Antti Peltonen (born 22 April 1984) is a Finnish football coach and a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently working as a mental coach for Dutch club Heerenveen women, for Norwegian club Tromsø IL academy and for Finnish club SJK Seinäjoki.
Playing career Peltonen played in the youth program of Ilves in Tampere. During his senior career, he played in top-tier Veikkausliiga for Atlantis, Jaro, Lahti and Vaasan Palloseura (VPS). He has also represented PP-70, KPV, Viikingit, Lapuan Virkiä and TPV in lower divisions.
He has also represented Finland at under-17, under-18 and under-21 youth international levels. Peltonen represented Finland at the European Under-16 Championship in England in 2001, the European Championship qualifiers in Latvia in 2002, and the High School World Championship in Italy in 2001.
Coaching career Peltonen was the first Finnish mental coach in the Veikkausliiga, working for SJK Seinäjoki, where they won the Finnish Cup and the Veikkausliiga bronze medal. In 2018–2019, Peltonen worked as a sports therapist for the Football Players' Association, .
From 2020 to 2022, Peltonen worked for Veikkausliiga club HJK Helsinki, winning three consecutive Finnish championships and the Finnish Cup.
In the summer of 2023, Peltonen became the first Finnish mental health professional in a foreign football organization when he started working for Raufoss IL, which plays in the Norwegian second tier. In the 2023 season, Raufoss reached 9th place in the league and the quarter-finals of the Norwegian Cup, and in the 2024 season, they reached 8th place and the quarter-finals of the cup.
In September 2024, Peltonen started also working for the women's team of Heerenveen. In addition, he is also working part time with SJK Seinäjoki.
In early 2025, Peltonen began working at the academy of Tromsø IL.Antti Peltonen, 39, on harvinainen mielen mestari – Kun ylöjärveläinen luovutti täysin, syntyi historialliseen pestiin vienyt oivallus, Aamulehti, 19 September 2023Kun suomalaishuipun mieli järkkyy, hän kääntyy usein tämän miehen puoleen – nyt Antti Peltonen värvättiin ulkomaille: "Haluan tehdä kovan kansainvälisen uran", mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 14 June 2023“Psyykkiset taidot ovat ratkaisevin tekijä huipulle murtautumisessa” – nyt ulkomaisiin huippuseuroihin psyykkiseksi valmentajaksi ponnistanut Antti Peltonen kertoo miksi, Apu, 22 April 2025
Peltonen is a DipHE by education.Jalkapallon suomalainen erityisosaaja teki historiaa – ovia aukeaa nyt tiheään tahtiin: "Se on tärkeä työ", mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 21 September 2024
Personal life Peltonen has previously been part of a Finnish male show dance group .Yle: Scandinavian Hunks villitsi vanhuksia helsinkiläisessä palvelukodissa, Karjalainen, 18 January 2018 He was also the Bachelor in the Finnish version of the Bachelor reality TV-show in 2008.Unelmien poikamies Antti Peltonen: Pintaliito on osaltani ohi, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 13 January 2010Muistatko Unelmien poikamies -Antin? Työskentelee nykyään suomalaisessa huippuseurassa, Ilta-Sanomat, 12 October 2016”Unelmien poikamies” kouri rintoja baarissa - sai nyrkistä, Iltalehti, 14 May 2009
References
External links Antti Peltonen, stats at Football Association of Finland