Toni Koskela

Toni Koskela (born 16 February 1983) is a Finnish football coach and a former player. He is currently managing HJK where he followed Mika Lehkosuo. Before that he was head coach of RoPS and before that the Under-19 team of HJK.[1] He had to retire his football career in 2009, aged 26, due to numerous injuries on his knee.[2]

Toni Koskela
Koskela with RoPS in 2018.
Personal information
Full name Toni Koskela
Date of birth (1983-02-16) 16 February 1983
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 HJK Helsinki (Head coach)
Youth career
Jokerit
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 FC Jokerit 9 (1)
2003 FC Hämeenlinna 9 (0)
2004–2005 KooTeePee 25 (4)
2005–2006 Cardiff City 2 (0)
2006 Ilisiakos 0 (0)
2006–2007 KooTeePee 11 (2)
2007–2008 Molde FK 52 (4)
2009 JJK 17 (1)
Teams managed
2015 HJK (assistant)
2015 Klubi-04
2015–2017 HJK (U-19)
2018–2019 RoPS
2019– HJK
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 January 2009

After starting his career in Finland, Koskela was snapped up by Football League Championship side Cardiff City but he failed to impress at the club making just three appearances in all competitions, including an FA Cup game against Arsenal.[3] In November 2005 he was close of signing a contract with Bristol City but Cardiff did not want to let him go, so the transfer failed. Eventually he was released by the club and quickly transferred to Greek club Ilisiakos.

He has also played for FC Jokerit, FC Hämeenlinna, FC KooTeePee in the Finnish Veikkausliiga, and Norwegian club Molde FK.

In May 2019, he was named as the new head coach of HJK Helsinki following the sacking of Mika Lehkosuo. He stated that it was good to "return back home" to HJK after signing a 2,5-year deal.[4]

References
  1. "HJK UEFA Youth League 2015-16 squad". UEFA. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. "Polvivamma pakotti Toni Koskelan katsomon puolelle" (in Finnish). veikkausliiga. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  3. "Flop Koskela finished at Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved 14 November 2007
  4. "HJK on nimittänyt uudeksi päävalmentajakseen Toni Koskelan" (in Finnish). HJK Helsinki. Retrieved 22 May 2019.


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