Jussi Jääskeläinen
Encyclopedia
Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen (born 19 April 1975 in Mikkeli
) is a Finnish
football goalkeeper, who plays for Bolton Wanderers
.
, and made his Veikkausliiga
debut in Finland for MP Mikkeli
in 1992, and became the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa
where he spent two seasons. Jääskeläinen was bought by Bolton Wanderers
of the then First Division
in 1997. He soon established himself as the club's first choice keeper, though a cruciate ligament
injury ruled him out for half of Bolton's 2000–2001 promotion season. The following season, he was voted the best goalkeeper in the Premiership by sponsors Barclaycard
.
He has also been tracked at his time at Bolton by highly rated clubs such as Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester United and AC Milan. He is also known for saving the first penalty of Ruud van Nistelrooy
's career. In addition to this Jussi is a fans favourite picking up numerous club prizes since his arrival in 1997.
On 13 May 2007, Jääskeläinen received Bolton's "Player of the Year Award" and also the "Players' Player of the Year Award" after helping Bolton secure a UEFA Cup
spot for only the second time in their history. Despite much speculation linking him with a move away from Bolton when his contract expired following the 2007–08 season, Jääskeläinen agreed a new four-year contract on 11 June, which he signed on 9 July.
His 400th appearance came against Manchester City
on 2 November 2008, with his 400th start coming six days later against Hull City
. After twelve years with the club, Jääskeläinen was granted a testimonial match
against Hibernian
in August 2009 in which he kept a clean sheet.
His 500th appearance came against Birmingham City
on 12 March 2011 in an FA Cup
Quarter-Final and his 500th start a week later at Manchester United
.
on 25 March 1998 against Malta
. He was Finland's second choice behind Antti Niemi for years, but after Niemi retired from international football in 2005, Jääskeläinen finally became the Finnish number one.
On the 29 October 2009 Jääskeläinen announced his retirement from international football having collected 55 caps for his country. In explaining his decision Jääskeläinen stated that he hoped that it would allow him to prolong his club career. However, on 6 October 2010 Jääskeläinen announced his comeback to national team in a match against Hungary
as Otto Fredrikson
was unable to play because of an injury but confirmed that this was just a one off.
|1992||rowspan="4"|MP Mikkeli
||rowspan="4"|Veikkausliiga
||6||0||||||||||||||6||0
|-
|1993||6||0||||||||||||||6||0
|-
|1994||26||0||||||||||||||26||0
|-
|1995||26||0||||||||||||||26||0
|-
!colspan="3"|MP Mikkeli Total
!64!!0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!64!!0
|-
|1996||rowspan="2"|VPS Vaasa
||rowspan="2"|Veikkausliiga
||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
|1997||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
!colspan="3"|VPS Vaasa Total
!54!!0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!54!!0
|-
|1997–98||rowspan="15"|Bolton Wanderers
||Premier League||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1998–99||rowspan="3"|Division 1
||34||0||1||0||5||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|1999–00||36*||0||3||0||2||0||0||0||41||0
|-
|2000–01||27||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||27||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="11"|Premier League||34||0||1||0||3||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2002–03||38||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2003–04||38||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||41||0
|-
|2004–05||36||0||4||0||0||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2005–06||38||0||3||0||2||0||5||0||48||0
|-
|2006–07||38||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2007–08||28||0||0||0||1||0||6||0||35||0
|-
|2008–09||38||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2009–10||38||0||3||0||2||0||0||0||43||0
|-
|2010–11
||35||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2011–12
||10||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||10||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Bolton Wanderers Total
!468!!0!!21!!0!!19!!0!!11!!0!!519!!0
|-
586||0||21||0||19||0||11||0||637||0
* includes 2 play off matches
Mikkeli
Mikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
) is a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
football goalkeeper, who plays for Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
.
Club career
Jääskeläinen was born in MikkeliMikkeli
Mikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, and made his Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
debut in Finland for MP Mikkeli
Mikkelin Palloilijat
Mikkelin Palloilijat is a Finnish football club, based in Mikkeli. Club was formed in 1929 and has also had teams in volleyball, ice hockey and bandy. It played in the Finnish First Division from 2004 to 2006 but was relegated to Kakkonen at the end of the season...
in 1992, and became the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa
Vaasan Palloseura
Vaasan Palloseura is a Finnish football club, based in Vaasa. It currently plays in the Finnish Premier Division . The club's manager is Tommi Pikkarainen and assistant manager is Petri Vuorinen. The club plays its home matches at Hietalahti...
where he spent two seasons. Jääskeläinen was bought by Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
of the then First Division
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
in 1997. He soon established himself as the club's first choice keeper, though a cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee...
injury ruled him out for half of Bolton's 2000–2001 promotion season. The following season, he was voted the best goalkeeper in the Premiership by sponsors Barclaycard
Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, is a global payment business. The Barclaycard was the first credit card introduced in the UK, coming into service in 1966. It enjoyed a monopoly until the introduction of the Access card in 1972....
.
He has also been tracked at his time at Bolton by highly rated clubs such as Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester United and AC Milan. He is also known for saving the first penalty of Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
's career. In addition to this Jussi is a fans favourite picking up numerous club prizes since his arrival in 1997.
On 13 May 2007, Jääskeläinen received Bolton's "Player of the Year Award" and also the "Players' Player of the Year Award" after helping Bolton secure a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
spot for only the second time in their history. Despite much speculation linking him with a move away from Bolton when his contract expired following the 2007–08 season, Jääskeläinen agreed a new four-year contract on 11 June, which he signed on 9 July.
His 400th appearance came against Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
on 2 November 2008, with his 400th start coming six days later against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
. After twelve years with the club, Jääskeläinen was granted a testimonial match
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
against Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
in August 2009 in which he kept a clean sheet.
His 500th appearance came against Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
on 12 March 2011 in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Quarter-Final and his 500th start a week later at Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
.
International career
Jääskeläinen made his debut for FinlandFinland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
on 25 March 1998 against Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...
. He was Finland's second choice behind Antti Niemi for years, but after Niemi retired from international football in 2005, Jääskeläinen finally became the Finnish number one.
On the 29 October 2009 Jääskeläinen announced his retirement from international football having collected 55 caps for his country. In explaining his decision Jääskeläinen stated that he hoped that it would allow him to prolong his club career. However, on 6 October 2010 Jääskeläinen announced his comeback to national team in a match against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
as Otto Fredrikson
Otto Fredrikson
Otto Fredrikson is a Finnish football goalkeeper who currently plays for Russian side Spartak Nalchik.-International career:...
was unable to play because of an injury but confirmed that this was just a one off.
Club
|-|1992||rowspan="4"|MP Mikkeli
Mikkelin Palloilijat
Mikkelin Palloilijat is a Finnish football club, based in Mikkeli. Club was formed in 1929 and has also had teams in volleyball, ice hockey and bandy. It played in the Finnish First Division from 2004 to 2006 but was relegated to Kakkonen at the end of the season...
||rowspan="4"|Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
||6||0||||||||||||||6||0
|-
|1993||6||0||||||||||||||6||0
|-
|1994||26||0||||||||||||||26||0
|-
|1995||26||0||||||||||||||26||0
|-
!colspan="3"|MP Mikkeli Total
!64!!0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!64!!0
|-
|1996||rowspan="2"|VPS Vaasa
Vaasan Palloseura
Vaasan Palloseura is a Finnish football club, based in Vaasa. It currently plays in the Finnish Premier Division . The club's manager is Tommi Pikkarainen and assistant manager is Petri Vuorinen. The club plays its home matches at Hietalahti...
||rowspan="2"|Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
|1997||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
!colspan="3"|VPS Vaasa Total
!54!!0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!54!!0
|-
|1997–98||rowspan="15"|Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
||Premier League||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1998–99||rowspan="3"|Division 1
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||34||0||1||0||5||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|1999–00||36*||0||3||0||2||0||0||0||41||0
|-
|2000–01||27||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||27||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="11"|Premier League||34||0||1||0||3||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2002–03||38||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2003–04||38||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||41||0
|-
|2004–05||36||0||4||0||0||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2005–06||38||0||3||0||2||0||5||0||48||0
|-
|2006–07||38||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2007–08||28||0||0||0||1||0||6||0||35||0
|-
|2008–09||38||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||40||0
|-
|2009–10||38||0||3||0||2||0||0||0||43||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season
-Premier League:The fixtures for the 2010–11 season were announced on 17 June, and revealed that Bolton would begin their league campaign by welcoming Fulham to the Reebok Stadium in Mark Hughes' first competitive fixture as Fulham's manager. The match finished goalless with Bolton giving a debut...
||35||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season
The 2011–12 season is Bolton Wanderers's thirteenth season in the Premier League, and their eleventh consecutive season in the top-flight of English football. It is their third season with shirt sponsors 188BET.It covers the period from 1 July 2011 to June 30, 2012...
||10||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||10||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Bolton Wanderers Total
!468!!0!!21!!0!!19!!0!!11!!0!!519!!0
|-
586||0||21||0||19||0||11||0||637||0