	3	(0)
2002–2011	Finland	61	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 June 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 September 2011

Markus "Mako" Heikkinen (born 13 October 1978) is a Finnish former footballer. Heikkinen played as a defensive midfielder or central defender.

Club career[]

An integral part of the Luton side that finished 10th in The Championship in the 2005–2006 season, Heikkinen collected four awards – the Player of the Year trophy, Players' Player of the Season, Internet Player of the Season and the Player of the Season.^[1]

His previous clubs include OPS, TPS Turku, MyPa, HJK, Portsmouth, Aberdeen and Luton Town. Whilst at Portsmouth he contributed two appearances as they won the First Division Championship and promotion to the Premier League.^[2]

During his two years with Aberdeen, Heikkinen was popular and important player, who usually featured in central midfield, where he had a reputation as a tough tackling and dependable player. Despite repeated attempts by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood to get the player to sign a new deal, he indicated that he was unsettled at Aberdeen and wanted to move on.

On 29 December 2006, in a game for Luton against Birmingham City he was feared to have a compound fracture of the fibula, however it was in fact a nasty gash down his leg, after a late challenge by midfielder Fabrice Muamba.^[3][4] He returned to action against Stoke City on 17 February 2007.

After his years in England Heikkinen played six seasons for Rapid Wien. He was a key player of the team, making over 170 appearances for the Austrian Bundesliga side.

On 10 August 2013, he signed for Norwegian Tippeliga club Start.^[5] Heikkinen helped Start avoid relegation with solid performances.

After years abroad, "Mako" returned to Finland and HJK in December 2013. After two seasons with the Helsinki-based side, on 2 September 2015 it was reported that the 36-year-old Heikkinen had signed a three-year player-coach contract with his hometown team AC Oulu.^[6]

International career[]

Heikkinen made his national team debut on 4 January 2002 against Bahrain. He immediately became an important defensive player to his native team. He often played as defensive midfielder. However, he returned to his old position as centre back in 2010, after Hannu Tihinen retired in professional football. He announced his retirement from international football on 26 September 2011.^[7]

Career statistics[]

International[]

As of 18 August 2011^[8]

References[]

External links[]

• Markus Heikkinen – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Profile at skrapid.at at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 September 2011)
• Profile at FA of Finland's official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 October 2011) (in Finnish)
• Markus Heikkinen at ESPN FC