Mika Antero Kottila, nicknamed Hirvi, (born 22 September 1974) is a Finnish former professional footballer. He played as a forward and spent the vast majority of his career playing in Nordic countries.[2][3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mika Antero Kottila | ||
| Date of birth | 22 September 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Vantaa, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993 | Helsingin Ponnistus | 26 | (8) |
| 1994–1995 | HJK | 33 | (6) |
| 1996 | RoPS | 14 | (2) |
| 1996–1997 | Hereford United | 13 | (1) |
| 1997–1998 | HJK | 51 | (8) |
| 1999 | Brann[1] | 13 | (1) |
| 2000–2001 | Trelleborg | 45 | (9) |
| 2002–2004 | HJK | 74 | (33) |
| 2005–2006 | Lahti | 32 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2004 | Finland | 31 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editKottila was born in Vantaa, Finland. He joined RoPS in 1992. He had a spell on loan at Hereford United during the 1996–97 season. He made 13 league appearances, scoring 1 goal.
He then joined HJK Helsinki for the second of three spells, having previously played for the club during the 1994 season. He made 157 appearances and scored 56 goals for the club during his three spells. The top moment of his career came when he scored two goals for HJK in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 1998.
He joined a Norwegian Tippeligaen club SK Brann for a €500,000 transfer fee, where he was in the 1999 season,[1] and then Sweden to play for Trelleborgs FF. A third spell at HJK followed between 2002 and 2004. He also featured in the 2004 UEFA Champions League playing against the likes of Linfield and Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. in the qualifying rounds.
Between 2005 and 2006 he played for FC Lahti in the Finnish Premier Division.
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| MPS | 1991 | Kolmonen | ||||||||
| 1992 | Kolmonen | |||||||||
| Total | 37 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 21 | ||
| Ponnistus | 1992 | Kakkonen | 26 | 8 | – | – | 26 | 8 | ||
| HJK | 1994 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 2 | – | 2[b] | 1 | 14 | 3 | |
| 1995 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 4 | – | 3[c] | 2 | 24 | 6 | ||
| Total | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 9 | ||
| RoPS | 1996 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 2 | – | – | 14 | 2 | ||
| Hereford United | 1996–97 | Third Division | 13 | 1 | – | – | 13 | 1 | ||
| HJK | 1997 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 7 | – | 2[b] | 0 | 27 | 7 | |
| 1998 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9[d] | 2 | 36 | 3 | |
| Total | 51 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 63 | 10 | ||
| Brann | 1999 | Tippeligaen | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | 15 | 3 | |
| Brann 2 | 1999 | 2. divisjon | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Trelleborg | 2000 | Allsvenskan | 23 | 7 | – | – | 23 | 7 | ||
| 2001 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 2 | – | – | 22 | 2 | |||
| Total | 45 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 9 | ||
| HJK | 2002 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 18 | – | 2[e] | 0 | 31 | 18 | |
| 2003 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4[d] | 1 | 28 | 12 | |
| 2004 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 7 | – | 4[d] | 2 | 26 | 9 | ||
| Total | 74 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 85 | 38 | ||
| Lahti | 2005 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 4 | – | – | 25 | 4 | ||
| 2006 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 2 | – | – | 7 | 2 | |||
| Total | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 339 | 97 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 369 | 106 | ||
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearancess in UEFA Euro Cup
International career
editHe was capped 31 times for Finland, scoring 6 goals between 1998 and 2004.
References
edit- ^ a b Nielsen, Atle (2008). Sportsklubben Brann: 100 år med tro, håp og kjærlighet (in Norwegian). Bergen: Schibsted. p. 252. ISBN 978-82-516-2658-3.
- ^ Mika "Hirvi" Kottila haluaa hoitaa isyyden kunnialla maaliin ennen kuin harkitsee valmentajapestiä – Ex-futari on ollut lasten kanssa kotona jokaisena kouluaamuna, Vantaan Sanomat, 14 November 2021
- ^ Mika Kottila lopettaa uransa, Ilta-Sanomat, 10 October 2006
- ^ Mika Kottila stats, Finnish FA
- ^ Mika Kottila, National-Football-Teams