Kasper Woldemar Hämäläinen (born 8 August 1986) is a Finnish football executive and former professional player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Ykkösliiga club TPS.
Hämäläinen was born in Turku, Finland, where he started his senior career in TPS before moving to Djurgården. Hämäläinen earned 63 caps for the Finland national team, having made his debut in November 2008. He returned to his former club TPS in 2021, and ended his professional career with the club at the end of the 2023 season.KASPER HÄMÄLÄINEN ELÄÄ UUTTA ARKEA – ”AIKA NOPEASTI URA OLI SIINÄ SITTEN”, fc.tps.fi, 21 November 2023
Club career
TPS Turku Born in Turku, Hämäläinen started his career in his hometown club TPS. In June 2008, Portuguese Primeira Liga club C.D. Nacional was keen to sign him, but he was said to be too expensive.Turun Sanomat He visited Italian clubs Roma, Lazio, Udinese and Siena. NEC also showed interest. After the 2008 season, he was near a move to an unnamed Italian club but he chose to stay in Turku to secure play time in the first team.
Djurgårdens IF
In December 2009, it was announced that Swedish club Djurgården had acquired him for a transfer fee of around €300,000. "Kasper" as his shirt says became a star in the Djurgården-shirt and started all the 30 league games in Allsvenskan during both the 2010 and 2011 season. During his two first season he played as a central midfielder besides his fellow country man Daniel Sjölund. In the 2012 pre-season Djurgården manager Magnus Pehrsson tried Hämäläinen in a more offensive role as a trequartista. Hämäläinen did it so well that the move became permanent.
Lech Poznań However, in January 2013, it was announced that Hämäläinen had signed a three-year contract with Polish top-flight side Lech Poznań. The transfer fee was never made public, but it was believed to be around €410.000.Kasper Hämäläinen pelaa jatkossa Puolan hulluimpien fanien edessä (Kasper Hämäläinen will be playing in front of the craziest fans of Poland) ; 29 January 2013; Iltasanomat.fi On 24 February, he scored on his debut in a 4–0 away win over Ruch Chorzów. Hämäläinen gained 14 caps during the spring season of 2013 out of which he was in the starting eleven 12 times. In those 14 matches, he scored three goals.
In December 2015, Hämäläinen decided to not extend his contract with Lech, citing personal reasons and wishing to move elsewhere with his family. He made a total of 131 appearances for Lech, scoring 36 goals and helping the club win the 2014–15 Ekstraklasa and 2015 Polish Super Cup titles.
Legia Warsaw
On 11 January 2016, he joined Lech's archrivals Legia Warsaw on a free transfer, signing a -year deal.
Jablonec
On 6 September 2019, Hämäläinen joined Czech First League club FK Jablonec, signing a two-year deal.
Return to TPS
On 7 May 2021, it was announced that Hämäläinen would return to TPS with a 2.5-year contract. Hämäläinen announced that he will retire from professional football after the 2023 season.Kasper Hämäläinen lopettaa uransa – ”Ikimuistoinen ja tapahtumarikas matka”, Veikkausliiga, 8 September 2023
International career Hämäläinen was part of the Finnish U17 team that represented in the 2003 U17 World Cup held in Finland. He was a regular member of the Finland U21 team that qualified to the 2009 U21 European Championship held in Sweden and played in all Finland's three matches.
He made his national team debut on 19 November 2008 against Switzerland when Stuart Baxter chose him to the starting line up for a match played in St. Gallen.Finland vs Switzerland During UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying he established himself as a regular in the national team. Hämäläinen scored his first international goal on 17 November 2010 against San Marino as he scored a brace in the 8–0 home victory.
Later career On 29 August 2024, it was announced that Hämäläinen would start as a sporting director of his former club Turun Palloseura.KASPER HÄMÄLÄINEN ON TPS:N UUSI URHEILUTOIMENJOHTAJA, fc.tps.fi, 29 August 2024
Personal life Hämäläinen's father Heikki Hämäläinen is a former track and field athlete.
Career statistics Club +Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOther1TotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTPS2003Veikkausliiga200000––202004Veikkausliiga610000––612005Veikkausliiga000000––002006Veikkausliiga1810000––1812007Veikkausliiga2440000––2442008Veikkausliiga223000030–2532009Veikkausliiga2501010––270Total979101030001029Djurgården2010Allsvenskan30210–––3122011Allsvenskan30220–––3222012Allsvenskan30412–––316Total90842–––9410Lech Poznań2012–13Ekstraklasa143––––1432013–14Ekstraklasa36920–40–4292014–15Ekstraklasa361341–41–44152015–16Ekstraklasa15830–12110319Total1013391–2021013136Legia Warsaw2015–16Ekstraklasa11320–––1332016–17Ekstraklasa31711–40003682017–18Ekstraklasa31930–621041112018–19Ekstraklasa17220–4010242Total902181–1422011424Jablonec2019–20Czech First League15220–——172Jablonec B2019–20Bohemian Football League1000–——102020–21Bohemian Football League7100–——71Total8100–000081TPS2021Ykkönen17500–——1752022Ykkönen2852161–—3672023Ykkönen2790030—–309Total7219219100–9321Career total4739326510137430548103
International + Appearances and goals by national team, year and competitionNational teamYearCompetitiveFriendlyTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFinland2008001010200920102020103240722011623193201231609120136141102201430104020156000602016204161201750106020180000002019200020Total386253639
Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Hämäläinen goal.
+ International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competitionNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition117 November 2010Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland112–08–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualification25–0310 August 2011Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia151–02–0Friendly42 September 2011Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland161–04–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualification52–0612 October 2012281–11–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification77 June 2013331–01–0814 August 2013Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland352–02–0Friendly91 June 2016King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium521–01–1
Honours
Lech Poznań Ekstraklasa: 2014–15 Polish Super Cup: 2015
Legia Warsaw Ekstraklasa: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Polish Cup: 2015–16, 2017–18
References
External links
FK Jablonec official profile Kasper Hämäläinen – SPL competition record