Markus Heikkinen

Markus "Mako" Heikkinen (born 13 October 1978) is a Finnish former footballer. Heikkinen played as a defensive midfielder or central defender.

Markus Heikkinen
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-10-13) 13 October 1978
Place of birth Katrineholm, Sweden
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back, Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Oulun Palloseura 24 (5)
1997–1999 TPS 22 (0)
1999–2001 MyPa 43 (1)
2001–2003 HJK 85 (1)
2003 → Portsmouth (loan) 2 (0)
2003–2005 Aberdeen 68 (2)
2005–2007 Luton 76 (2)
2007–2013 Rapid Wien 173 (4)
2013 Start 10 (2)
2014–2015 HJK 42 (0)
2016–2018 AC Oulu 39 (0)
National team‡
Finland U18 2 (0)
Finland U21 3 (0)
2002–2011 Finland 61 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 June 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 September 2011

Club career

An integral part of the Luton side that finished 10th in The Championship in the 2005–2006 season, Heikkinen collected four awards – the Player of the Year trophy, Players' Player of the Season, Internet Player of the Season and the Luton News Player of the Season.[1]

His previous clubs include OPS, TPS Turku, MyPa, HJK, Portsmouth, Aberdeen and Luton Town. Whilst at Portsmouth he contributed two appearances as they won the First Division Championship and promotion to the Premier League.[2]

During his two years with Aberdeen, Heikkinen was popular and important player, who usually featured in central midfield, where he had a reputation as a tough tackling and dependable player. Despite repeated attempts by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood to get the player to sign a new deal, he indicated that he was unsettled at Aberdeen and wanted to move on.

On 29 December 2006, in a game for Luton against Birmingham City he was feared to have a compound fracture of the fibula, however it was in fact a nasty gash down his leg, after a late challenge by midfielder Fabrice Muamba.[3][4] He returned to action against Stoke City on 17 February 2007.

After his years in England Heikkinen played six seasons for Rapid Wien. He was a key player of the team, making over 170 appearances for the Austrian Bundesliga side.

On 10 August 2013, he signed for Norwegian Tippeliga club Start.[5] Heikkinen helped Start avoid relegation with solid performances.

After years abroad, "Mako" returned to Finland and HJK in December 2013. After two seasons with the Helsinki-based side, on 2 September 2015 it was reported that the 36-year-old Heikkinen had signed a three-year player-coach contract with his hometown team AC Oulu.[6]

International career

Heikkinen made his national team debut on 4 January 2002 against Bahrain. He immediately became an important defensive player to his native team. He often played as defensive midfielder. However, he returned to his old position as centre back in 2010, after Hannu Tihinen retired in professional football. He announced his retirement from international football on 26 September 2011.[7]

Career statistics

International
As of 18 August 2011[8]
Finland national team
YearAppsGoals
200240
200370
200420
200570
200660
200770
200880
200990
201070
201140
Total610

References
  1. Loyal Luton Supporters Club – Luton Town FC – Player of the Year Archived 8 September 2012 at Archive.today
  2. "Games played by Markus Heikkinen in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  3. HEIKKINEN BLOW FOR HATTERS | Luton Town | News | News | News Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. HEIKKINEN UPDATE | Luton Town | News | News | News Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Finsk rutine skal hjelpe Start Archived 15 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
  6. Markus "Mako" Heikkinen palaa Ouluun (in Finnish)
  7. Heikkinen retires from international duties Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
  8. Markus Heikkinen at National-Football-Teams.com
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