Robin Lod

Robin Lod

Lod with Finland in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Robin Lod
Date of birth	(1993-04-17) 17 April 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team	Minnesota United
Number	17
Youth career
1998–2006	Suurmetsän Urheilijat
2006–2011	HJK
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2012	Klubi 04	34	(16)
2011–2015	HJK	75	(15)
2012	→ VPS (loan)	11	(2)
2015–2018	Panathinaikos	75	(12)
2018–2019	Sporting Gijón	23	(4)
2019–	Minnesota United	125	(29)
International career‡
2011	Finland U18	16	(4)
2012–2014	Finland U21	14	(1)
2013–	Finland	72	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2024

Robin Lod (Swedish pronunciation: [lu:d] ; born 17 April 1993) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer franchise Minnesota United and the Finland national team. Lod was born in Helsinki, Finland. He began his senior club career playing for Klubi 04, before making his league debut for HJK at age 18 in 2011. After winning his first trophy, the Veikkausliiga, during his second season on league level, he helped HJK win three successive Veikkausliiga titles, Cup and League Cup.

Lod made his international debut for Finland in October 2013, at the age of 20 and has since had over 60 caps, including appearing in 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifications.

Club career

HJK

Lod scored his first goal on his senior debut for HJK on 22 October 2011 in a 4−1 home win against MYPA. ^[2]

During the 2012 season he played for VPS on loan from HJK. Having initially been loaned out on 9 August 2012 until 3 September 2012, the loan was extended subsequently until the end of the season. ^[3]

After the 2014 season Lod was selected as Player of the Year for Veikkausliiga. Additionally, he was selected as both the best midfield player and the best player of the U21 National Team for the season. ^[4] Lod featured in 120 games for HJK and netted 21 goals, while also contributing 17 assists.

Panathinaikos

On 6 May 2015, Lod agreed to terms with Panathinaikos to move to the club in the summer transfer window, ^[5] signing a three-year contract for a €350,000 transfer fee. ^{[6] [7]} On 3 October 2015, he made his Superleague Greece debut against Xanthi. On 28 May 2017, he scored in a 1–0 win against Panionios at Leoforos Stadium. Three days later, another goal by Lod helped his club to secure a 3–2 away win against rivals PAOK on the last matchday of the 2016–17 Playoffs depriving PAOK of the possibility to participate in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. ^{[8] [9]} After the first half of the 2017–18 season, Lod didn't seem to want to sign a new deal in Greece, and Panathinaikos have financial troubles and could be forced to sell in January transfer window. On 19 February 2018, Panathinaikos finally won away from home in the SuperLeague, defeating AEL 1–0 thanks to a goal from the Finland international midfielder. Lod's goal ended an 11-match run without a victory away from their home stadium. ^[10] On 10 March 2018, Lod struck a superb late equaliser to salvage a vital point for Panathinaikos against an impressive Asteras Tripolis at the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium. ^[11]

Following Lod's contract expiry with Panathinaikos on 30 June 2018, and despite attempts to reach a renewal agreement, the player left the club on a free transfer considering the debt-related limitations imposed on Panathinaikos regarding the transfer and re-signing of players over the age of 23. ^[12]

Sporting de Gijón

On July 23, 2018, Lod signed with Segunda División team Sporting de Gijon. ^[13] He made his debut appearance and also scored his first goal for Gijon on 26 August 2018 in a match against Gimnàstic de Tarragona. ^[14]

Minnesota United FC

On July 16, 2019, Lod signed with MLS franchise Minnesota United for a transfer fee of around $680,000. ^{[15] [16] [17]} On May 22 2022, with a goal in the 20th minute against Dallas FC, Lod scored his 22nd goal for Minnesota United in MLS league play and thus becoming Minnesota United's all-time leading scorer during its history in Major League Soccer. ^[18]

On 29 July 2022, Lod extended his contract with Minnesota United, signing a new three-year deal with a franchise option for a further year. ^[19] Lod played in 10 MLS games in the 2023 season, before he suffered a knee injury in May 2023 and was ruled out for the rest of the year. ^[20]

After recovering from the injury, Lod returned to the starting line-up for the 2024 season, and started hot scoring two goals in his first three league matches of the season. ^[21] On 19 May 2024, in a 2–1 league win against Portland Timbers, Lod scored his 30th goal for Minnesota, making him the franchise's all-time record goalscorer. ^{[22] [23]} In July 2024, Lod was named in the 2024 MLS All-Star Game for the first time in his career. ^[24] In late-October, Lod received a nomination to win one of the most prestigious award in the industry, the MLS Comeback Player of the Year. ^[25]

International career

He made his debut for the Finnish national team on 30 October 2013 in a friendly match in Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego against Mexico. ^[26] On 7 October 2016, Lod scored his first international goal in a 2018 FIFA World Cup preliminary game by giving the lead to Finland before they lost 3–2 in the very last minute against Iceland. ^[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of 31 July 2024 ^{[28] [29]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Klubi 04	2011	Kakkonen	27	14	0	0	—		—		27	14
	2012	Kakkonen	7	2	0	0	—		—		7	2
	Total		34	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	16
HJK Helsinki	2011	Veikkausliiga	2	1	3	0	0	0	—		5	1
	2012	Veikkausliiga	7	0	9	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		17	0
	2013	Veikkausliiga	28	7	5	0	0	0	—		33	7
	2014	Veikkausliiga	28	6	9	1	12 [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3]	2	—		49	9
	2015	Veikkausliiga	10	1	7	3	0	0	—		17	4
	Total		75	15	34	4	13	2	0	0	121	21
VPS (loan)	2012	Veikkausliiga	11	2	0	0	0	0	—		11	2
Panathinaikos	2015–16	Super League Greece	16	2	4	0	3 [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		23	2
	2016–17	Super League Greece	29	5	7	0	9 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		45	5
	2017–18	Super League Greece	30	5	3	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	2	—		37	7
	Total		75	12	14	0	16	2	0	0	105	14
Sporting Gijón	2018–19	Segunda División	23	4	2	0	—		—		25	4
Minnesota United	2019	MLS	10	0	2	1	—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	13	1
	2020	MLS	20	7	6 [lower-alpha 5]	2	—		3 [lower-alpha 4]	1	26	10
	2021	MLS	23	9	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	24	9
	2022	MLS	30	6	1	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	32	6
	2023	MLS	10	0	1	0	—		0	0	11	0
	2024	MLS	32	7	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 6]	1	33	8
	Total		125	29	10	3	0	0	7	2	139	34
Career total			340	77	60	7	29	4	7	2	433	91

1. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
3. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in the MLS Cup Playoffs
5. Includes MLS is Back Tournament
6. Includes Leagues Cup

International

As of match played on 13 October 2024 ^[30]

National team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Finland	2013	0	0	1	0	1	0
	2014	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2015	1	0	3	0	4	0
	2016	4	1	4	0	8	1
	2017	5	0	2	2	7	2
	2018	6	0	4	0	10	0
	2019	10	0	0	0	10	0
	2020	2	1	0	0	2	1
	2021	9	1	2	0	11	1
	2022	4	0	4	0	8	0
	2023	4	1	0	0	4	1
	2024	5	0	3	0	8	0
Total		49	4	23	2	72	6

International goals

As of match played on 13 November 2021. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lod goal. ^[31]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 October 2016	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	11	Iceland	2–1	2–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	9 November 2017	Telia 5G -areena, Helsinki, Finland	20	Estonia	2–0	3–0	Friendly
3					3–0
4	16 November 2020	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	42	Bulgaria	2–0	2–1	2020–21 UEFA Nations League
5	13 November 2021	Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	51	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–0	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	17 November 2023	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	63	Northern Ireland	4–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

Klubi 04

• Kakkonen: 2011

HJK Helsinki

• Veikkausliiga: 2012, 2013, 2014
• Finnish Cup: 2014
• Finnish League Cup: 2015

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Best Player: 2014,
• Veikkausliiga Best Midfielder: 2014,
• MLS All-Star: 2024

References

1. "Robin Lod". Minnesota United FC. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
2. "Robin Lod maalasi liigadebyytissään" (in Finnish). HJK. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
3. "Saksela ja Lod lainalle" (in Finnish). HJK. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
4. "Markku Peltoniemelle Captain´s Ball" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
5. "Παίκτης του Παναθηναϊκού ο Ρόμπιν Λοντ!" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
6. "Ανακοινώθηκε ο Λοντ" (in Greek). contra.gr. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
7. "Panathinaikos seurasi Robin Lodia pitkään". Helsingin Sanomat. 14 May 2015.
8. ΠΑΟΚ-Παναθηναϊκός 2-3: Έδειξε πόσο βαριά φανέλα έχει!
9. Παναθηναϊκός με ψυχή, 3-2 τον ΠΑΟΚ στην Τούμπα
10. ΑΕΛ - Παναθηναϊκός 0-1
11. ""Χ"αμένοι και οι δυο, 1-1 ο Παναθηναϊκός με τον Αστέρα". www.sport24.gr. 10 March 2018.
12. team, Onsports (4 July 2018). "Τέλος ο Λουντ για τον Παναθηναϊκό". Onsports.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 5 July 2018.
13. "Robin Lod ya está en Gijon para fichar por el Sporting". La Voz de Asturias (in European Spanish). 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
14. "Robin Lod maalasi sarjadebyytissään Espanjassa, kahdesti osunut Petteri Forsell upotti mahtavan kaukolaukauksen maaliin Puolan liigassa" [Robin Lod scored in his debut match in Spain, Petteri Forsell scored twice in the Polish league] (in Finnish). Yle. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
15. "MNUFC Signs Robin Lod | Minnesota United FC".
16. "Minnesota United nets Finland midfielder Robin Lod after 'long chase'". 17 July 2019.
17. "Robin Lod salary profile".
18. "Recap | FC Dallas - 1, Minnesota United - 2 | Minnesota United FC".
19. "Minnesota United sign Robin Lod to contract extension".
20. "Midfielder Robin Lod Suffers Torn Meniscus". 19 May 2023.
21. Robin Lod osui ja tuuletti maaliaan vapautuneesti – suomalaisen pelipäivänä soi JVG ja Huuhkajatoveri Nikolai Alho, Yle, 17 March 2024
22. Robin Lod Breaks Loons Scoring Record, mnufc.com
23. mnu – portland, 19 May 2024
24. Robin Lodille suuri kunnianosoitus: valittiin MLS:n tähdistöpeliin, Yle, 1 July 2024
25. Midfielder Robin Lod Named Finalist for 2024 MLS Comeback Player of the Year, mnufc.com, 24 October 2024
26. "Mexico beats Finns, but not convincingly". The San Diego Union-Tribune . 30 October 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
27. "Iceland vs Finland 3-2". www.uefa.com. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
28. "Lod, Robin". National Football Teams. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
29. "R. Lod". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
30. "Robin Lod". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
31. "Robin Lod". Football Association of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 21 June 2021.

External links

• Biography portal
• Association football portal
• Finland portal

• Minnesota United FC official profile
• Panathinaikos F.C. official profile
• Robin Lod – SPL competition record
• Robin Lod – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Robin Lod at National-Football-Teams.com
• Robin Lod at Soccerway