Toni Kolehmainen

Toni Kolehmainen (born 20 July 1988) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Toni Kolehmainen
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-07-20) 20 July 1988
Place of birth Oulu, Finland
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Wisła Puławy
Number 31
Youth career
2004–2005 Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 OLS Oulu 14 (0)
2006–2007 AC Oulu 25 (3)
2007–2009 AZ 0 (0)
2009 AC Oulu 5 (1)
2010–2012 TPS Turku 72 (7)
2012–2015 Hønefoss 42 (0)
2015–2017 HJK Helsinki 36 (1)
2017 Wisła Puławy 10 (0)
National team‡
2008–2010 Finland U-21 6 (0)
2012– Finland 8 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 August 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 January 2015

He had previously played for AZ in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Kolehmainen also played in Blackburn Rovers' youth academy during 2004–05.

Early career

After ending his stay with Blackburn Rovers' youth academy Toni returned to Finland to play for OLS Oulu. In 2006, he joined town rival AC Oulu and helped the club gain promotion to the Veikkausliiga. His play with AC Oulu led to interest from Dutch Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar who signed Kolehmainen in 2007.

Club career

During his time with AZ he was primarily a member of the reserve squad. In 2008, he was promoted to the first team squad by Louis van Gaal and made his debut in a 3-0 KNVB Cup victory over Achilles '29.[1] Once the 2009 season concluded Kolehmainen did not exercise the option on his contract with AZ and returned to AC Oulu for a brief stay, which led to a promotion after the season.

Kolehmainen however left Oulu and went on signing a two-year contract with TPS in February 2010.[2]

After some promising performances, Kolehmainen was spotted by Hønefoss BK, where he would reunite with a TPS teammate Riku Riski. A long-term contract was signed on 31 August 2012.[3]

Kolehmainen retired in 2017, finishing his career at Polish side Wisła Puławy.[4]

International career

On 22 January 2012 Kolehmainen scored for Finland in his senior level debut, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago.

Career statistics

International goals
#DateLocationOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 January 2012Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago2−22−3Friendly
2.3 June 2012Võru, Estonia Latvia1−01−1 (6-7 p)Baltic Cup final
3.14 November 2012Nicosia, Cyprus Cyprus0−30−3Friendly

References
  1. (in Dutch) AZ debut
  2. TPS vahvisti rivejään Toni Kolehmaisella (TPS signs Toni Kolehmainen) Archived 23 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine; 17 February 2010, Veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
  3. Toni Kolehmainen siirtyy Norjaan Riku Riskin seurakaveriksi (Toni Kolehmainen reunites with Riku Riski in Norway) Archived 23 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine; 31.8.2012; Aamuset.fi (in Finnish)
  4. Laitinen, Ilkka (19 March 2018). "Vammakierre päätti suomalaispelaajan värikkään uran - Louis van Gaal halusi tehdä hänestä uuden Michael Reizigerin". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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