Toni Kolehmainen

Toni Kolehmainen

Kolehmainen with HJK in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-07-20) 20 July 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Oulu, Finland
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
2004–2005	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	OLS	14	(0)
2006–2007	AC Oulu	25	(3)
2007–2009	AZ Alkmaar	0	(0)
2009	AC Oulu	5	(1)
2010–2012	TPS	72	(7)
2012–2015	Hønefoss	43	(0)
2015–2017	HJK	36	(1)
2017	Wisła Puławy	10	(0)
International career
2008–2010	Finland U21	6	(0)
2012–2015	Finland	10	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Toni Kolehmainen (born 20 July 1988) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He had previously played for AZ in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Kolehmainen also played in Blackburn Rovers' youth academy during 2004–05.

Early career

After ending his stay with Blackburn Rovers' youth academy Toni returned to Finland to play for OLS Oulu. In 2006, he joined town rival AC Oulu and helped the club gain promotion to the Veikkausliiga. His play with AC Oulu led to interest from Dutch Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar who signed Kolehmainen in 2007.

Club career

During his time with AZ he was primarily a member of the reserve squad. In 2008, he was promoted to the first team squad by Louis van Gaal and made his debut in a 3-0 KNVB Cup victory over Achilles '29. ^[1] Once the 2009 season concluded Kolehmainen did not exercise the option on his contract with AZ and returned to AC Oulu for a brief stay, which led to a promotion after the season.

Kolehmainen however left Oulu and went on signing a two-year contract with TPS in February 2010. ^[2]

After some promising performances, Kolehmainen was spotted by Hønefoss BK, where he would reunite with a TPS teammate Riku Riski. A long-term contract was signed on 31 August 2012. ^[3]

Kolehmainen retired in 2017, finishing his career at Polish side Wisła Puławy. ^[4]

Kolehmainen is currently based in Malta where he works as a director within the gaming industry at Rootz Ltd, often providing insights at events and conferences.

International career

On 22 January 2012 Kolehmainen scored for Finland in his senior level debut, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago.

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 September 2024. ^[5]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
OLS	2005	Ykkönen	14	0	–		–		–		14	0
AC Oulu	2006	Ykkönen	25	3	–		–		–		25	3
AZ Alkmaar	2008–09	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	–		–		0	0
AC Oulu	2009	Ykkönen	5	1	–		–		–		5	1
TPS	2010	Veikkausliiga	21	1	1	0	0	0	4 [c]	1	26	2
	2011	Veikkausliiga	29	5	0	0	1	0	1 [c]	0	31	5
	2012	Veikkausliiga	22	1	1	0	6	1	–		29	2
	Total		72	7	2	0	7	1	5	1	86	!9
Hønefoss	2012	Tippeligaen	8	0	–		–		–		8	0
	2013	Tippeligaen	8	0	–		–		–		8	0
	2014	1. divisjon	23	0	1	0	–		–		24	0
	2015	1. divisjon	4	0	0	0	–		–		4	0
	Total		43	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	44	0
Hønefoss 2	2013	3. divisjon	4	1	–		–		–		4	1
HJK Helsinki	2015	Veikkausliiga	21	1	1	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	23	1
	2016	Veikkausliiga	15	0	2	1	0	0	4	0	21	1
	Total		36	1	3	1	0	0	5	0	44	2
Wisła Puławy	2016–17	I liga	10	0	0	0	–		–		10	0
Career total			211	13	6	1	7	1	10	1	234	16

1. Includes Suomen Cup, KNVB Beker, Norwegian Cup
2. Includes Finnish League Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International goals

#	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 January 2012	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	2−2	2−3	Friendly
2.	3 June 2012	Võru, Estonia	Latvia	1−0	1−1 (6-7 p)	Baltic Cup final
3.	14 November 2012	Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	0−3	0−3	Friendly

Honours

TPS Turku ^[6]

• Finnish Cup: 2010
• Finnish League Cup: 2012

HJK

• Finnish League Cup: 2015 ^[6]

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: September 2010 ^[7]

References

1. (in Dutch) AZ debut
2. TPS vahvisti rivejään Toni Kolehmaisella (TPS signs Toni Kolehmainen) Archived 23 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine ; 17 February 2010, Veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
3. Toni Kolehmainen siirtyy Norjaan Riku Riskin seurakaveriksi (Toni Kolehmainen reunites with Riku Riski in Norway) Archived 23 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine ; 31.8.2012; Aamuset.fi (in Finnish)
4. Laitinen, Ilkka (19 March 2018). "Vammakierre päätti suomalaispelaajan värikkään uran - Louis van Gaal halusi tehdä hänestä uuden Michael Reizigerin". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Iltalehti . Retrieved 4 August 2020.
5. Toni Kolehmainen stats, National-Football-Teams
6. "Toni Kolehmainen". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 July 2024.
7. Veikkausliigan syyskuun joukkue nimetty (in Finnish)

External links

• Kolehmainen at AZ fan page (in Dutch)
• Kolehmainen player card at AC Oulu (in Finnish)
• A wonderkid from escadinavian soccer
• Toni Kolehmainen at Soccerway