Teemu Pukki

Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈt̪e̞ːmu ˈpukːi]; born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Norwich City and the Finland national team.

Teemu Pukki
Pukki with Norwich City in 2019
Personal information
Full name Teemu Eino Antero Pukki[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-29) 29 March 1990[2]
Place of birth Kotka, Finland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Norwich City
Number 22
Youth career
0000–0000 HOPS
0000–2005 KTP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 KTP 29 (3)
2008–2010 Sevilla 1 (0)
2008–2010 → Sevilla Atlético (loan) 17 (3)
2010–2011 HJK 25 (13)
2011–2013 Schalke 04 37 (8)
2013–2015 Celtic 26 (7)
2014–2015 → Brøndby (loan) 27 (9)
2015–2018 Brøndby 103 (46)
2018– Norwich City 103 (51)
National team‡
2005 Finland U15 4 (4)
2006 Finland U16 13 (7)
2006–2007 Finland U17 12 (5)
2007–2008 Finland U18 18 (5)
2009 Finland U19 3 (2)
2007–2011 Finland U21 23 (6)
2009– Finland 87 (27)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 0:28, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2020

Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level in 23 June 2005 at the age of 15 in a fifth round match of the Finnish Cup.[3] He then moved to Sevilla in 2008, where he played only one La Liga game for the first team before returning 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.

Pukki made his international debut for Finland in 2009 and has earned over 80 caps, scoring 27 goals. He is only 5 goals off overtaking Jari Litmanen as the all time top Finnish goalscorer. He scored 10 goals in 10 matches in Finland's UEFA Euro 2020 qualification, helping Finland reach their first ever international tournament.

Club career

KTP

Pukki began his football career in childhood in HOPS (Hovinsaaren Palloseura) while living in Hovinsaari, Kotka. As a youth he joined his official hometown club, KTP, playing for their under-19 side. He made his debut for the first team at 16 years old and his performances saw him called up to play for Finland's youth international sides.[4][5] In two seasons of first-team football, Pukki made 29 appearances in the Finnish Premier League (Veikkausliiga) and scored three goals.[5]

Sevilla

Pukki moved to Sevilla from KTP[5] and was called up for the Sevilla first team for the away match against Real Madrid on 7 December 2008,[6] but was an unused substitute. He received his La Liga debut at home against Racing on 25 January 2009.[7] He found himself unused in Sevilla playing mostly for the reserve side Sevilla Atletico and he decided to return to Finland.

HJK Helsinki
Pukki playing for HJK

On 28 August 2010, Pukki signed a three-and-half-year contract with the Finnish Veikkausliiga club HJK.[8] Pukki made his debut 30 August a match against IFK Mariehamn. He managed to score his first goal for HJK in the next match against FF Jaro which was his first goal in a league match for nearly two years. During season 2010 he managed to play in seven games and score two goals for HJK in the 2010 season. At the end of the season HJK and Pukki won the Finnish Veikkausliiga and silver in the Finnish Cup.

During season 2011 he scored 11 goals and notched eight assists in 18 league matches out of which he was in the starting line up in 13. He was chosen to 2011 Veikkausliiga All Stars -team.[9] Pukki was also a key figure in HJK's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifications. He scored two goals against Bangor City and HJK's both goals in a 2–0 home win against FC Schalke 04.[10] Pukki also scored HJK's only goal in the 6–1 away defeat against Schalke.[11]

Schalke 04

On 31 August 2011, Pukki joined Schalke on a three-year contract.[12]

On 6 November, he scored two goals for Schalke as he debuted in the starting 11 against Hannover 96. By doing so, he became the third Finn to score a brace in the German Bundesliga, after Ari Hjelm and Pasi Rautiainen.[13]

Celtic

Pukki signed a four-year deal with Celtic from FC Schalke 04 for an undisclosed fee on 31 August 2013.[14] He scored on his debut in a 3–1 win against Hearts on 14 September 2013 and again on his home debut against St Johnstone on 21 September. On 26 January 2014 he scored against Hibernian.[15] Overall though, Pukki's first season at Celtic was considered something of a disappointment as he struggled with form and failed to fill the void left by Gary Hooper who had left at the start of the season.[16][17] Pukki himself later acknowledged the lack of impact he had made, admitting he initially felt playing in Scotland would be "easier" than in Germany.[18] He found the speed and physical nature of the game in Scotland difficult to adjust to, and stated "Scottish football is not easy. It’s not a bad league at all".[18]

On 8 July 2014, Pukki scored his first Celtic hat trick in a pre-season friendly against LASK Linz in a 5–2 victory for Celtic.[17] Pukki scored twice in Celtic's victory against KR Reykjavik at Murrayfield Stadium in Celtic's UEFA Champions League qualifying match, the match ended 4–0 with Celtic winning 5–0 on aggregate.[19] However, he struggled to make any impact in the next qualifying round matches against Legia Warsaw and was substituted at half-time in the league defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 6 August 2014.[20][21]

Brøndby
Pukki with Brøndby IF in 2016

On 1 September 2014, Pukki signed a one-year loan deal with option to buy with Danish side Brøndby IF.[20] He made his debut 13 days later in a league match at home against Randers[22] and scored his first goal two weeks later in a 2–2 draw away against Esbjerg.[22] He went on to score another four goals in his next four games,[22][23] and was rewarded for his form by being voted the Superliga Player of the Month for October,[24] finishing the season as the club's top scorer, with nine goals.[25] On 19 June 2015, Pukki signed a three-year contract with Brøndby for an undisclosed fee.[25] On 4 August 2016, Pukki scored three goals when Brøndby knocked out Hertha BSC in the third round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League qualifiers, winning 3–1, thereby overcoming a 0–1 deficit from the first leg in Berlin.[26]

On 13 July 2017, he scored one goal against VPS in the first leg of the second qualifying round for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, Brøndby would go on to win the match 2–0.[27] On 10 May 2018 he played as Brøndby beat Silkeborg IF 3–1 in the 2017–18 Danish Cup final.[28][29]

He was released at the end of the 2017–18 season after failing to agree a new deal with the club.[30]

2018–19 season

On 30 June 2018, Pukki joined English Championship club Norwich City on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal.[31] He made his debut on 4 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–2 draw at Birmingham City,[32] and a week later he scored his first goal in a 4–3 home loss to West Bromwich Albion.[33]

From January to February 2019, Pukki scored eight goals across six consecutive matches, ending with two goals in a 4–0 win at Bolton Wanderers.[34] This run included two goals on 10 February in a 3–0 win over Ipswich Town in the East Anglian Derby, with which he became the Finn with the most goals in a Championship season, overtaking former Ipswich player Shefki Kuqi's 20 in 2004–05.[35]

In April 2019, Pukki was named EFL Championship Player of the Season and was included in the 2018–19 Championship Team of the Season.[36][37] He was also named Norwich City F.C. Player of the Season by Norwich City's supporters for 2018–19 and received the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy.

2019–20 season

On 3 July 2019, Pukki signed a new three-year contract with the Premier League newcomers.[38] On 9 August, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 4–1 away loss to Liverpool on the opening day of the new season.[39] Eight days later, he scored a hat-trick against Newcastle United in a 3–1 victory, Norwich's first hat-trick in the Premier League since Efan Ekoku against Everton in September 1993.[40][41] For the month of August he was named the Premier League Player of the Month,[42] and the PFA Premier League Player of the Month.[43]

International career

Pukki debuted in the Finland national team on 4 February 2009 when Stuart Baxter used him as a substitute against Japan in a friendly match played in Tokyo.[44][45] He scored his fifth goal for his country on 22 March 2013, scoring the equaliser as Finland recorded a 1–1 draw at reigning world and European champions Spain in World Cup qualifying.[46]

In the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Finland won promotion from League C. Pukki scored the only goal of each of the Finns' first three matches, at home against Hungary and home and away to Estonia.[47]

Pukki 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.[48]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 5 February 2021[22][49][50]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
KTP 2006 Veikkausliiga 50????—50
2007 243????—243
Total 293———293
Sevilla Atlético 2008–09 Segunda División 17300——173
Total 17300——173
Sevilla 2008–09 La Liga 1000—0010
Total 1000—0010
HJK Helsinki 2010 Veikkausliiga 7210000082
2011 18110020652616
Total 25131020653418
Schalke 04 2011–12 Bundesliga 19520—00215
2012–13 17320—50243
2013–14 1000—1020
Total 37840—60478
Celtic 2013–14 Scottish Premiership 257101050327
2014–15 1000004252
Total 267101092379
Brøndby IF 2014–15 Danish Superliga 27921—002910
2015–16 33931—834413
2016–17 342043—864629
2017–18 361751—414519
Total 13055146—201016471
Norwich City 2018–19 Championship 43291021—4630
2019–20 Premier League 36112000—3811
2020–21 Championship 24111000—2511
Total 103514021—10952
Career total 368140246514117438164

International
As of match played 18 November 2020[51]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Finland
200910
201020
201160
201294
2013102
201492
201570
2016101
201781
201885
20191010
202072
Total8727

International goals
As of match played 18 November 2020. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Pukki goal.[51]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 May 2012Red Bull Arena, Wals-Siezenheim, Austria11 Turkey2–23–2Friendly
2 15 August 2012Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland14 Northern Ireland3–3
3 11 September 2012Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech Republic16 Czech Republic1–01–0
4 14 November 2012GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus18 Cyprus3–0
5 22 March 2013El Molinón, Gijón, Spain20 Spain1–11–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 11 June 2013Central Stadium, Gomel, Belarus23 Belarus1–0
7 21 May 2014Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland30 Czech Republic2–2Friendly
8 2–1
9 6 October 2016Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland52 Iceland1–02–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 5 September 2017Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania59 Kosovo1–0
11 26 March 2018Gloria Golf Resort Pitch A, Belek, Turkey64 Malta5–0Friendly
12 3–0
13 8 September 2018Ratina Stadium, Tampere, Finland65 Hungary1–01–02018–19 UEFA Nations League C
14 11 September 2018Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland66 Estonia
15 13 October 2018A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia67
16 8 June 2019Ratina Stadium, Tampere, Finland73 Bosnia and Herzegovina2–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
17 2–0
18 11 June 2019Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein74 Liechtenstein1–0
19 5 September 2019Ratina Stadium, Tampere, Finland75 Greece1–0
20 8 September 201976 Italy1–11–2
21 15 October 2019Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland78 Armenia2–03–0
22 3–0
23 15 November 2019Telia 5G -areena, Helsinki, Finland79 Liechtenstein2–0
24 3–0
25 18 November 2019Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece80 Greece1–01–2
26 15 November 2020Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria86 Bulgaria2–12020–21 UEFA Nations League B
27 18 November 2020Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales87 Wales1–21–3

Honours

Sevilla Youth

HJK

Celtic

Brøndby IF

Norwich City

Individual

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2018 and 31/07/2018". The Football Association. p. 31. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.
  2. "Teemu Pukki: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. "Vuoden jutut: Ensimmäinen miesten peli" [Stories of the Year: The first men's game] (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  4. "Finland's Wonderkid". Betting Advisory. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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Further reading
  • Kanerva, Juha (2019). Teemu Pukki - Koko Tarina. readme.fi. ISBN 978-9523219311.
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