Mika Väyrynen
Encyclopedia
Mika Väyrynen is a Finnish
footballer who plays for English Championship side Leeds United. He is a Finland
international.
, Väyrynen played for FC Lahti
and FC Jokerit
in Finland's Veikkausliiga
before joining the Netherlands' SC Heerenveen in 2001. After a stint in PSV Eindhoven, Väyrynen returned to SC Heerenveen in 2008. Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season.
to his signature, Väyrynen opting for the Dutch club in order to have a better chance of a regular 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.
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," said Väyrynen. He was brought in to replace Mark Van Bommel
by PSV manager Guus Hiddink
. He 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
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 however, he was again linked with Rangers F.C and an undisclosed Belgian team, believed to be Club Bruges. He was also linked with Derby County
for the second time on 22 July 2008, according to Derby's local radio, despite their relegation to the Championship.
. Väyrynen was rumoured to have been on the verge of signing for top Austrian franchise club FC Red Bull Salzburg at the time Leeds came in for him.
In signing for Leeds United Väyrynen joined his international 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 fierce rivals Manchester United, and was brought on with his fellow countryman in the 52nd minute. Vayrynen 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. He made his Elland Road
league debut against Portsmouth
on 1 October, coming on as a second half substitute in a 1-0 win. He made his first start for Leeds on 22 October, coming into the side for the injured Robert Snodgrass
against Peterborough United
.
Vayrynen 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.
. 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
.
|1999-00
||rowspan="2"|FC Lahti
||rowspan="3"|Veikkausliiga
||15||1|||||||||||15||1
|-
|2000–01
||21||10||||||||||21||10
|-
|2001–02
||FC Jokerit
||30||4||||||||||30||4
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="4"|SC Heerenveen||rowspan="11"|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||rowspan="4"|PSV Eindhoven||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||rowspan="3"|SC 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||8
|-
|-
|2011-12
||Leeds United||Championship
||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
66||15||||||||||66||15
187||30||11||1||20||4||205||31
0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
240||41||11||1||20||4||272||46
|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
|-
!Total||56||5
|}
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...
footballer who plays for English Championship side Leeds United. He is a Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
international.
Club career
A box to box midfielderMidfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
, Väyrynen played for FC Lahti
FC Lahti
FC Lahti is a Finnish football club, based in the town of Lahti. It currently plays in the Finnish First Division after placing last in Finnish Premier League during season 2010...
and FC Jokerit
FC Jokerit
FC Jokerit was a football club based in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded in 1999. The club was known for its wild supporters, 116% Boys, and for its owner, Hjallis Harkimo who is also the owner of Jokerit, an ice hockey club based in Helsinki....
in Finland's 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...
before joining the Netherlands' SC Heerenveen in 2001. After a stint in PSV Eindhoven, Väyrynen returned to SC Heerenveen in 2008. Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season.
Heerenveen
Midway through that year SC Heerenveen beat InterF.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
to his signature, Väyrynen opting for the Dutch club in order to have a better chance of a regular place. He immediately broke into the Heerenveen
Heerenveen
Heerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...
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
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
games.
PSV Eindhoven
In the summer of 2005 Väyrynen took the next step in his career by joining Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. "PSV is the best option for me. At HeerenveenHeerenveen
Heerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...
I learned to play more simple football. I am not the player I was in Finland
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...
any more, tactically and physically especially I have grown a lot," said Väyrynen. He was brought in to replace Mark Van Bommel
Mark van Bommel
Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Milan and captains the Netherlands national team as a midfielder....
by PSV manager Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
. He 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
Willem II Tilburg
Willem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...
, 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
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and newly-promoted Premier League side Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
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 however, he was again linked with Rangers F.C and an undisclosed Belgian team, believed to be Club Bruges. He was also linked with Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
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, he was signed back to his previous club SC Heerenveen to a contract until 2011 with an option of one year more. He picked up a knee injury in a January 2009 match against AFC Ajax, which ruled him out of play until the end of 2009. In his final season at SC 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 on-year deal, with an option of a further year, with English Championship side Leeds UnitedLeeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
. Väyrynen was rumoured to have been on the verge of signing for top Austrian franchise club FC Red Bull Salzburg at the time Leeds came in for him.
In signing for Leeds United Väyrynen joined his international compatriot Mikael Forssell
Mikael Forssell
Mikael Kaj Forssell is a Finnish footballer who plays as a striker for Football League Championship team Leeds United and for the Finnish national team.-Club career:...
at Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
. Väyrynen made his first appearance in a Leeds squad on 20 September, he was named on the bench against fierce rivals Manchester United, and was brought on with his fellow countryman in the 52nd minute. Vayrynen made his league debut as a substitute in the 3-3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
on 23 September, coming on for the last nine minutes. He made his Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
league debut against Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
on 1 October, coming on as a second half substitute in a 1-0 win. He made his first start for Leeds on 22 October, coming into the side for the injured Robert Snodgrass
Robert Snodgrass
Robert Snodgrass is a Scottish footballer who plays for Leeds United as a winger comfortable playing on either side of the pitch. He can also play as a forward...
against Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
.
Vayrynen 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.
International career
Väyrynen is a key player for the Finnish national teamFinland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
. 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
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
. Väyrynen was also a key player for Finland at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship
2001 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between June 17 and July 8, 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar del Plata...
.
Club
|-|1999-00
Veikkausliiga 1999
-Preliminary stage:-Championship group:-Relegation group:-References:*...
||rowspan="2"|FC Lahti
FC Lahti
FC Lahti is a Finnish football club, based in the town of Lahti. It currently plays in the Finnish First Division after placing last in Finnish Premier League during season 2010...
||rowspan="3"|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...
||15||1|||||||||||15||1
|-
|2000–01
Veikkausliiga 2000
-League standings:-References:*...
||21||10||||||||||21||10
|-
|2001–02
Veikkausliiga 2001
-League standings:-References:*...
||FC Jokerit
FC Jokerit
FC Jokerit was a football club based in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded in 1999. The club was known for its wild supporters, 116% Boys, and for its owner, Hjallis Harkimo who is also the owner of Jokerit, an ice hockey club based in Helsinki....
||30||4||||||||||30||4
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="4"|SC Heerenveen||rowspan="11"|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||18||0||||||||||18||0
|-
|2002–03||22||4||||||||||22||4
|-
|2003–04||32||5||||||||||32||5
|-
|2004–05||29||8||||||||||29||8
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="4"|PSV Eindhoven||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||rowspan="3"|SC Heerenveen||17||1||3||0||6||2||26||1
|-
|2009-10
2009–10 Eredivisie
-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
||10||1||1||0||3||1||14||2
|-
|2010-11
2010–11 Eredivisie
-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
||30||9||1||1||0||0||30||8
|-
|-
|2011-12
2011–12 Football League Championship
The 2011–12 Football League Championship is the eighth season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format....
||Leeds United||Championship
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...
||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
66||15||||||||||66||15
187||30||11||1||20||4||205||31
0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
240||41||11||1||20||4||272||46
International
|-|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
|-
!Total||56||5
|}
International goals
Finland's score first.| # | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 August 2006 |  HelsinkiHelsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... |
1–2 | Lose | Friendly | |
| 2. | 2 September 2006 |  Bydgoszcz |
3-1 | Win | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying | |
| 3. | 10 September 2008 | Helsinki |
3-3 | Draw | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) The European zone of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. The qualification process started on 20 August 2008, after UEFA Euro 2008, and ended on 18 November 2009. The qualification process saw the first competitive matches of... |
|
| 4. | 3 March 2010 |  Ta'QaliTa'Qali Ta' Qali is a village in Malta, a wide open space in the middle of Malta containing the national stadium, Ta' Qali National Park and a national vegetable market which is locally known as the Pitkalija.... |
2-1 | Win | Friendly | |
| 5. | 17 November 2010 | Helsinki |
8-0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine... |
External links
Profile at FA of Finland's official website- Mika Väyrynen Fansite
- Profile at ESPNsoccernet
- www.psvweb.nl profile