Kai Haaskivi

Last updated

Kai Haaskivi
Personal information
Full name Kai Olavi Haaskivi
Date of birth (1955-12-28) 28 December 1955 (age 67)
Place of birth Lahti, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Forward, Midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1973–1978 GrIFK, HJK Helsinki, Kiffen Helsinki
1978–1979 Dallas Tornado 20 (1)
1978–1980 Houston Summit (indoor) 49 (90)
1979–1980 Houston Hurricane 55 (15)
1980–1982 Edmonton Drillers (indoor) 36 (60)
1981–1982 Edmonton Drillers 60 (14)
1982–1988 Cleveland Force (indoor) 241 (156)
1988–1989 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 48 (12)
1989–1993 Cleveland Crunch (indoor) 60 (26)
International career‡
1977–1984 Finland 12 (3)
Managerial career
1989–1990 Cleveland Crunch
1995–1999 IMG Soccer Academy (Director)
2001–2004 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
2005–2007 Myers University (Men's and Women's teams)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 May 2009
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 May 2009

Kai Haaskivi (born 28 December 1955) is a retired Finnish soccer player. He starred in the North American Soccer League, playing outdoor as well as indoor soccer. He also played for the Finland national football team. He now coaches in the United States.

Contents

Playing career

Professional

The 178 cm midfielder began his NASL career in the summer of 1978 with the Dallas Tornado. Haaskivi played in 1979–80 with the Houston Hurricane and 1981–82 with the Edmonton Drillers. He led the league in assists in 1981 with 21 and helped the Drillers win the 1980–81 NASL indoor championship and was named the MVP of the finals. [1] He finished his NASL career with 112 points in 135 games.

Haaskivi began his MISL career in the league's inaugural season of 1978–79 with the Houston Summit. Playing the next season with the Summit as well, he was named an MISL all-star in both seasons. The team lost the championship to the New York Arrows in 1980.

Haaskivi went on to star with the Cleveland Force from 1982–88. While with the Force he led the league in assists in the 1986–87 season. [2] He then played one season for the Baltimore Blast before returning to Cleveland as player-coach of the Cleveland Crunch in 1989. He retired as a player after the 1991–92 season when the MISL, by then named Major Soccer League, folded. The Crunch moved to the National Professional Soccer League. Haaskivi served as color analyst on the team's radio broadcasts.

Haaskivi finished his career in the top ten of several MISL career statistical categories, including fifth in points with 683, tied for ninth in goals with 297, second in assists with 386, and eights in games played with 425. [3] He was an eight-time league all-star selection and was named MVP of the 1987 All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

International

Haaskivi played 12 full internationals for Finland, notching three goals in the process. In a 1982 friendly in Helsinki against England, celebrating the Finnish F.A.'s 75th anniversary, he scored on a penalty kick as the Finnish team lost 1–4. He also scored against Italy's World Cup Legend, Dino Zoff, in Turin, Italy during a 1978 World Cup qualifier.

Coaching career

During the mid-1990s he served as the first director for IMG's soccer academy in Bradenton. He was assistant coach of the U-17 U.S. National (boys) Teams. From 2001 to 2004 he was head coach and general manager of Pittsburgh Riverhounds, an A-League team. [4] He also coached in Cleveland as the men's and women's head coach for the Myers University Mustangs, and NAIA school. Served as the director of coaching for the Cleveland United and the Braden River soccer club in Florida. Currently works for the US Soccer Federation as a Youth National Team Scout.

Awards and honors

In September 2006, Kai was inducted to the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and in March 2013, Haaskivi was one of six men named to the 2013 class of the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame. The other inductees are Gordon Jago, Preki, Zoltán Tóth, Brian Quinn, and Mike Stankovic. [5]

Personal

Haaskivi is brother-in-law of former star Finnish ice hockey player Matti Hagman and uncle to Calgary Flames Left Wing Niklas Hagman. His father, Olavi Haaskivi, served as the Director of Coaching for the Finnish Football Association for 35 years. His son is the actor Olli Haaskivi. [6] Daughter, Nina Haaskivi.

Notes and references

General

Citations

  1. ↑ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".
  2. ↑ "MISL Yearly Award Winners". The MISL: A Look Back. OurSportsCentral.com. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "MISL All-Time Regular Season Career Leaders". The MISL: A Look Back. OurSportsCentral.com. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  4. ↑ Finder, Chuck (8 February 2001). "Soccer: New Riverhounds coach-GM eyes teenage pros". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  5. ↑ Carrick, Buzz (5 March 2013). "Former Dallas Sidekicks Coach Gordon Jago Named 2013 Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee". The Dallas Morning News . Dallas, TX. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Olli Haaskivi at IMDb

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992)</span> Indoor soccer league in the United States

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Sidekicks (1984–2004)</span> Soccer club

The Dallas Sidekicks were one of the longest operating professional soccer teams, either indoor or outdoor, in the United States, based in Dallas, Texas, and operating from 1984 until suspending operations following the 2003-04 season. The team was founded as a member of the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Over the years, the team played in four other leagues. The team's most famous player was Tatu, who was known for throwing his shirt into the stands after every goal. The team hosted the 1989 MISL All-Star Game. The team was one of the most successful franchises in indoor soccer history, making the playoffs in 16 of their 19 seasons of play. In the playoffs, the team made it to the championship game/series eight times, winning four titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Crunch</span> Soccer club

The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in March 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982)</span> Canadian soccer team

The Edmonton Drillers were a North American Soccer League team that played both outdoors and indoors from 1979 to 1982, at the peak of the league's success. The team was brought to Edmonton by local entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, after witnessing the strong support for Brian Rice's Edmonton Black Gold team in 1978. Previous to playing in Edmonton, the team was known as the Oakland Stompers, Hartford Bicentennials and Connecticut Bicentennials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Hurricane</span> Defunct American soccer club

The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red.

Antonio Carlos Pecorari, commonly known as Tatu, is a Brazilian football coach and former player, and one of the most accomplished indoor football players of all time. He is currently the head coach of the Mesquite Outlaws in the Major Arena Soccer League. His nickname means "armadillo" in Portuguese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niklas Hagman</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Niklas Hagman is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He was a third round pick of the Florida Panthers, 70th overall, at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with Florida in 2001. He has also played for the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks in the NHL, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL, HIFK, Espoo Blues and Kärpät in the SM-liiga and HC Davos in the Swiss National League A.

Gordon Harold Jago is an English former football player and manager, and the former director of the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup international youth tournament.

Brian Quinn is a Northern Irish-American soccer coach and former player. He spent most of his professional career in North America where he played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He later coached in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and Major League Soccer.

Zoltán Tóth is a Hungarian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a coach. He played for Újpest FC in Budapest from 1975 to 1979 and once played for the Hungary national team in 1979.

Al Miller is an American former collegiate and professional soccer coach. After leaving coaching, he then became a general manager for two indoor soccer clubs in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Jovica "Joe" Raduka is a former Serbian-American soccer player who began his career with Red Star Belgrade before spending time with indoor and outdoor teams in the U.S., Canada and Belgium. He currently runs a youth soccer club in Cleveland, Ohio.

Paul Child is an English-American former soccer player who played as a forward, spending nine seasons in the North American Soccer League. He led the league in scoring in 1974 and was a two-time first team All-Star. He also earned two caps with the United States national team in 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Victor Nogueira is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and the second Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. futsal team which took second place at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship, and he is the father of FC Kansas City and United States forward Casey Loyd. He was elected to the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

Patricio "Pato" Germán Margetic is a former Argentine footballer. He began his career in Argentina before playing five seasons in the North American Soccer League, as well as the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Roy Turner is a former English American soccer player who spent one season in the National Professional Soccer League, eleven in the North American Soccer League. He then went on to manage the Wichita Wings of Major Indoor Soccer League for eight seasons. He also earned two caps with the U.S. national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Force (1978–1988)</span>

The original Cleveland Force was one of six charter franchises in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The team played from 1978 to 1988 at the Richfield Coliseum, the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and regularly drew crowds in excess of 12,000 in the mid-1980s.

Victor "Vic" Moreland is a retired professional footballer from Northern Ireland who began his career in Northern Ireland, spent two seasons in the Football League before moving to the United States. He then played six seasons in the North American Soccer League, seven in the Major Indoor Soccer League as well as several seasons in several lower division indoor and outdoor leagues.

Mike Stankovic is a retired Serbian-American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League.

The 1986–87 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the ninth in league history and ended with the Dallas Sidekicks winning their first MISL title over the Tacoma Stars.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.