Henri Toivomäki

Henri Toivomäki
	Toivomäki in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth	21 February 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Mäntsälä, Finland
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Right back
Youth career
	MU
	Reipas Lahti
Senior career*
Years	Team
2008–2011	FC Lahti
2009–2010	→ Atalanta (loan)
2010	→ FC Hämeenlinna (loan)
2011–2013	Ajax
2012–2013	→ Almere CIty (loan)
2013–2015	FC Lahti
2016–2017	Sarpsborg 08
2018	KuPS
2019–2020	HJK
2021–2023	KuPS
International career‡
2009	Finland U19
2010–2011	Finland U21
2018	Finland
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 October 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 October 2023

Henri Toivomäki (born 21 February 1991) is a Finnish former professional footballer, who last played as a defender for KuPS.^[1] He previously played for Sarpsborg 08, FC Lahti, Atalanta, FC Hämeenlinna, AFC Ajax and Almere City FC.^[2]

On 3 October 2023, Toivomäki announced that he is forced to end his professional career due to a head injury he suffered in a UEFA Europa Conference League match against Derry City in July 2023.^[3]

Career

FC Lahti

A product of the FC Lahti youth system, Henri Toivomäki made 45 appearances for the Finnish club. On 2 December 2009, he was on trial with the French club Racing Club de Lens. On 31 January 2010 Toivomäki was loaned to Atalanta, playing in Serie A, with an option to buy at the end of the 2009–10 Serie A season.^[4] The option was never activated and Toivomäki returned to Lahti, who were struggling against relegation in Veikkausliiga.

AFC Ajax

On 3 January 2011, Toivomäki signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with Dutch club AFC Ajax.^[2] Upon his arrival, Toivomäki stated that the influence of FC Lahti teammate Jari Litmanen was decisive in his decision to join the Amsterdam-based side.^[2] In the first instance, Toivomäki joined the selection of Jong Ajax.^[2] Sidelines for the entire 2011–12 season due to a groin injury, on 27 June 2012 it was announced that Henri would play for Almere CIty on loan from Ajax until July 2013 to find his form after recovery. Making a total of 8 league appearances in the Dutch Eerste Divisie for the side form Almere, and one appearance in the KNVB Cup, not being offered a contract extension following his loan spell however, Toivomäki was released from Ajax, returning to his native Finland.^[5]

Return to FC Lahti

On 23 July 2013 it was announced that Henri Toivomäki had signed with his former club FC Lahti, following the announcement of the club manager Juha Malinen.^[6]

Sarpsborg 08

On 24 November 2015 he signed with Sarpsborg 08.^[7]

HJK Helsinki

On 31 December 2018, Toivomäki signed with HJK Helsinki.^[8]

International career

He has represented Finland at different youth levels, currently he is part of the Finland national under-21 football team. He is considered as one of the most talented junior players in Finland. He was selected to represent Finland U21 against Liechtenstein on 7 September 2010.

Toivomäki was called up to the senior Finland national football team, and made his debut in a 2–0 friendly loss to Romania on 5 June 2018.^[9]

Career statistics

As of 2 May 2017^[10]

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Finland			League		Finnish Cup		Europe¹		Other²		Total
2008	FC Lahti	Veikkausliiga	15	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	0
2009	FC Lahti	Veikkausliiga	24	0	1	0	6	0	4	0	35	0
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe¹		Other²		Total
2009–10	Atalanta (loan)	Serie A	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
Finland			League		Finnish Cup		Europe¹		Other²		Total
2010	FC Hämeenlinna (loan)	Ykkönen	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0
2010	FC Lahti	Veikkausliiga	9	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	0
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		Europe¹		Other²		Total
2010–11	Ajax	Eredivisie	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
2011–12	Ajax	Eredivisie	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
2012–13	Almere City (loan)	Eerste Divisie	8	0	1	0	-	-	-	-	9	0
Finland			League		Finnish Cup		Europe¹		Other²		Total
2013	FC Lahti	Veikkausliiga	11	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	0
Norway			League		Norwegian Football Cup		Europe¹		Other²		Total
2016	Sarpsborg 08 FF	Tippeligaen	10	0	4	0	-	-	-	-	14	0
Total	Finland		60	0	1	0	6	0	4	0	71	0
	Italy		0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
	Netherlands		8	0	1	0	-	-	-	-	9	0
	Norway		10	0	4	0	-	-	-	-	14	0
Total	Club		78	0	6	0	6	0	4	0	94	0

¹ Includes UEFA Europa League Qualifier matches.

² Includes Liigacup and Johan Cruijff Shield.

Honours

Individual

Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022^[11]

References

^ "Puolustaja Henri Toivomäki palaa Kuopion Palloseuraan". kups.fi. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Ajax - Ajax contracteert Henri Toivomaki" (in Dutch). Ajax.nl. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
^ "KuPS-kapteeni Toivomäki joutuu lopettamaan päävammaan". Yle. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
^ "Henri Toivomäki joins Atalanta on loan" (in Finnish). Urheilulehti.fi. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
^ "Henri Toivomäki: FC Lahti on vaihtoehto" (in Finnish). Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
^ "Henri Toivomäki verlaat Ajax voor zijn oude club" (in Dutch). Ajax1.nl. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ "Finsk spiller klar for 08!" (in Norwegian). Sarpsborg08.no. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
^ KLUBIN PUOLUSTUS VAHVISTUU, hjk.fi, 31 December 2018
^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Romania vs. Finland (2:0)". www.national-football-teams.com.
^ "Henri Toivomäki Statistics". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
^ "Perinteinen Koplajoukkue nimetty - jalkapallotoimittajien valinnat kauden parhaiksi". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). 16 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

External links

Henri Toivomäki at Guardian's Stats Centre at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-08-17)
Henri Toivomäki at Altomfotball
Henri Toivomäki at Soccerway

[1] "Puolustaja Henri Toivomäki palaa Kuopion Palloseuraan". kups.fi. Retrieved 1 December 2020.

[ajax-2] "Ajax - Ajax contracteert Henri Toivomaki" (in Dutch). Ajax.nl. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.

[3] "KuPS-kapteeni Toivomäki joutuu lopettamaan päävammaan". Yle. Retrieved 3 October 2023.

[4] "Henri Toivomäki joins Atalanta on loan" (in Finnish). Urheilulehti.fi. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011.

[5] "Henri Toivomäki: FC Lahti on vaihtoehto" (in Finnish). Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.

[6] "Henri Toivomäki verlaat Ajax voor zijn oude club" (in Dutch). Ajax1.nl. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[7] "Finsk spiller klar for 08!" (in Norwegian). Sarpsborg08.no. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.

[8] KLUBIN PUOLUSTUS VAHVISTUU, hjk.fi, 31 December 2018

[9] Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Romania vs. Finland (2:0)". www.national-football-teams.com.

[10] "Henri Toivomäki Statistics". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 21 July 2012.

[11] "Perinteinen Koplajoukkue nimetty - jalkapallotoimittajien valinnat kauden parhaiksi". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). 16 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

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