Place of birth Mikkeli, Finland Number 32 Name Jussi Jaaskelainen Height 1.91 m Spouse Tessa Jaaskelainen | Playing position Years Team Role Footballer Weight 81 kg | |
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Full name Jussi Albert Jaaskelainen Date of birth (1975-04-19) 19 April 1975 (age 40) Current team Wigan Athletic F.C. (#32 / Goalkeeper) People also search for Ali Al-Habsi, Tessa Jaaskelainen, Robin Jaaskelainen, Emil Jaaskelainen, William Jaaskelainen Children William Jaaskelainen, Robin Jaaskelainen, Emil Jaaskelainen | ||
Jussi jaaskelainen delivers bitch slap to johnson
Jussi Albert Jaaskelainen ([ˈjussi ˈjaeːskelaei̯nen]; born 19 April 1975) is a Finnish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Wigan Athletic.
Contents
- Jussi jaaskelainen delivers bitch slap to johnson
- Jussi Jskelinen
- Club career
- Bolton Wanderers
- West Ham United
- Wigan Athletic
- International career
- Club
- Personal life
- References
He played for Bolton Wanderers from 1997 until 2012, making 527 appearances across all competitions. He left Bolton for West Ham United at the end of the 2011–12 season after turning down a contract extension, and spent three seasons at West Ham before moving to Wigan Athletic on a free transfer.
Jaaskelainen earned 56 caps for the Finland national football team, making his debut in 1998 and retiring from international football in 2010.
Jussi Jääskeläinen!!
Club career
Jaaskelainen was born in Mikkeli, and made his Veikkausliiga debut for MP Mikkeli in 1992, becoming the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa where he spent two seasons.
Bolton Wanderers
Jaaskelainen was bought by manager Colin Todd for £100,000 for Bolton Wanderers of the Football League First Division in 1997. He soon established himself as the club's first choice keeper, though a cruciate ligament injury ruled him out for half of Bolton's 2000–01 promotion season.
In October 2006 he saved two penalties in one match from Blackburn Rovers' Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts to secure a 1-0 away win. On 13 May 2007, Jaaskelainen received Bolton's "Player of the Year Award" and also the "Players' Player of the Year Award" after helping Bolton secure a UEFA Cup spot for only the second time in their history. Despite much speculation linking him with a move away from Bolton when his contract expired following the 2007–08 season, Jaaskelainen agreed a new four-year contract on 11 June, which he signed on 9 July.
His 400th appearance came against Manchester City on 2 November 2008, with his 400th start coming six days later against Hull City. In January 2009 he saved another penalty from Benni McCarthy in a match against Blackburn Rovers, now managed by his former manager Sam Allardyce, to secure a 2–2 draw. After twelve years, Jaaskelainen was granted a testimonial match against Hibernian in August 2009 in which he kept a clean sheet.
His 500th appearance came against Birmingham City on 12 March 2011 in an FA Cup Quarter-Final and his 500th start a week later at Manchester United.
In 2012, in the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards, a double-save from Jaaskelainen against Manchester United on 20 October 2001 came third in a poll deciding the best save in the Premier League's 20-year existence.
At the end of the 2011–12 season Bolton were relegated from the Premier League and Jaaskelainen rejected a two-year contract ending 15 years with the club. He made 530 appearances in all competitions, putting him joint third in Bolton's all time appearance list.
West Ham United
On 13 June 2012, West Ham confirmed that Jaaskelainen had agreed personal terms on a one-year deal with an option for a second year. Jaaskelainen was once again reunited with former manager Sam Allardyce, under whom he worked for eight years at Bolton Wanderers. Jaaskelainen made his debut for West Ham on 18 August 2012 in a 1–0 win against Aston Villa. On 12 April 2013, the option for contract extension was activated, keeping Jaaskelainen with "the Hammers" until summer 2014. He played all 38 games of West Ham's 2012–13 season, in the Premier League and was named runner-up in the Hammer of the year. He played 18 games in the next Premier League season before being dropped in January for Adrian.
On 4 June 2014, signed a new one-year contract extension with West Ham keeping him at the club until the end of the 2014–15 season, saying "Physically I feel good and I felt good last season so I hope I can carry on from there." Jaaskelainen played just one game for West Ham in the 2014–15 season, coming on for Carlton Cole after Adrian had been sent-off in a goalless draw at Southampton on 11 February 2015. He was released at the end of the campaign.
Wigan Athletic
After his release from West Ham, Jaaskelainen trialled with Bradford City. On 11 August 2015, he signed a one-year deal with Wigan Athletic of League One. Initially back-up to fellow incomer Richard O'Donnell, he made his debut on 3 October at the age of 40, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw with Walsall at the DW Stadium.
International career
Jaaskelainen made his debut for Finland on 25 March 1998 against Malta. He was Finland's second choice behind Antti Niemi for years, but after Niemi retired from international football in 2005, Jaaskelainen finally became the Finnish number one. On 29 October 2009 Jaaskelainen announced his retirement from international football having collected 55 caps for his country. In explaining his decision Jaaskelainen stated that he hoped that it would allow him to prolong his club career. However, on 6 October 2010 Jaaskelainen announced his comeback to national team in a match against Hungary as Otto Fredrikson was unable to play because of an injury but confirmed that this was just a one-off.
Club
As of 13 February 2015* includes 2 play off matches
Personal life
Jaaskelainen's son William plays for Bolton's youth teams, in the same position.