Markus Heikkinen
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 13 October 1978 | ||
Place of birth | Katrineholm, Sweden | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre back, Defensive midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–1997 | Oulun Palloseura | 24 | (5) |
1997–1999 | TPS | 22 | (0) |
1999–2001 | MyPa | 43 | (1) |
2001–2003 | HJK | 85 | (1) |
2003 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2003–2005 | Aberdeen | 68 | (2) |
2005–2007 | Luton | 76 | (2) |
2007–2013 | Rapid Wien | 173 | (4) |
2013 | Start | 10 | (2) |
2014–2015 | HJK | 42 | (0) |
2016–2018 | AC Oulu | 39 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
Finland U18 | 2 | (0) | |
Finland U21 | 3 | (0) | |
2002–2011 | Finland | 61 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 June 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 September 2011 |
Markus "Mako" Heikkinen (born 13 October 1978) is a Finnish former footballer. Heikkinen played as a defensive midfielder or central defender.
Club career
An integral part of the Luton side that finished 10th in The Championship in the 2005–2006 season, Heikkinen collected four awards – the Player of the Year trophy, Players’ Player of the Season, Internet Player of the Season and the Luton News Player of the Season.[1]
His previous clubs include OPS, TPS Turku, MyPa, HJK, Portsmouth, Aberdeen and Luton Town. Whilst at Portsmouth he contributed two appearances as they won the First Division Championship and promotion to the Premier League.[2]
During his two years with Aberdeen, Heikkinen was popular and important player, who usually featured in central midfield, where he had a reputation as a tough tackling and dependable player. Despite repeated attempts by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood to get the player to sign a new deal, he indicated that he was unsettled at Aberdeen and wanted to move on.
On 29 December 2006, in a game for Luton against Birmingham City he was feared to have a compound fracture of the fibula, however it was in fact a nasty gash down his leg, after a late challenge by midfielder Fabrice Muamba.[3][4] He returned to action against Stoke City on 17 February 2007.
After his years in England Heikkinen played six seasons for Rapid Wien. He was a key player of the team, making over 170 appearances for the Austrian Bundesliga side.
On 10 August 2013, he signed for Norwegian Tippeliga club Start.[5] Heikkinen helped Start avoid relegation with solid performances.
After years abroad, "Mako" returned to Finland and HJK in December 2013. After two seasons with the Helsinki-based side, on September 2, 2015 it was reported that the 36-year-old Heikkinen had signed a three-year player-coach contract with his hometown team AC Oulu.[6]
International career
Heikkinen made his national team debut on 4 January 2002 against Bahrain. He immediately became an important defensive player to his native team. He often played as defensive midfielder. However, he returned to his old position as centre back in 2010, after Hannu Tihinen retired in professional football. He announced his retirement from international football on 26 September 2011.[7]
Career statistics
International
- As of 18 August 2011[8]
Finland national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2002 | 4 | 0 |
2003 | 7 | 0 |
2004 | 2 | 0 |
2005 | 7 | 0 |
2006 | 6 | 0 |
2007 | 7 | 0 |
2008 | 8 | 0 |
2009 | 9 | 0 |
2010 | 7 | 0 |
2011 | 4 | 0 |
Total | 61 | 0 |
References
- ^ Loyal Luton Supporters Club – Luton Town FC – Player of the Year Archived 8 September 2012 at archive.today
- ^ "Games played by Markus Heikkinen in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ HEIKKINEN BLOW FOR HATTERS | Luton Town | News | News | News Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ HEIKKINEN UPDATE | Luton Town | News | News | News Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Finsk rutine skal hjelpe Start Archived 15 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
- ^ Markus "Mako" Heikkinen palaa Ouluun (in Finnish)
- ^ Heikkinen retires from international duties Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ Markus Heikkinen at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
- Markus Heikkinen – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Profile at skrapid.at at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 September 2011)
- Profile at FA of Finland's official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 October 2011) (in Finnish)
- Markus Heikkinen at ESPN FC
- Use dmy dates from April 2011
- 1978 births
- Living people
- People from Katrineholm Municipality
- Finnish footballers
- Finland international footballers
- Turun Palloseura footballers
- Myllykosken Pallo −47 players
- Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players
- Portsmouth F.C. players
- Aberdeen F.C. players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- SK Rapid Wien players
- IK Start players
- Veikkausliiga players
- English Football League players
- Scottish Premier League players
- Austrian Football Bundesliga players
- Eliteserien players
- Finnish expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Expatriate footballers in Scotland
- Expatriate footballers in Austria
- Expatriate footballers in Norway
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Austria
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Norway
- Association football central defenders
- Association football midfielders
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland