SOCCER PLAYERS from Finland

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Finnish Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Finnish Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Finnish Soccer Players.

1. Jari Litmanen (1971 - )

With an HPI of 57.78, Jari Litmanen is the most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 50 different languages on wikipedia.

Jari Olavi Litmanen (pronounced [ˈjɑri ˈlitmɑnen] ; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He was the first-choice captain of the Finland national team between 1996 and 2008 in an international career that ran from 1989 to 2010. Litmanen is widely considered to be Finland's greatest football player of all time. He was chosen as the best Finnish player of the last 50 years by the Football Association of Finland in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003. He also finished 42nd in the 100 Greatest Finns voting in 2004. The Association of Football Statisticians' (The AFS) compendium of 'Greatest Ever Footballers' listed Litmanen as the 53rd best footballer ever. In Finland, he is often called "Litti" (after his own surname), which dates from his early years, and is also known as "Kuningas" ("The King"). During his club career, Litmanen represented Reipas, HJK, MyPa and Lahti in Finland, and Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool, Hansa Rostock and Malmö FF abroad. Once considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world, he became the first Finnish footballing superstar while playing for Ajax in the mid-1990s, winning the Champions League in 1995, the peak year of his career. His later career was marred by injuries, and he was unable to repeat the success of his Ajax years either at Barcelona or Liverpool, often finding himself on the bench, despite some impressive performances for the latter. Writing about Litmanen in 2009, Paul Simpson, former FourFourTwo editor, went as far as to assert that "his career has not been worthy of his talent".

2. Sami Hyypiä (1973 - )

With an HPI of 50.30, Sami Hyypiä is the 2nd most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑmi ˈhyːpiæ]; born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back. Hyypiä began his playing career with Ykkönen side Kumu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He spent four years at the club, helping them win the Finnish Cup in 1992 and 1995. He moved to Willem II in 1995 and spent the next four years there. He became the team captain and was nominated their player of the year after helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. In 1999, he moved to Liverpool, the team he supported as a child, in a deal worth £2.6 million. He quickly established himself in the first team, partnering Stéphane Henchoz in defence. By 2001, he regularly captained the team and that season Liverpool won a slew of honours, completing a cup treble of the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, in addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield. He became first choice captain in the 2001–02 season and was part of the Football League Cup-winning team in 2003. Steven Gerrard superseded him as captain in 2003, but Hyypiä still occasionally captained the side in his absence. Hyypiä won his highest football honour in 2005 as part of Liverpool's victorious 2004–05 Champions League campaign, where his defensive partnership with Jamie Carragher helped them win in the final. During his ten years in Merseyside, he became a fan favourite and remains a popular figure at the club. From 2009 to 2011, Hyypiä played for German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he retired as a player in 2011. Hyypiä was a prominent figure in the Finland national team and was selected as the Finnish Sports' Journalists and Football Association Player of the Year numerous times. He made his debut in 1992 and, with 105 caps before retiring in 2010, is the country's third most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen and Teemu Pukki. From the 2012–13 season, he returned to Bayer Leverkusen as its full team manager. After two successful seasons in the Bundesliga, he returned to English football in 2014 for a brief spell as manager of now Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. From August 2015 to May 2016, he was manager of Swiss club FC Zürich. Hyypiä was named in the Finnish Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.

3. Teemu Pukki (1990 - )

With an HPI of 42.01, Teemu Pukki is the 3rd most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level on 23 June 2005 at the age of 15 in a fifth round match of the Finnish Cup. He then moved to Sevilla in 2008, where he played only one La Liga game for the first team before returning to Finland with HJK. In HJK he won the Veikkausliiga championship and the Finnish Cup. He then played in the top divisions of Germany for Schalke 04, Scotland for Celtic and Denmark for Brøndby. In 2018 he signed for Norwich City on a free transfer and was named The Player of the Season in the 2018–19 EFL Championship. Pukki made his international debut for Finland in 2009 and has earned 120 caps, scoring 40 goals. He is the all-time leading male Finnish goalscorer. Pukki scored ten goals in ten matches in Finland's UEFA Euro 2020 qualification campaign, helping the side reach their first ever major international tournament.

4. Petri Pasanen (1980 - )

With an HPI of 39.30, Petri Pasanen is the 4th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Petri Pasanen (born 24 September 1980) is a Finnish football coach, TV studio presenter and a former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was most comfortable as centre-back, but also played right-back and left-back as well. Pasanen began his senior career in his native Finland before moving to Ajax. He spent most of his career at Bundesliga club Werder Bremen which he represented in the UEFA Champions League in multiple seasons, and in the 2009 UEFA Cup Final. At international level, he made 76 appearances for the Finland national team scoring one goal.

5. Niklas Moisander (1985 - )

With an HPI of 39.10, Niklas Moisander is the 5th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Niklas Kristian Moisander (born 29 September 1985) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swedish club Malmö FF. Moisander was born in Turku, where he played for the local TPS youth team before moving to AFC Ajax. Following a one-season stay at Sampdoria, he spent five years at Bundesliga club Werder Bremen. He is the twin brother of goalkeeper Henrik Moisander, and is a former captain of the Finland national team. Moisander made his international debut for Finland in May 2008, at age 22, and had 62 caps, including appearing in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications before his retirement from international football in 2017. He was voted the Finnish Footballer of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.

6. Tim Sparv (1987 - )

With an HPI of 37.52, Tim Sparv is the 6th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Tim Sparv (born 20 February 1987) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently working as an assistant coach of the Sparta Prague B. Sparv was born in Oravais, and started his football career in Norrvalla FF youth team before moving to Southampton's junior organisation. He began his senior club career playing for Halmstad, before signing with Groningen in 2010. Sparv made his international debut for Finland in February 2009, at the age of 21 and went on to make 84 caps, including appearing in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications. His family is a member of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.

7. Jussi Jääskeläinen (1975 - )

With an HPI of 37.16, Jussi Jääskeläinen is the 7th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen (pronounced [ˈjusːi ˈjæːskelæi̯nen]; born 19 April 1975) is a Finnish professional football coach and a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently working as a goalkeeping coach of Ykkösliiga club PK-35. During his career, Jääskeläinen most notably represented Bolton Wanderers from 1997 until 2012, making 530 appearances across all competitions. He left Bolton for West Ham United at the end of the 2011–12 season, moving on after three seasons to Wigan Athletic on a free transfer. In his first season with Wigan, he won the League One title. He left Wigan after two seasons to join Indian club ATK, where he retired in 2018. Jääskeläinen earned 56 caps for the Finland national team, making his debut in 1998 and retiring from international football in 2010.

8. Joel Pohjanpalo (1994 - )

With an HPI of 36.07, Joel Pohjanpalo is the 8th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Joel Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo (born 13 September 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie B club Venezia. He also represents the Finland national football team. Pohjanpalo was born in Helsinki, Finland where he began his career with HJK. He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 26 October 2011 at the age of 17 and moved out to Germany at age 19 in 2013. After multiple successful loan spells in Germany and Turkey, Pohjanpalo left Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 and was acquired by Italian side Venezia, where he quickly became a fan favourite cult player, and was named one of the team captains. Pohjanpalo made his full international debut for Finland senior national team in November 2012 at the age of eighteen, and has since made over 60 appearances, including playing in matches for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, and in the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament.

9. Mixu Paatelainen (1967 - )

With an HPI of 36.02, Mixu Paatelainen is the 9th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and manager who was most recently head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's all time thirteenth most capped player and fifth top goalscorer. He is the eldest of three brothers, all of whom have played professional football. Their father Matti was also a Finnish international. Paatelainen had a 20-year playing career, playing for nine clubs in four countries. Most of his career was spent in the Scottish leagues, with Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hibernian, St Johnstone and St Mirren. He also played for Valkeakosken Haka in Finland, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England and RC Strasbourg in France. While at Bolton, Paatelainen became the first Finn to play in the Premier League. After retiring as a player in 2005, Paatelainen became manager of Scottish club Cowdenbeath, where he helped the club win the championship of Scottish Football League Third Division and earn a promotion. After a season coaching in his native Finland with TPS, Paatelainen returned to Scotland as manager of Hibernian. He left that position by mutual consent after 18 months. After a year out of the game, Paatelainen was appointed manager of Kilmarnock. He was Kilmarnock manager for less than one season, but enjoyed personal success during that time. He was appointed manager of the Finland national team in March 2011, a position he held until June 2015. He was appointed as Dundee United manager in October 2015, parting company with the club in May 2016 after their relegation to the Scottish Championship. He has subsequently managed Ubon United in Thailand, and the national teams of Latvia and Hong Kong.

10. Hannu Tihinen (1976 - )

With an HPI of 35.69, Hannu Tihinen is the 10th most famous Finnish Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Hannu Tihinen (born 1 July 1976) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Since January 2014, he worked as a sports director at the Football Association of Finland. In October 2022, Tihinen was appointed as an expert adviser of FIFA in Global Football Development Division High-Performance -unit. He has played for clubs in Finland, Norway, England, Belgium and Switzerland. Tihinen achieved five championships in three countries in a career that ended in 2010, a cup title in two countries and captained almost all of his club teams.