Five of the best Finnish players to ever play in the Premier League | OneFootball

Finland has never been the most prolific exporter of footballing talents, but they’ve had a few household names play in the Premier League over the years.

As the Scandinavian country prepare to face England in the Uefa Nations League on Sunday, we’ve looked at some of the best to grace the top flight over the years.

Five of the best Finnish players in Premier League history

Sami Hyypia

Few players get to live the dream quite like Sami Hyypia did. The centre-back joined his boyhood club, Liverpool, in 1999, and went on to be one of their key players as they won a host of trophies over the following decade.

The blonde beanpole started in the famous Champions League final in Istanbul in 2005, and also picked two FA Cups, two League Cups, two Uefa Super Cups, two Community Shields, and a Uefa Cup. Not bad for someone who only cost the club £2.6 million.

Read – Finland star explains Wayne Rooney tattoo ahead of England clash

Teemu Pukki

A proper Fantasy Premier League cult hero, Teemu Pukki only spent two seasons in the first tier with Norwich City, but he hit double digits on both occasions.

His first season in Norfolk saw him bag 30 goals as the Canaries won the Championship and he came close to emulating that feat after they went down, finding the net 26 times as they went straight back up in 2021. He departed the club last year and now plies his trade with Minnesota United in MLS.

The only active player on this list, we could see Pukki play against England this weekend. He came off the bench during Finland‘s 2-1 defeat to the Republic of Ireland on Thursday.

Read – Fathers and sons who have played in the Premier League

Jussi Jaaskelainen

There have been more Finnish goalkeepers in the Premier League than you’d think, with Antti Niemi and Peter Enckelman both spending most of their careers in England (although the latter is best known for an infamous blunder while playing for Aston Villa).

Jussi Jaaskelainen is the best of the lot, though. A proper Barclaysman, he’s fondly remembered for minding the nets in rolled-up sleeves during Sam Allardyce’s time at Bolton Wanderers. He spent 15 years with the Trotters, but left in 2012 after the club were relegated. He went on to play for West Ham and Wigan.

Read – 10 of the very best Premier League ‘Barclaysmen’

Mikael Forssell

Born in Germany, Mikael Forssell earned 87 caps for Finland, scoring an impressive 29 goals from midfield. He spent seven years with Chelsea, yet only made 53 appearances for the Blues.

He was loaned out to Crystal Palace, Borussia Monchengladbach and Birmingham City, and joined the later in a permanent transfer in 2005. After a solid three-year spell in the midlands, he returned to Germany, but did join Leeds United for a single year in the Championship in 2011.

Read – The Premier League players with the most goal involvements for one club

Jari Litmanen

Jari Litmanen’s time at Liverpool is nothing to write home about, but he makes the list because he was a truly world-class player at his peak. The attacker won the Champions League with Ajax, for whom he scored 129 goals, and finished third in the voting for the Ballon d’Or in 1995.

The Finn arrived at Anfield via Barcelona in 2001 and picked up Uefa Cup, FA Cup and League Cup winners medals, but was injured for all three finals. That was more or less the story of his short time on Merseyside.

Litmanen joined Fulham in 2008, but returned to Finland just weeks after signing due to heart problems. Two months later he retired from the game without ever having played a first-team game for the Cottagers.

Read – Five world-class players who arrived too late to the Premier League

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