Markus Heikkinen
Encyclopedia
Markus "Mako" Heikkinen is a Swedish born, Finnish
footballer, who currently plays for SK Rapid Wien
in the Austrian Bundesliga
. Heikkinen can play either as a defensive midfielder or central defender.
His previous clubs include OPS
, TPS Turku
, MyPa
, HJK
, Portsmouth
, Aberdeen
and Luton Town
.
During his two years with Aberdeen
, Heikkinen was popular and important player, who usually featured in central midfield, where he had a reputation as a tough tackling and dependable player. Despite repeated attempts by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood
to get the player to sign a new deal, he indicated that he was unsettled at Aberdeen and wanted to move on.
On 29 December 2006, in a game for Luton against Birmingham City
he was feared to have a compound fracture of the fibula, however it was in fact a nasty gash down his leg, after a late challenge by midfielder Fabrice Muamba
. He returned to action against Stoke City
on 17 February 2007.
. He immediately became an important defensive player to his native team. He often played as defensive midfielder. However he returned to his old position as centre back in 2010, after Hannu Tihinen
retired in professional football. He announced his retirement from international football on 26 September 2011 .
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Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
footballer, who currently plays for SK Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...
in the Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...
. Heikkinen can play either as a defensive midfielder or central defender.
Club career
An integral part of the Luton side that finished 10th in The Championship in the 2005-2006 season, Heikkinen collected four awards – the Player of the Year trophy, Players’ Player of the Season, Internet Player of the Season and the Luton News Player of the Season.His previous clubs include OPS
OPS
-Organizations:*Office of Protective Services*Office of Public Safety*Presidential Communications Operations Office , known as Office of the Press Secretary*Optical Position Sensor, an electronic device*Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg...
, TPS Turku
Turun Palloseura
Turun Palloseura, TPS for short and nicknamed Tepsi, is a Finnish football club based in Turku. The club was founded in 1922. TPS currently play in the Veikkausliiga, the highest level of Finnish football. They play their home matches at the 9,372 seater Veritas Stadion, Turku.-History:FC TPS Turku...
, MyPa
MyPa
Myllykosken Pallo –47 is a Finnish football club, based in the industrial town of Myllykoski, part of the city of Kouvola since January 2009. They currently play in the Finnish Premier Division...
, HJK
HJK Helsinki
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi , internationally known as HJK Helsinki, is a Finnish football club, based in the capital Helsinki...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
and Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
.
During his two years with Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
, Heikkinen was popular and important player, who usually featured in central midfield, where he had a reputation as a tough tackling and dependable player. Despite repeated attempts by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood
Jimmy Calderwood
James "Jimmy" Calderwood is a Scottish former footballer and currently without a club having recently been manager of Ross County. Calderwood played for English clubs Birmingham City and Cambridge United and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo...
to get the player to sign a new deal, he indicated that he was unsettled at Aberdeen and wanted to move on.
On 29 December 2006, in a game for Luton against Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
he was feared to have a compound fracture of the fibula, however it was in fact a nasty gash down his leg, after a late challenge by midfielder Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Ndala Muamba is a footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers as a midfielder in the Premier League. He previously played for Arsenal and Birmingham City. At international level, he has represented England at under-21 level....
. He returned to action against Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
on 17 February 2007.
International career
Heikkinen made his national team debut on 4 January 2002 against BahrainBahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
. He immediately became an important defensive player to his native team. He often played as defensive midfielder. However he returned to his old position as centre back in 2010, after Hannu Tihinen
Hannu Tihinen
Hannu Tihinen is a retired Finnish footballer who played as a defender.He has played for clubs in Finland, Norway, England, Belgium and Switzerland.-Club career:...
retired in professional football. He announced his retirement from international football on 26 September 2011 .
International
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External links
- Profile at skrapid.at
- Profile at FA of Finland's official website
- Profile at ESPNsoccernet