Markus Heikkinen
![]() Heikkinen with Rapid Wien in 2012 | |||
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 | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | AC Oulu (sporting director) | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–1997 | OPS | 24 | (5) |
1997–1998 | TPS | 22 | (0) |
1998–2001 | MyPa | 43 | (1) |
2001–2003 | HJK | 85 | (1) |
2003 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2003–2005 | Aberdeen | 68 | (2) |
2005–2007 | Luton Town | 77 | (3) |
2007–2013 | Rapid Wien | 173 | (4) |
2013 | Start | 10 | (2) |
2014–2015 | HJK | 40 | (0) |
2016–2018 | AC Oulu | 57 | (0) |
International career | |||
Finland U18 | 2 | (0) | |
Finland U21 | 3 | (0) | |
2002–2011 | Finland | 61 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2017– | AC Oulu (sporting director) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/SV_Mattersburg_vs._SK_Rapid_Wien_2013018_%2836%29.jpg/220px-SV_Mattersburg_vs._SK_Rapid_Wien_2013018_%2836%29.jpg)
Markus Heikkinen (born 13 October 1978), nicknamed Mako, is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a centre back or defensive midfielder. He is currently working as a sporting director of Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu.[1]
He previously played for Oulun Palloseura (OPS), Turun Palloseura (TPS), MyPa, HJK Helsinki, Portsmouth, Aberdeen, Luton Town, Rapid Wien and Start, before returning to his hometown and ending his professional playing career in AC Oulu.
Club career
Heikkinen started his senior career in OPS, when the club played in Ykkönen in 1996 season. Heikkinen scored five goals, most in his team, but ultimately OPS were relegated back to Kakkonen, and Heikkinen left the club.[2] He spent three seasons in Veikkausliiga with TPS and MyPa, before joining HJK Helsinki.
Whilst at Portsmouth on loan, he contributed two appearances as they won the First Division Championship and promotion to the Premier League.[3]
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.
An integral part of the Luton side that finished 10th in the 2005–06 Championship 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.[4]
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.[5][6] 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 Tippeligaen club Start.[7] 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 2 September 2015 it was reported that the 36-year-old Heikkinen had signed a three-year player-coach contract with his hometown team AC Oulu.[8]
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.[9]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 12 January 2024
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
OPS | 1996 | Ykkönen | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||
TPS | 1997 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
MyPa | 1998 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
1999 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
Total | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
HJK | 2000 | Veikkausliiga | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
2001 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
2002 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
Total | 85 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 96 | 1 | ||
Portsmouth (loan) | 2002–03 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
Aberdeen | 2003–04 | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | |
2004–05 | Scottish Premiership | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | ||
Total | 68 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 2 | ||
Luton | 2005–06 | Championship | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 41 | 2 | |
2006–07 | Championship | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||
Total | 77 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 3 | ||
Rapid Wien | 2007–08 | Austrian Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
2008–09 | Austrian Bundesliga | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
2009–10 | Austrian Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 10[c] | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
2010–11 | Austrian Bundesliga | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 9[c] | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
2011–12 | Austrian Bundesliga | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
2012–13 | Austrian Bundesliga | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 9[c] | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
Total | 173 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 217 | 5 | ||
Start | 2013 | Tippeligaen | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||
HJK | 2014 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 11[g] | 0 | 37 | 0 |
2015 | Veikkausliiga | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[f] | 0 | 6[g] | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
Total | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 68 | 0 | ||
AC Oulu | 2016 | Ykkönen | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
2017 | Ykkönen | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
2018 | Ykkönen | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
Total | 57 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | ||
Career total | 601 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 69 | 0 | 693 | 20 |
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup, FA Cup and Austrian Cup
- ^ Includes UEFA Intertoto Cup
- ^ a b c d e f Includes UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
- ^ Includes UEFA Intertoto Cup and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
- ^ Includes UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b Includes Finnish League Cup
- ^ a b Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Finland | 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
- ^ https://acoulu.fi/yhteystiedot [bare URL]
- ^ OPS:N HISTORIA, ops.fi, Retrieved 12 January 2024
- ^ "Games played by Markus Heikkinen in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ Loyal Luton Supporters Club – Luton Town FC – Player of the Year Archived 8 September 2012 at archive.today
- ^ 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