The greatest Finnish star in football history (6-10)

The greatest Finnish star in football history!

10.Anti Niemi

Career: 1989-2010

Anti Niemi is famous for his performance in the Scottish Premier League and the Premier League. He is one of the core players of the Finnish national team and has served as the main goalkeeper for a long time. After retiring, he is considered one of the best goalkeepers in Finland's history.

Niemi's career began with Helsinki HJK in the Finnish domestic league. With his outstanding performance, he quickly attracted the attention of foreign teams. In 1995, Niemi joined Denmark's Copenhagen, and his performance here made him a steady goalkeeper. In 1999, he transferred to Glasgow Rangers, a giant in the Soviet Super League, but mainly served as a substitute and had fewer opportunities. In 2002, Niemi switched to Harz and became the team's main goalkeeper. His stable performance earned him the nickname "Super Anti", and showed his difficult save ability many times during the Soviet Super League. He traveled to the Premier League in 2002, and after joining the Premier League, he quickly became the defensive core of Southampton and helped the team perform well in the 2003 FA Cup. Despite Southampton's relegation in 2005, Niemi's Premier League performance impressed. In 2006, Niemi transferred to Fulham and continued to prove himself in the Premier League. In 2008, he decided to retire due to injuries. In terms of the national team, Niemi played for the Finnish national team in total (1992-2005), making him one of the goalkeepers with the most appearances in Finland history. He was known for his stable and reliable performance during his time with the national team, but Finland failed to reach the final stage of the international competition.

9.Petry Pasanin

Career: 1996-2015

Petry Pasanin has left footprints in many European leagues with his stable defensive performance and multi-position adaptability. He is also one of the important players in the history of the Finnish national team.

Pasanin comes from the youth training system of the Finnish local team Rahti, showing outstanding potential and quickly attracted the attention of European teams. In 2000, Pasaning joined the Eredivisie giants Ajax and became a member of the team. During his time at Ajax, he helped the team win the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup in the 2001/02 season and was an important member of the team's defense. Pasanin spent the peak of his career at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. He made more than 140 appearances for the team, helping Bremen win the 2004 German Cup and participated in European competitions many times. Passanen is known for his versatility and is competent for centre-back, left-back and right-back positions, providing the team with defensive flexibility. After leaving Bremen, Pasanin played for Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg and Danish team Aalborg, continuing to show his professional spirit. In 2015, he announced his retirement and ended his accomplished career. In terms of the national team, Pasanin has played for the Finnish national team for 12 years (2000-2012), with a total of 76 appearances. He is a core member of the national team's defense line and has participated in the European Cup and World Cup qualifiers many times, but Finland failed to enter the main stage.

8. Olis Rutkening

Career: 1945-1966

Orlis Rutkening joined the French team Toulouse in 1952 and became the first professional football player in Finnish history. He is a talented striker who scored a lot of goals during his time at Kuopio, Toulouse and Helsinki HJK. However, he did not perform well in the national team, scoring only seven goals in 37 games, but he was still named Finland Footballer of the Year three times: 1949, 1950 and 1952.

7. Jonas Korka

Career: 1991-2012

Jonas Korka is one of the most successful international players in Finnish football history. His football experience in many European countries and his important role in the national team made Colka a banner of Finnish football.

Korka's career spans the top leagues in several European countries, demonstrating his competitiveness on the high-level football stage. Korka began his career with Finland's Rahti before moving to the more competitive side Maipa. In 1995, he joined the Dutch team William II and performed well, attracting the recruitment of Eredivisie giants Eindhoven. During his time at Eindhoven, he was an important member of the team and contributed to the team's winning of the Eredivisie championship. In 2004, Colka transferred to Premier League team Crystal Palace and performed well in several key games. In addition, he has played for teams such as Bundesliga (Bernchengladbach), Greece (Panasinaikos) and Cyprus (Apoll). In terms of the national team, Korka played 98 times for the Finnish national team and scored 11 goals. He is a representative figure in Finnish football, playing alongside star players of his generation such as Yari Litmanin and Sammy Hypia.

6. Yusie Jeskeleinen

Career: 1992-2018

Yusie Jeskeleinen is one of the most outstanding goalkeepers in Finnish football history. As a legend in Finnish football history, Yeskeleinen not only has a brilliant career at the club level, but also has made important contributions to the Finnish national team. His name is regarded as a benchmark for goalkeeper positions in both England and Finland.

Yeskelenen began his career with a domestic Finnish team, playing for MP Mikelli and VPS Vasa, gradually showing excellent goal line skills and reaction skills. In 1997, Yeskeleinen joined the Bolton Wanderers in England and became one of the most important players in the team's history.. In his 15 seasons with Bolton, he made more than 500 appearances. He helped Bolton gain a foothold in the Premier League with his keen save ability and calm performance. He helped the team reach the 2004 League Cup final. In the 2003/04 season, he was named one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. In 2012, Yeskeleinen transferred to West Ham United and continued to play in the Premier League for two seasons. He then joined the Champions League in the Wigan Athletics and announced his retirement in 2017.

National terms, Yeskelenen is the long-term main goalkeeper of the Finnish national team, and has made 56 appearances for the national team. He is regarded as the core player of Finland's golden generation along with his contemporaries Ari Litmanin and Sammy Hypia.