Mika Ojala
 Ojala with Inter Turku | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 June 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Paimio, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2000 | PaiHa | ||
| 2001–2005 | Inter Turku | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2006 | VG-62 | 39 | (8) |
| 2006–2012 | Inter Turku | 175 | (53) |
| 2013 | BK Häcken | 21 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Inter Turku | 33 | (10) |
| 2015–2017 | VfR Aalen | 47 | (10) |
| 2017–2019 | Inter Turku | 64 | (10) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2007–2010 | Finland U21 | 17 | (2) |
| 2010–2014 | Finland | 9 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022–2023 | SJK II (assistant) | ||
| 2023 | SJK II (interim) | ||
| 2023 | SJK II (assistant) | ||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 June 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 December 2015 | |||
Mika Ojala (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈmikɑ ˈʔojɑlɑ]; born 21 June 1988) is a Finnish football coach and a former professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.[1] He began his senior club career playing for VG-62, before signing with Inter Turku at age 18 in 2006.
Ojala made his international debut for Finland in January 2010, at the age of 21.
Club career[edit]
VG-62[edit]
Ojala started his football career in Paimion Haka and later moved to Inter Turku's junior system. He made his debut on senior level at the age of 16 in Inter Turku's reserve team VG-62.
Inter Turku[edit]
Ojala gained his first appearance in Veikkausliiga during season 2006.
On 17 November 2008, he joined the Dutch club Heerenveen for a one-week-trial together with Wilhelm Ingves from IFK Mariehamn.[2] He visited FC Zürich in 2006.
Häcken[edit]
On 9 November 2012, after his contract with Inter had expired, it was announced that Ojala had signed a three-year contract with Swedish topflight club BK Häcken, joining with compatriot Kari Arkivuo.[3]
Return to Inter Turku[edit]
He returned to Inter Turku in February 2014 when he signed a contract for season 2014.
VfR Aalen[edit]
In the beginning of July 2015 Ojala transferred to German 3. Liga side VfR Aalen.
International career[edit]
Ojala was selected in the Finland national squad by Stuart Baxter in August 2008. He was also called up in the U21 squad that reached the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. Ojala made his national team debut on 18 January 2010 as he came from the bench to replace Roni Porokara in friendly match against South Korea at Málaga, Spain where Finland had winter training camp.[4] Ojala gained his second appearance for the national team on 10 August 2011 at Skonto Stadium in a friendly match against Latvia when he and Timo Furuholm replaced Teemu Pukki and Mika Ääritalo as forwards.[5]
Career statistics[edit]
Club[edit]
| Club | Season | League | National cups | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Inter Turku | 2006 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2007 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | |
| 2008 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 8 | |
| 2009 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 7 | |
| 2010 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 7 | |
| 2011 | Veikkausliiga | 32 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 21 | |
| 2012 | Veikkausliiga | 28 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 15 | |
| Total | 175 | 53 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 205 | 62 | ||
| Häcken | 2013 | Allsvenskan | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Inter Turku | 2014 | Veikkausliiga | 16 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 6 |
| 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 7 | |
| Total | 30 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 13 | ||
| VfR Aalen | 2015–16 | 3. Liga | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 |
| 2016–17 | 3. Liga | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | |
| Total | 40 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 10 | ||
| Career total | 266 | 73 | 41 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 314 | 82 | ||
International[edit]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
Honours[edit]
Inter Turku
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: August 2008, June 2011,[9] July 2011,[10]
- Veikkausliiga Midfielder of the Year: 2008,[11] 2011,[12] 2012[13]
- Veikkausliiga Top assist provider: 2011[14]
References[edit]
- ^ "Mika Ojala" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ Trial at Heerenveen
- ^ Mika Ojala siirtyy Ruotsiin Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ "Suomen Palloliitto - Artikkeliarkisto" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Näin Huuhkaijen Latvia-ottelu eteni" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Mika Ojala". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Finland - M. Ojala - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.
- ^ Palloliitto
- ^ Kuukauden valmentaja ja pelaaja kohtaavat perjantaina Archived 11 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ Ojalalle toinen titteli peräkkäin Archived 20 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ^ Veikkausliigan parhaat kaudella 2008 nimetty (in Finnish)
- ^ veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
- ^ Pelipaikkojen parhaat 2012 nimetty (in Finnish)
- ^ veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
External links[edit]
Media related to Mika Ojala at Wikimedia Commons- VfR Aalen official profile (in German)
- Mika Ojala – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Mika Ojala – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Mika Ojala at National-Football-Teams.com
- Mika Ojala at Soccerbase
- Mika Ojala at Soccerway
- 1988 births
- Living people
- Finnish men's footballers
- Finnish expatriate men's footballers
- Finland men's international footballers
- Finland men's under-21 international footballers
- People from Paimio
- Association football coaches
- FC Inter Turku players
- BK Häcken players
- VfR Aalen players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Allsvenskan players
- 3. Liga players
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden
- Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
- Men's association football wingers
- Sportspeople from Southwest Finland