Toni Kallio
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back / Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Fulham | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 June 2009 | |||
Toni Kallio (born August 9 1978 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish footballer, who currently plays for English side Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] in the Premier League.[1] His preferred position is left back, but he can also operate as centre back. His nickname is "Bonecrusher", coming from his great physical presence and playing style.[2]
Club career
He started out as a winger, but during his time at Norwegian club Molde was changed into a defender. He is known for his forward runs and good heading, given his tall frame. However, he is also known for making occasional blunders in the national team as he has been forced to play out of his preferred position.
Before joining Molde he played for Jazz, TPV and HJK in Finland's Veikkausliiga. He won the Norwegian Cup in 2005. In 2007, he briefly went on trial at Lokomotiv Moscow and played 3 times. In 2007 he moved to Young Boys in Switzerland.
On 31 January 2008, Kallio signed a contract at Fulham, together with Jari Litmanen. He made his Fulham debut the following season against Arsenal, in which he helped secure a 1-0 victory.[3] He was immediately awarded the Man of the Match award by visitors of the BBC website.
Kallio joined Sheffield United in a one month loan deal in late November 2009[4], making his debut just over a week later at Plymouth.[5] After making two appearances the Sheffield United extended his loan deal till the end of January 2010 but just hours after Roy Hodgson recalled Kaillo due to injuries in defence.[6]
References
- ^ "Fulham complete deal for Kallio". BBC. 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
- ^ "Blades boss is having a laugh". thestar.co.uk. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ "Match: Fulham vs Arsenal". ESPNsoccernet. 2008-08-23. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ "Sheff Utd sign Ikeme and Kallio". BBC Sport. 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
- ^ "Bonecrusher on debut win". SUFC.co.uk. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ "Kaillo deal falls through". Sky Sports. 2009-12-24. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
External links
- Toni Kallio at Soccerbase
- Fulham FC profile
  | This biographical article relating to Finnish football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1978 births
- Living people
- Finnish footballers
- Finland international footballers
- HJK Helsinki players
- Molde FK players
- BSC Young Boys players
- Fulham F.C. players
- People from Tampere
- Expatriate footballers in Norway
- Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Premier League players
- FC Jazz Pori players
- Sheffield United F.C. players
- Finnish football biography stubs