Mika Lehkosuo
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 8 January 1970 | ||
Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1990–1993 | Vantaan Pallo-70 | 48 | (9) |
1993–2002 |
HJK | 189 | (26) |
1994 | → FF Jaro (loan) | 1 | (0) |
1998–1999 |
→ AC Perugia (loan) | 11 | (0) |
2004 |
Klubi-04 | 1 | (0) |
Total | 250 | (35) | |
International career | |||
1997–2000 | Finland | 17 | (1) |
Managerial career | |||
HJK (Youth) | |||
2005 | FC Honka (Assistant) | ||
2005–2014 | FC Honka | ||
2013–2015 | Finland (Assistant) | ||
2014–2019 |
HJK | ||
2019–2020 | Kongsvinger | ||
2023– | Finland U21 | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Mika "Bana" Lehkosuo (born 8 January 1970) is a Finnish football manager and former midfielder, and working as a coach for Finland U21 national team.
Playing career
Lehkosuo played most of his career at
In the following seasons Lehkosuo received more and more responsibilities and became one of the best midfielders in the Veikkausliiga. In the end of the 1990s he formed the successful midfield trio with Aki Riihilahti and Jarkko Wiss with whom he won the league title in 1997 and worked their way to the group stage of UEFA Champions League in the next season.
A sponsorship deal with a local radio station meant that Lehkuosuo wore the unusual shirt number 96.2 for a period at HJK Helsinki. This deal ended when he was forbidden to wear the number in UEFA Champions League matches.[1] Lehkuosuo captained HJK in the group stage of the Champions League that season, helping HJK become the first ever Finnish team to earn that distinction.[2]
In the winter of 1998 Lehkosuo was signed on loan by Italian
International career
Lehkosuo played 17 matches for the Finnish national team and scored one goal.
Managerial career
Lehkosuo started his managerial career with HJK youth teams quickly after retiring as a player. In 2005, he was appointed as assistant manager of
On 29 April 2014, Lehkosuo was appointed as the manager of HJK after
Lehkosuo was appointed head coach of Norwegian club Kongsvinger in December 2019. [4] He was sacked in September 2020 after Kongsvinger picked up only 13 points from 18 games.[5]
Personal life
Lehkosuo graduated as a Master of Science in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology in 2003.
Honours
As a player
HJK[6]
- Veikkausliiga: 1997, 2002
- Finnish Cup: 1996, 1998, 2000
- Finnish League Cup: 1996, 1997, 1998
Individual
- HJK Hall of Fame Inductee[6]
As a manager
FC Honka[6]
HJK[6]
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Coach of the Month: October 2011,[7] May 2013,[8] June 2013,[9] May 2014,[10] September 2014,[11] May 2016,[12] April 2017,[13] June 2017[14]
- Veikkausliiga Coach of the Year: 2014, 2017[15]
References
- ^ "When footballers on loan score against their own clubs". The Guardian. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ a b c "Lehkosuo taking HJK back to the brink". UEFA. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Nyt HJK:n erotettu päävalmentaja Mika Lehkosuo kommentoi potkujaan – tunteikas viesti faneille, iltalehti.fi, 22 May 2019
- ^ [1], is.fi, 18 December 2019
- ^ [2], yle.fi, 30 September 2020
- ^ a b c d "HJK Hall of Fame: Mika Lehkosuo". HJK (in Finnish). 13 December 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ HJK:n Akseli Pelvas lokakuun pelaaja Archived 14 September 2012 at archive.today (in Finnish)
- ^ Toukokuun parhaat julkistettu Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ Tim Väyrynen kesäkuun kuukauden pelaaja Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ Rasmus Schüller Veikkausliigan toukokuun pelaaja Archived 2014-06-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ HJK:n Erfan Zeneli Veikkausliigan syyskuun kuukauden pelaaja Archived 2014-10-04 at archive.today (in Finnish)
- ^ Taye Taiwo valittiin kuukauden pelaajaksi (in Finnish)
- ^ Veikkausliigan kuukauden parhaat valittu (in Finnish)
- ^ [3] (in Finnish)
- ^ Is, Stt- (3 November 2017). "Filip Valencic on Veikkausliigan kauden paras pelaaja". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.