This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams. This blog was one of them. It was my Russia All-Time Team here. His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014. His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017. His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014. He also copied many many of my blog entries.
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| Euro 2020 |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Sweden
Denmark
Iceland
Finland/Iceland
In December, 2014, I created this blog team Norway/Iceland/Finland Greatest All-Time team. Later, I edited the team and it became Iceland/Finland All Time team in 2017 after I created a separated team for Norway. In 2020, I decided to create this all-time team for Finland and Iceland. At the time of writing, I am keeping the Iceland/Finland team.
The Football Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and became a member of FIFA in 1908. At the time, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire. Finland played its first international on 22 October 1911, as Sweden beat the Finns at the Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki. Finland participated the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, beating Italy and the Russian Empire, but losing the bronze medal match against the Netherlands.
In 2019, Finland qualified for the 2020 European Championship. Up until 2019, Finland never qualified for any major tournament.
This is my all-time team for Finland. If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament.
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| Finland in 2019 |
Team
GK: Jussi Jaaskelainen
Jussi Jaaskelainen made his Veikkausliiga debut for MP Mikkeli in 1992, becoming the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa where he spent two seasons. He holds the record for being the longest serving foreign player in the Premier League after playing for Bolton Wanderers from 1997 until 2012. He also played for West Ham and Wigan. He was capped 56 times for Finland.
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| Jussi Jaaskelainen |
Antti Niemi spent much of his playing career in the Scottish Premier League (with Rangers and Heart of Midlothian) and the Premier League (with Southampton and Fulham), and in 2008 announced his retirement due to injury. However, in 2009 he returned to sign for Premier League club Portsmouth. Earned 67 caps.
GK: Lukáš Hrádecký
Hrádecký was born in Slovakia. He began his career playing for TPS, before signing with Esbjerg fB in 2009. From 2015 to 2018, he played with Eintracht Frankfurt. In 2018, he joined Bayer Leverkusen. He made his debut for Finland in 2010, at the age of 20 and has almost 66 caps. He led Finland to the Euro 2020, Finland's first ever major tournament. He was named Finland Player of the Year three times.
RB: Erkka Petäjä
Erkka Petäjä started his career with TBS in Finland. Then, from 1984 to 1993, he played in Sweden with Östers IF, Helsingborgs IF and Malmö FF. Then, he played briefly with Yverdon-Sport in Switzerland. He returned home to play for Husqvarna FF and Inter Turku. From 1983 to 1994, he was capped 84 times for Finland.
RB: Max Viinioksa
Between 1922 and 1926, Max Viinioksa played for Helsinki Football Club (HJK),. Then from 1927 to 1936, he played for Helsingin Palloseura (HPS). He was the first Finnish footballer to play 50 times for the national team. He also represented Finland in ice hockey as well as a founding member of the Finnish Basketball Association in 1939.
CB: Sami Hyypia
Sami Hypia was probably one of the most successful Finish players playing outside his home country. He began his playing career with Kumu and MyPa. He was best remembered for his 10 seasons with Liverpool. He was at one point their captain. He was voted 38th as the greatest ever players for Liverpool by their fans. He was voted 19th as the greatest Foreign Player ever in the Premier League. He also had a successful career with Williem II in Holland.
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| Sami Hyypia |
Tihinen started his career with KePS in the lower divisions before moving to HJK for the 1997 season. He then played for Viking in Norway with a loan spell at West Ham. In 2002, Tihinen joined Belgian club Anderlechtwinning two Belgian championships. He then played for FC Zürich. He won two Swiss league as their captain. He was capped 76 times for Finland.
DF/FW: Arto Tolsa
Tolsa played for Kotkan Työvänen Palloilijat (KTP) between 1963 and 1982. In the 1964 season, he was top scorer with 26 goals in 22 games. In 1967 he won his first title with the Finnish Cup. From 1969 to 1979 Tolsa played for Beerschot in Belgium, winning the Belgian Cup twice in 1971 and 1979. He represented the Finnish National Team in 77 matches, in which Tolsa scored 9 goals. He was selected three times as Finland's Footballer of the Year.
CB: Niklas Moisander
Niklas Moisander played for the local TPS youth team before moving to Ajax's junior organisation. He moved to FC Zwolle in 2006 without ever playing for Ajax. He played for AZ before moving back to Ajax in 2012. Then, he moved to Sampdoria and Werder Bremen. From 2008 to 2017, he earned 61 caps. He was the captain of the national team of Finland.
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| Niklas Moisander |
In 1982, Ukkonen had moved from Finland to Cercle Brugge. He would spend most of his career in Belgium, also playing for Lokeren, Anderlecht and Royal Antwerp as well as French side LB Châteauroux. Ukkonen represented Finland at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He had 59 caps. He was Finnish Player of the Year in 1983.
CB/RB/LB: Petri Pasanen
Pasadena started with his hometown club FC Lahti before joining Ajax in 2000. From 2004 to 2011, he played for Werder Bremen. He also played for Red Bull Salzburg and AGF in Denmark. He had 76 caps between 2000 and 2013. He has also served as the national team's captain, when Sami Hyypiä and Jari Litmanen have not played.
DM: Aki Riihilahti
Riihilahti started his career at HJK where he won the Finnish championship four times (1997, 2009, 2010 and 2011). He then played for Vålerenga I.F. before joining Crystal Palace for 5 seasons. He also played a single season for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. From 1998 to 2007, he was capped 69 times.
CM: Mika Väyrynen
Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season. The best part of his career was spent in Netherlands where he had two spells with Heerenveen and four seasons with PSV in between. He later played with Leeds United, HJK Helsinki and LA Galaxy. He had 64 caps for Finland between 2002 and 2015.
CM: Stig-Göran Myntti
Myntti played for the West Finnish club Vasa IFK with whom he won the national championship in 1944, 1946 and 1953. For the Finnish national team, he earned 61 caps from 1945 to 1958. He was a part of the Finnish Olympic team in 1952 at the Olympic Games held in Finland. He also represented Finland in Bandy, where he finished as a runner-up at the Bandy World Cup.
Kolkka started his career with Reipas Lahti and MyPa in Finland before joining Netherlands' Willem II in 1995. In 1998, Kolkka joined PSV Eindhoven where he won two league championships and got to play in the UEFA Champions League. Then he played for Panathinaikos, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Crystal Palace. He returned to the Netherlands in 2005, playing for ADO Den Haag, Feyenoord and NAC Breda. He had 98 caps.
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| Joonas Kolkka |
Teemu Tainio began his career with his local club, TP-47, before moving to FC Haka in 1996. He played for Auxerre in France for eight seasons. Then, he spent 2 seasons with Tottenham Hotspur. He also played for Sunderland, Birmingham, HJK Helsinki, Ajax and New York Red Bulls. He had 64 caps or Finland from 1998 to 2014.
AM: Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen is probably Finland's greatest player. In Finland, he played for Reipas, HJK, MyPa and Lahti before heading to Ajax in 1992. He became the first Finnish footballing superstar while playing for Ajax in the mid-1990s. He was a key player for club that won the Champions League in 1995, the peak year of his career. The team was regarded one of the greatest club sides in recent history. He also played for Barcelona and Liverpool. He earned 137 caps for Finland.
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| Jari Litmanen |
Eremenko was born in Russia. He started with Jaro in Finland before signing with Udinese. His career took off while playing for Dynamo Kyiv. In 2011, Eremenko signed with Russian club Rubin Kazan, which is the highest transfer fee ever paid for a Finnish player. From 2014 to 2017, he played for CSKA Moscow, winning the MVP award for Russian League in 2014-2015 as well as the Finnish Player of the Year. From 2007. he has earned over 70 caps for Finland.
FW: Ari Hjelm
Hjelm played in the Germany for Stuttgarter Kickers in the 1988–89 season. He also played in the 2. Bundesliga for Kickers (1989–90) and FC St. Pauli (1992–94). In Finland, Hjelm represented FC Ilves (1981–88 and 1990–94) and HJK Helsinki (1995–96). Hjelm earned 100 caps for Finland. He held the record for most caps for Finland a decade, before being overtaken by Jari Litmanen in 2006. He is also the fourth highest scorer with 20 goals.
FW: Juhani Peltonen
Peltonen was the first Finnish player to play in the German Bundesliga. He made 38 appearances for Hamburger SV between 1964 and 1966, scoring six goals. In Finland Peltonen always represented Valkeakosken Haka, winning two Finnish championships and five Finnish Cups with the club. For the national team he made 68 appearances, scoring 11 goals. He was chosen Finnish Player of the Year three times.
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| Juhani Peltonen |
Rytkönen started his career in Finland with KuPS Kuopio in 1945. He became Finland's first professional player when he signed for France's Toulouse FC in 1952. He spent eight seasons (1952–1960) there, winning the French Cup in 1957. After returning from France, he worked as player-coach of HJK Helsinki 1960–1966. He earned 37 caps for the Finland, scoring 7 goals. He played for Finland at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
ST: Mikael Forssell
Forssell began his career in 1997 for HJK before he moved to England to join Chelsea in 1998. But he struggled through a number of loan spells. He also played for Hannover 96 and Leeds United. Forssell made his debut for Finland in 1999. He earned 87 caps for his country, and scored 29 goals; making him his country's second highest goalscorer.ST: Mikael Forssell
ST: Teemu Pukki
Pukki began his career with KTP and moved to Sevilla in 2008, but returned to Finland with HJK. He then played in the top divisions of Germany for Schalke 04, Scotland for Celtic and Denmark for Brøndby. In 2018 he signed for Norwich City on a free transfer and was named player of the season in the 2018–19 EFL Championship. He scored ten goals in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers to help Finland to qualify to the first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2020, in their history.
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| Teemu Pukki |
Honorable Mention
Eino Soinio, Olli Huttunen, Lars Näsman, Matti Jokinen, Peter Enckelman, Petri Helin, Atik Ismail, Jari Rantanen, Tommy Lindholm, Alexei Eremenko, Jonatan Johansson, Shefki Kuqi, Timo Kautonen, Mixu Paatelainen, Kai Pahlman, Aatos Lehtonen, Mika Väyrynen, Përparim Hetemaj.
Squad Explanation
-- In December, 2014, I created this blog team Norway/Iceland/Finland Greatest All-Time team. Later, I edited the team and it became Iceland/Finland All Time team in 2017 after I created a separated team for Norway. In 2020, I decided to create this all-time team for Finland. At the time of writing, I am also keeping the Iceland/Finland team.
-- Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia are Finland's greatest players. Both are automatic selections. Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen should also be a "must-in" player as well.
-- Goalkeeper Antti Niemi and Jussi Jaaskelainen are obvious choices because they enjoyed good club careers outside of Finland at the highest level. Lukáš Hrádecký helped Finland to qualify for Euro 2020. He is also three time Finland Player of the Year.
-- Peter Enckelman was playing in the same generation as Antti Niemi and Jussi Jaaskelainen. He was only capped 12 times. He played some games at the Premiership, but remembered for a goal he gave up while playing for Aston Villa. I also came across three great goalkeepers Olli Huttunen, Lars Näsman and Matti Jokinen.
-- Niklas Moisander is Finnish greatest defender after Sami Hyypia. Hannu Tihinen won league titles in three different countries.
-- I do not know much about Max Viinioksa, but I took him for his historical importance in Finnish sport. He also represented Finland in ice hockey. He is either a centerball or a rightback. He edged out rightback Petri Helin.
-- I also do not know much about Eino Soinio. So I put him on honourable mention.
-- I did not find any notable left back. So I took Petri Pasanen who could play there.
-- Përparim Hetemaj had a good career outside of Finland, mainly playing in Italy's Serie A, but I have no space for him. I felt that Teemu Tainio and Mika Väyrynen are bigger names than him. Both players have long careers outside of Finland.
-- Tommy Lindholm's name was often mentioned, but he only had a single international goal. For a striker, it is not a good stats. So I put him on honourable mention. Jonatan Johansson's name was often mentioned.
-- Ari Hjeim was the first to achieve 100 caps in Finland's history.
-- FW Aulis Rytkönen was the first professional player from Finland. I honoured him with a spot for his status as a pioneer.
-- Teemu Pukki is the hero of Finland's qualification for Euro 2020. He proibably will break Finland all-time record goal scorer. Goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký is also from that team. At this moment, it is the biggest achievement in Finland's football history.
-- Mikael Forssell was well-known for his career outside Finland.
-- Mixu Paatelainen had an accomplished career in Scotland. While at Bolton, Paatelainen became the first Finn to play in the Premier League, but I do not have space for him. I selected Forssell over him. He was the last player dropped.
Formation
Eino Soinio, Olli Huttunen, Lars Näsman, Matti Jokinen, Peter Enckelman, Petri Helin, Atik Ismail, Jari Rantanen, Tommy Lindholm, Alexei Eremenko, Jonatan Johansson, Shefki Kuqi, Timo Kautonen, Mixu Paatelainen, Kai Pahlman, Aatos Lehtonen, Mika Väyrynen, Përparim Hetemaj.
Squad Explanation
-- In December, 2014, I created this blog team Norway/Iceland/Finland Greatest All-Time team. Later, I edited the team and it became Iceland/Finland All Time team in 2017 after I created a separated team for Norway. In 2020, I decided to create this all-time team for Finland. At the time of writing, I am also keeping the Iceland/Finland team.
-- Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia are Finland's greatest players. Both are automatic selections. Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen should also be a "must-in" player as well.
-- Goalkeeper Antti Niemi and Jussi Jaaskelainen are obvious choices because they enjoyed good club careers outside of Finland at the highest level. Lukáš Hrádecký helped Finland to qualify for Euro 2020. He is also three time Finland Player of the Year.
-- Peter Enckelman was playing in the same generation as Antti Niemi and Jussi Jaaskelainen. He was only capped 12 times. He played some games at the Premiership, but remembered for a goal he gave up while playing for Aston Villa. I also came across three great goalkeepers Olli Huttunen, Lars Näsman and Matti Jokinen.
-- Niklas Moisander is Finnish greatest defender after Sami Hyypia. Hannu Tihinen won league titles in three different countries.
-- I do not know much about Max Viinioksa, but I took him for his historical importance in Finnish sport. He also represented Finland in ice hockey. He is either a centerball or a rightback. He edged out rightback Petri Helin.
-- I also do not know much about Eino Soinio. So I put him on honourable mention.
-- I did not find any notable left back. So I took Petri Pasanen who could play there.
-- Përparim Hetemaj had a good career outside of Finland, mainly playing in Italy's Serie A, but I have no space for him. I felt that Teemu Tainio and Mika Väyrynen are bigger names than him. Both players have long careers outside of Finland.
-- Tommy Lindholm's name was often mentioned, but he only had a single international goal. For a striker, it is not a good stats. So I put him on honourable mention. Jonatan Johansson's name was often mentioned.
-- Ari Hjeim was the first to achieve 100 caps in Finland's history.
-- FW Aulis Rytkönen was the first professional player from Finland. I honoured him with a spot for his status as a pioneer.
-- Teemu Pukki is the hero of Finland's qualification for Euro 2020. He proibably will break Finland all-time record goal scorer. Goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký is also from that team. At this moment, it is the biggest achievement in Finland's football history.
-- Mikael Forssell was well-known for his career outside Finland.
-- Mixu Paatelainen had an accomplished career in Scotland. While at Bolton, Paatelainen became the first Finn to play in the Premier League, but I do not have space for him. I selected Forssell over him. He was the last player dropped.
Formation
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