Toni Kolehmainen

Toni Kolehmainen

Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-07-20) 20 July 1988
Place of birth	Oulu, Finland
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defensive Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Wisła Puławy
Number	31
Youth career
2004–2005	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	OLS Oulu	14	(0)
2006–2007	AC Oulu	25	(3)
2007–2009	AZ	0	(0)
2009	AC Oulu	5	(1)
2010–2012	TPS Turku	72	(7)
2012–2015	Hønefoss	42	(0)
2015–2017	HJK Helsinki	36	(1)
2017	Wisła Puławy	10	(0)
International career‡
2008–2010	Finland U-21	6	(0)
2012–	Finland	8	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 August 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 January 2015

Toni Kolehmainen (born 20 July 1988) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He had previously played for AZ in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Kolehmainen also played in Blackburn Rovers' youth academy during 2004–05.

Early career

After ending his stay with Blackburn Rovers' youth academy Toni returned to Finland to play for OLS Oulu. In 2006, he joined town rival AC Oulu and helped the club gain promotion to the Veikkausliiga. His play with AC Oulu led to interest from Dutch Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar who signed Kolehmainen in 2007.

Club career

During his time with AZ he was primarily a member of the reserve squad. In 2008, he was promoted to the first team squad by Louis van Gaal and made his debut in a 3-0 KNVB Cup victory over Achilles '29. Once the 2009 season concluded Kolehmainen did not exercise the option on his contract with AZ and returned to AC Oulu for a brief stay, which led to a promotion after the season.

Kolehmainen however left Oulu and went on signing a two-year contract with TPS in February 2010.

After some promising performances, Kolehmainen was spotted by Hønefoss BK, where he would reunite with a TPS teammate Riku Riski. A long-term contract was signed on 31 August 2012.

Kolehmainen retired in 2017, finishing his career at Polish side Wisła Puławy.

Kolehmainen is currently based in Malta where he works as a director within the gaming industry at Rootz Ltd, often providing insights at events and conferences.

International career

On 22 January 2012 Kolehmainen scored for Finland in his senior level debut, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago.

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 January 2012	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	2−2	2−3	Friendly
2.	3 June 2012	Võru, Estonia	Latvia	1−0	1−1 (6-7 p)	Baltic Cup final
3.	14 November 2012	Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	0−3	0−3	Friendly

Honours

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: September 2010

External links

• Kolehmainen at AZ fan page (in Dutch)
• Kolehmainen player card at AC Oulu (in Finnish)
• A wonderkid from escadinavian soccer
• Toni Kolehmainen at Soccerway