Antti Niemi (footballer)

For other people of the same name, see Antti Niemi (disambiguation).

Antti Niemi

Personal information
Full name	Antti Mikko Niemi
Date of birth	31 May 1972 (1972-05-31)
Place of birth	Oulu, Finland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1995	HJK	101	(0)
1995–1997	FC Copenhagen	47	(0)
1997–1999	Rangers	13	(0)
1999	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	0	(0)
1999–2002	Heart of Midlothian	89	(0)
2002–2006	Southampton	106	(0)
2006–2008	Fulham	62	(0)
2009–2010	Portsmouth	0	(0)
National team
1992–2007	Finland	67	(0)
Teams managed
2010–	Finland (goalkeeping coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2008. † Appearances (Goals).

Antti Mikko Niemi (born 31 May 1972) is a retired Finnish football goalkeeper, who is currently working as a goalkeeping coach for Finland national team. He has spent much of his career in the UK (both the SPL and Premier League), and in 2008 announced his retirement due to injury. However in 2009 he returned to sign for Premier League club Portsmouth FC although he did not make any appearances before leaving in 2010.

Club career

Early career

Niemi was born in Oulu, Finland and began his career with HJK Helsinki, where he made over 100 appearances in four years, before transferring to FC Copenhagen in 1995. Impressive performances over the next two years saw a transfer to Scotland with Glasgow club Rangers, where he became the first and only player to wear the number 13 shirt for the club in their Scottish Premier League history.^{[citation needed]}

Hearts

Niemi moved to Edinburgh to join Heart Of Midlothian in December 1999. He became a hero for Hearts fans in the three years he played at Tynecastle. He put in some fantastic performances which helped Hearts maintain their status as one of Scotland's best team outside the Old Firm. Niemi also became famous in Scotland for his fantastic ability to save penalties.^{[citation needed]}

Niemi also played in European competition for Hearts against opponents such as Stuttgart.

Southampton

After three seasons in Edinburgh, Niemi moved to Southampton in 2002. He played for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup final against Arsenal which was lost 1–0; Niemi became the first Goalkeeper to be substituted in an FA Cup Final when he was replaced by Paul Jones during the game due to a calf injury. In a game against Fulham in the 2002–03 season, he came up for a corner in injury time with Southampton trailing 2–1. The ball fell at his feet and he crashed a shot against the crossbar, and Michael Svensson was able to turn in the rebound, salvaging a draw. There was much speculation regarding Niemi's future at Southampton with a host of leading Premier League clubs rumoured to be interested in his services, such as Manchester United and Arsenal. After Southampton were relegated in 2005 and failed to be promoted the following season, Niemi decided to return to the Premiership with Fulham, for whom he signed in January 2006.

Fulham

Niemi was badly hurt in a freak accident during a match against Watford on 1 January 2007 when rushing out to head the ball; he toppled over his own defender, Carlos Bocanegra, and landed on his head. He was taken from the field of play on a stretcher after ten minutes of treatment, but was later cleared of any spinal injury. He was released from hospital later that night with only ligament and muscle damage to the neck.

He remained Fulham's first choice keeper until 1 March 2008, when, following injury, he was replaced by Kasey Keller. On 3 September 2008 it was announced at that he had retired from professional football due to a wrist injury.

Portsmouth

Despite announcing his retirement from the game the previous year it was confirmed on 28 July 2009 that Antti Niemi was in talks with Portsmouth. On 7 August, Niemi confirmed he had signed for Portsmouth on a one year deal as backup to David James and to work with the goalkeeping coaches. On 24 March 2010, he was released from his contract, without making a single appearance in the Portsmouth's first team. It was reported that Niemi earned almost £450,000 during those eight months with Portsmouth.

International career

Niemi was first choice for the Finnish national team for almost a decade, before announcing his decision to retire from international football in 2005, but returned to the roster in 2007 playing a friendly game against Spain (0–0). He was capped 67 times by his country before this. On 2 March 2010 Niemi joined Finland's national team as a goalkeeping coach.

References

• Jeremy Wilson (2006). Southampton’s Cult Heroes. Know The Score Books. ISBN 1-905449-01-1. 

External links

• Antti Niemi career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at ESPNsoccernet.com
• FootballDatabase provides Antti Niemi's profile and stats
• Profile at londonhearts.com

Awards
Preceded by Sami Hyypiä	Finnish Footballer of the Year 2004	Succeeded by Sami Hyypiä
Preceded by Christian Lønstrup	F.C. Copenhagen Player of the Year 1997	Succeeded by Bjarne Goldbæk
Preceded by James Beattie	Southampton F.C. Player of the Season 2003–2004	Succeeded by Peter Crouch