Mika Väyrynen

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For the musician, see Mika Väyrynen (accordionist).

Mika Väyrynen
Mika Väyrynen profile 2017.jpg
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-12-28) 28 December 1981 (age 39)
Place of birth Eskilstuna, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 HIFK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 FC Lahti 36 (11)
2001 Jokerit 30 (4)
2001–2005 Heerenveen 101 (17)
2005–2008 PSV 29 (2)
2008–2011 Heerenveen 57 (11)
2011–2012 Leeds United 10 (0)
2012–2014 HJK Helsinki 40 (5)
2015 LA Galaxy 19 (0)
2016–2017 HIFK 40 (0)
National team‡
2002–2015 Finland 64 (5)
Honours
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 August 2016
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:34, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

Mika Väyrynen (born 28 December 1981) is a Finnish former footballer.

Club career[]

Early career[]

Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season.

Heerenveen[]

Midway through that year SC Heerenveen beat Internazionale to his signature, Väyrynen opting for the Dutch club in order to have a better chance of a regular starting place. He immediately broke into the Heerenveen side, though the switch from a summer to winter season meant he began to suffer from injury problems. However, in 2003–04 he became their key player in midfield, and ended up scoring 17 goals in 100 Eredivisie games.

PSV[]

In the summer of 2005, Väyrynen joined PSV, upon joining stating, "PSV is the best option for me. At Heerenveen I learned to play more simple football. I am not the player I was in Finland any more, tactically and physically especially I have grown a lot." He was brought in to replace Mark van Bommel by PSV manager Guus Hiddink. Väyrynen was, however, ruled out for much of the early 2005–06 season with an ankle injury. Väyrynen returned to action as a substitute on 17 December 2005 against Willem II, and immediately scored his first goal for PSV. He was not able to earn a regular starting place in the spring season, and mostly made substitute appearances, as PSV secured the Dutch title for the second year in a row.

Väyrynen was linked with a move to Rangers[2] and newly promoted Premier League side Derby County as they looked to strengthen for the 2007–08 season. Väyrynen almost moved to Derby in August 2007, but the move collapsed because of a calf injury.

In the summer of 2008, Väyrynen was again linked with Rangers and an undisclosed Belgian team, believed to be Club Brugge.[3] He was also linked with Derby for the second time on 22 July 2008, according to Derby's local radio, despite their relegation to the Championship.

Heerenveen[]

31 August 2008, two days before the closing of the transfer window, Väyrynen was signed by former club Heerenveen to a contract until 2011 with an option of one year more.[4][5] He picked up a knee injury in a January 2009 match against Ajax which ruled him out of play until the end of 2009. In his final season at Heerenveen, he scored 9 league goals for the club in 30 games.

Leeds United[]

On 13 September 2011, Väyrynen, now a free agent, signed a one-year deal – with an option of a further year – with English Championship side Leeds United.[6] Väyrynen was rumoured to have been on the verge of signing Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg at the time Leeds came in for him.[7][8]

In signing for Leeds, Väyrynen joined compatriot Mikael Forssell at Elland Road. Väyrynen made his first appearance in a Leeds squad on 20 September, he was named on the bench against rivals Manchester United, and was brought on with Forssell in the 52nd minute.[9] Väyrynen made his league debut as a substitute in the 3–3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on 23 September, coming on for the last nine minutes.[10] He made his Elland Road league debut against Portsmouth on 1 October, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 win.[11] He made his first start for Leeds on 22 October, coming into the side for the injured Robert Snodgrass against Peterborough United.[12]

Väyrynen was ruled out for a few weeks when he had groin surgery which also ruled him out of some of the international fixtures with Finland. [13] He returned as a substitute for Leeds against Watford on 10 December, and he made an immediate impact when he won an injury time penalty for Leeds to equalise.[14] His second start came in Leeds 4–1 loss against Barnsley on 31 December 2011.[15]

On 16 April, Leeds united terminated Väyrynen's contract by mutual consent after eight months at the club.[16]

HJK Helsinki[]

Since leaving Leeds, Väyrynen had been training with HJK Helsinki in order to maintain match fitness. On 10 July, HJK announced that Väyrynen had signed a three-month contract with the club.[17] He made his debut one week later, scoring from a penalty, in a 7−0 home win against KR Reykjavik in UEFA Champions League qualifiers. He made in total of 12 league appearances, scoring three goals, as HJK were crowned as league champions for the fourth consecutive season.

On 1 February 2013, Väyrynen signed a two-year contract extension with HJK.

LA Galaxy[]

In February 2015, Väyrynen trialed with LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer and signed with them on 6 March 2015.[18] On 15 March 2015, he made his debut against the Portland Timbers, coming off the bench in the 62nd minute and replacing Baggio Hušidić in an eventual 2–2 draw.[19]

International career[]

Väyrynen was a key player for the Finland national team. He made his debut on 20 March 2002 against South Korea. Väyrynen's breakthrough for Finland came in June 2003, when he was the star performer in matches against Serbia and Montenegro and Italy. Väyrynen was also a key player for Finland at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Career stats[]

Club[]

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland League Finnish Cup Europe Total
1999 FC Lahti Veikkausliiga 15 1 15 1
2000 21 10 21 10
2001 Jokerit 30 4 30 4
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total
2001–02 Heerenveen Eredivisie 18 0 18 0
2002–03 22 4 22 4
2003–04 32 5 32 5
2004–05 29 8 29 8
2005–06 PSV 11 2 2 0 1 0 14 2
2006–07 17 0 4 0 8 1 29 1
2007–08 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0
2008–09 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Heerenveen 17 1 3 0 6 2 26 1
2009-10 10 1 1 0 3 1 14 2
2010-11 30 9 1 1 0 0 30 10
England League FA Cup Europe Total
2011-12 Leeds United Championship 10 0 1 0 0 0 11 0
Finland League Finnish Cup Europe Total
2012 HJK Helsinki Veikkausliiga 11 3 0 0 4 1 15 4
2013 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2014 25 2 3 1 10 1 38 4
Total Finland 105 20 3 1 14 2 122 23
Netherlands 187 30 11 1 20 4 205 31
England 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Career total 275 48 11 1 24 5 310 54

International[]

As of 7 March 2015[20]
Finland national team
Year Apps Goals
2002 1 0
2003 7 0
2004 8 0
2005 2 0
2006 8 2
2007 6 0
2008 9 1
2009 0 0
2010 7 2
2011 8 0
2012 1 0
2013 2 0
2014 2 0
2015 2 0
Total 64 5

International goals[]

Finland's score first.

# Date Location Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 August 2006 Helsinki, Finland  Northern Ireland 1–2 Lose Friendly
2. 2 September 2006 Bydgoszcz, Poland  Poland 3-1 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
3. 10 September 2008 Helsinki, Finland  Germany 3-3 Draw 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 3 March 2010 Ta'Qali, Malta  Malta 2-1 Win Friendly
5. 17 November 2010 Helsinki, Finland  San Marino 8-0 Win UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours[]

PSV[]

ScHeerenveen[]

HJK[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mika Väyrynen - Klubi-04".
  2. ^ Rangers Target Mika Up For Sale (from Evening Times)
  3. ^ PSV put him on the transfer list and asked for £750,000 for him.
  4. ^ "Väyrynen keert terug bij sc Heerenveen". Sc-heerenveen.nl. Retrieved 27 April 2010.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Mika Väyrynen palaa Heerenveeniin". MTV3.fi. 31 August 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  6. ^ http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20110913/international-midfielder-signs_2247585_2449861
  7. ^ http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-news/leeds_united_grayson_hails_new_signing_mika_vayrynen_pedigree_latest_1_3764498
  8. ^ "» Finnish International Linked with Leeds".
  9. ^ "Leeds vs Man Utd". Leeds Official Website. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Brighton 3 - Leeds 3". LUFC. 23 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Leeds Vs Portsmouth". LUFC. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Peterborough United Vs Leeds". LUFC. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  13. ^ "FINN TO MISS TURF MOOR TRIP". LUFC. 17 November 2011.
  14. ^ "SNODDY SPOT-KICK SNATCHES POINT". LUFC. 10 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Leeds crash to Oakwell loss." LUFC. 31 December 2011.
  16. ^ "Duo set to leave Elland road". Leeds United A.F.C. 16 April 2012.
  17. ^ HJK:lle huippuvahvistus Archived 8 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
  18. ^ "LA Galaxy sign midfielder Mika Vayrynen". 6 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Portland Timbers 2–2 LA Galaxy". 15 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

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