Mika Väyrynen (born 28 December 1981) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder, and a football coach, most recently serving as the head coach of Honka in Kakkonen. After his playing career, Väyrynen has also worked as an assistant coach of Klubi 04 and HJK, and as a head coach of Klubi 04.
Early life Väyrynen was born in Eskilstuna, Sweden, where his Finnish father worked. He grew up in Karjaa, Finland.
Club career
Early career Väyrynen started his career with FC Lahti and joined FC Jokerit for the 2001 season.
Heerenveen Midway through that year Heerenveen beat Inter Milan to his signature, Väyrynen opting for the Dutch club in order to have a better chance of a regular starting place. The transfer fee was not disclosed but is rumoured to be in seven figures.Mika Väyrynen siirtyy Hollantiin, Yle He immediately broke into the Heerenveen side, though the switch from a summer to winter season meant he began to suffer from injury problems. However, in 2003–04 he became their key player in midfield, and ended up scoring 17 goals in 100 Eredivisie games.
PSV In the summer of 2005, Väyrynen joined PSV, upon joining stating, "PSV is the best option for me. At Heerenveen I learned to play more simple football. I am not the player I was in Finland any more, tactically and physically especially I have grown a lot." He was brought in to replace Mark van Bommel by PSV manager Guus Hiddink. Väyrynen was, however, ruled out for much of the early 2005–06 season with an ankle injury. Väyrynen returned to action as a substitute on 17 December 2005 against Willem II, and immediately scored his first goal for PSV. He was not able to earn a regular starting place in the spring season, and mostly made substitute appearances, as PSV secured the Dutch title for the second year in a row.
Väyrynen was linked with a move to RangersRangers Target Mika Up For Sale (from Evening Times) and newly promoted Premier League side Derby County as they looked to strengthen for the 2007–08 season. Väyrynen almost moved to Derby in August 2007, but the move collapsed because of a calf injury.
In the summer of 2008, Väyrynen was again linked with Rangers and an undisclosed Belgian team, believed to be Club Brugge.PSV put him on the transfer list and asked for £750,000 for him. He was also linked with Derby for the second time on 22 July 2008, according to Derby's local radio, despite their relegation to the Championship.
Heerenveen On 31 August 2008, two days before the closing of the transfer window, Väyrynen was signed by former club Heerenveen to a contract until 2011 with an option of one year more. He picked up a knee injury in a January 2009 match against Ajax which ruled him out of play until the end of 2009. In his final season at Heerenveen, he scored 9 league goals for the club in 30 games.
Leeds United On 13 September 2011, Väyrynen, now a free agent, signed a one-year deal – with an option of a further year – with English Championship side Leeds United. Väyrynen was rumoured to have been on the verge of signing Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg at the time Leeds came in for him.
In signing for Leeds, Väyrynen joined compatriot Mikael Forssell at Elland Road. Väyrynen made his first appearance in a Leeds squad on 20 September, he was named on the bench against rivals Manchester United, and was brought on with Forssell in the 52nd minute. Väyrynen made his league debut as a substitute in the 3–3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on 23 September, coming on for the last nine minutes. He made his Elland Road league debut against Portsmouth on 1 October, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 win. He made his first start for Leeds on 22 October, coming into the side for the injured Robert Snodgrass against Peterborough United.
Väyrynen was ruled out for a few weeks when he had groin surgery which also ruled him out of some of the international fixtures with Finland. He returned as a substitute for Leeds against Watford on 10 December, and he made an immediate impact when he won an injury time penalty for Leeds to equalise. His second start came in Leeds 4–1 loss against Barnsley on 31 December 2011.
On 16 April, Leeds united terminated Väyrynen's contract by mutual consent after eight months at the club.
HJK Helsinki Since leaving Leeds, Väyrynen had been training with HJK Helsinki in order to maintain match fitness. On 10 July, HJK announced that Väyrynen had signed a three-month contract with the club.HJK:lle huippuvahvistus He made his debut one week later, scoring from a penalty, in a 7−0 home win against KR Reykjavik in UEFA Champions League qualifiers. He made in total of 12 league appearances, scoring three goals, as HJK were crowned as league champions for the fourth consecutive season.
On 1 February 2013, Väyrynen signed a two-year contract extension with HJK.
LA Galaxy
In February 2015, Väyrynen trialed with LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer and signed with them on 6 March 2015. On 15 March 2015, he made his debut against the Portland Timbers, coming off the bench in the 62nd minute and replacing Baggio Hušidić in an eventual 2–2 draw.
International career
Väyrynen was a key player for the Finland national team. He made his debut on 20 March 2002 against South Korea. Väyrynen's breakthrough for Finland came in June 2003, when he was the star performer in matches against Serbia and Montenegro and Italy. Väyrynen was also a key player for Finland at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Managerial career In 2018, Väyrynen started as an assistant coach of Klubi 04, the reserve team of HJK Helsinki. In May 2019, Väyrynen was promoted to an assistant coach of HJK first team. He was named the head coach of Klubi 04 for the 2021 season, when the club played in Ykkönen.
On 24 November 2023, Väyrynen was named the manager of new Honka Akatemia.Mika Väyrynen miesten edustusjoukkueen päävalmentajaksi – Toiminnan suunnittelu hyvällä mallilla!, fchonka.fi, 24 November 2023 The club gained a position of Kakkonen from FC Honka's former reserve team, after Esport Honka was declared bankruptcy in November 2023.
Television career After his retirement, Väyrynen has also worked as a studio commentator for C More Finland for the UEFA Champions League and international matches.”Perheen leffailloissa laitetaan kaikki peliin”, Iltalehti, 7 October 2021Super Cup saapuu Helsinkiin – C More välittää Olympiastadionin ottelutapahtumat ympäri maailman, mtvpressi.fi, 5 August 2022
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLahti1999Veikkausliiga1511512000Veikkausliiga21102110Finland36113611Jokerit2001Veikkausliiga304304Heerenveen2001–02Eredivisie1801802002–03Eredivisie2242242003–04Eredivisie3253252004–05Eredivisie298298Total1011710117PSV2005–06Eredivisie11220101422006–07Eredivisie17040812912007–08Eredivisie10002030Total29260111463Heerenveen2008–09Eredivisie17130622632009–10Eredivisie10110311422010–11Eredivisie30911003110Total571151937115Leeds United2011–12Championship10010–110HJK Helsinki2012Veikkausliiga11300411542013Veikkausliiga300000302014Veikkausliiga25231101384Finland39531142568LA Galaxy2015MLS1900041231HIFK2016Veikkausliiga1401402017Veikkausliiga27041311Total410451Career total2754811124531054
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsFinland200210200370200480200520200682200760200891200900201072201180201210201320201420201520Total645
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Väyrynen goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Mika VäyrynenNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 16 August 2006 Helsinki, Finland 1–2 Friendly2 2 September 2006 Bydgoszcz, Poland 3–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying3 10 September 2008 Helsinki, Finland 3–3 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification4 3 March 2010 Ta'Qali, Malta 2–1 Friendly5 17 November 2010 Helsinki, Finland 8–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
Honours PSV Eredivisie: 2005–06, 2006–07
Heerenveen KNVB Cup: 2008–09
HJK Veikkausliiga: 2012, 2013, 2014 Finnish Cup: 2014
Individual Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016
References
External links