Mika Väyrynen

For the musician, see Mika Väyrynen (accordionist).
Mika Väyrynen

Mika Vayrynen dives to head a ball off the line for the LA Galaxy
(Photo: Simon Heseltine)
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-12-28) 28 December 1981
Place of birth Eskilstuna, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 HIFK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 FC Lahti 36 (11)
2001 FC Jokerit 30 (4)
2001–2005 SC Heerenveen 101 (17)
2005–2008 PSV 29 (2)
2008–2011 SC Heerenveen 57 (11)
2011–2012 Leeds United 10 (0)
2012–2014 HJK Helsinki 40 (5)
2015 LA Galaxy 19 (0)
2016– HIFK 0 (0)
National team‡
2002– Finland 64 (5)

* 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 footballer who plays for HIFK.[2] He is a Finland international, with 64 caps since 2002.

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 Inter 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.

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 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," 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[3] 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.[4] 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.

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.[5][6] 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 one-year deal, with an option of a further year, with English Championship side Leeds United.[7] Väyrynen was rumoured to have been on the verge of signing Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg at the time Leeds came in for him.[8][9]

In signing for Leeds, 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.[10] 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.[11] He made his Elland Road league debut against Portsmouth on 1 October, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 win.[12] He made his first start for Leeds on 22 October, coming into the side for the injured Robert Snodgrass against Peterborough United.[13]

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. [14] Vayrynen returned as a substitute against Leeds against Watford on 10 December, and he made an immediate impact when he won an injury time penalty for Leeds to equalise.[15] His second start came in Leeds 4–1 loss against Barnsley on 31 December 2011.[16]

On 16 April, Leeds united terminated Väyrynens contract by mutual consent after eight months at the club.[17]

HJK Helsinki

Since leaving Leeds, he has been training with HJK in order to maintain match fitness. On 10 July, HJK announced that Väyrynen had signed a three-month contract with the club.[18] He made his debut one week later, scoring from a penalty, in a 7−0 home win against KR Reykjavik in 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.[19] On 15 March 2015 Väyrynen made his debut against the Portland Timbers, coming off the bench in the 62nd minute and replacing Baggio Husidic; the match ended in a 2–2 draw.[20]

International career

Väyrynen is a key player for the Finnish 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
1999FC LahtiVeikkausliiga151151
200021102110
2001FC Jokerit304304
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total
2001–02SC HeerenveenEredivisie180180
2002–03224224
2003–04325325
2004–05298298
2005–06PSV Eindhoven1122010142
2006–071704081291
2007–0810002030
2008–0900000000
2008–09SC Heerenveen1713062261
2009-101011031142
2010-1130911003010
England League FA Cup Europe Total
2011-12Leeds UnitedChampionship1001000110
Finland League Finnish Cup Europe Total
2012HJK HelsinkiVeikkausliiga1130041154
201330000030
201425231101384
Total Finland 105203114212223
Netherlands 1873011120420531
England 1000000100
Career total 2754811124531054

International

As of 7 March 2015[21]
Finland national team
YearAppsGoals
200210
200370
200480
200520
200682
200760
200891
200900
201072
201180
201210
201320
201420
201520
Total645

International goals

Finland's score first.

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

Honours

PSV

2009

HJK

References

  1. ↑ http://www.footballdatabase.eu/football.joueurs.mika.vayrynen.7875.en.html
  2. ↑ Mika Väyrynen siirtyy HIFK:n riveihin‚ iltasanomat.fi/, 2 August 2016
  3. ↑ Rangers Target Mika Up For Sale (from Evening Times)
  4. ↑ PSV put him on the transfer list and asked for £750,000 for him.
  5. ↑ "Väyrynen keert terug bij sc Heerenveen". Sc-heerenveen.nl. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  6. ↑ "Mika Väyrynen palaa Heerenveeniin". MTV3.fi. 31 August 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  7. ↑ http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20110913/international-midfielder-signs_2247585_2449861
  8. ↑ http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-news/leeds_united_grayson_hails_new_signing_mika_vayrynen_pedigree_latest_1_3764498
  9. ↑ http://www.thescratchingshed.com/2011/09/finnish-international-linked-with-leeds/?
  10. ↑ "Leeds vs Man Utd". Leeds Official Website. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Brighton 3 - Leeds 3". LUFC. 23 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "Leeds Vs Portsmouth". LUFC. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  13. ↑ "Peterborough United Vs Leeds". LUFC. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "FINN TO MISS TURF MOOR TRIP". LUFC. 17 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "SNODDY SPOT-KICK SNATCHES POINT". LUFC. 10 December 2011.
  16. ↑ "Leeds crash to Oakwell loss..". LUFC. 31 December 2011.
  17. ↑ "Duo set to leave Elland road". Leeds United A.F.C. 16 April 2012.
  18. ↑ HJK:lle huippuvahvistus (Finnish)
  19. ↑ "LA Galaxy sign midfielder Mika Vayrynen". 6 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Portland Timbers 2–2 LA Galaxy". 15 March 2015.
  21. ↑ http://www.palloliitto.fi/maajoukkueet/miesten_a-maajoukkue/pelaajat/vayrynen_mika/
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