Mika Antero Kottila, nicknamed Hirvi, (born 22 September 1974) is a Finnish former professional footballer. He played as a forward and spent the vast majority of his career playing in Nordic countries.[2][3]

Mika Kottila
Personal information
Full name Mika Antero Kottila
Date of birth (1974-09-22) 22 September 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Vantaa, Finland
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993 Helsingin Ponnistus 26 (8)
1994–1995 HJK 33 (6)
1996 RoPS 14 (2)
1996–1997 Hereford United 13 (1)
1997–1998 HJK 51 (8)
1999 Brann[1] 13 (1)
2000–2001 Trelleborg 45 (9)
2002–2004 HJK 74 (33)
2005–2006 Lahti 32 (6)
International career
1998–2004 Finland 31 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Kottila was born in Vantaa, Finland. He joined RoPS in 1992. He had a spell on loan at Hereford United during the 1996–97 season. He made 13 league appearances, scoring 1 goal.

He then joined HJK Helsinki for the second of three spells, having previously played for the club during the 1994 season. He made 157 appearances and scored 56 goals for the club during his three spells. The top moment of his career came when he scored two goals for HJK in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 1998.

He joined a Norwegian Tippeligaen club SK Brann for a €500,000 transfer fee, where he was in the 1999 season,[1] and then Sweden to play for Trelleborgs FF. A third spell at HJK followed between 2002 and 2004. He also featured in the 2004 UEFA Champions League playing against the likes of Linfield and Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. in the qualifying rounds.

Between 2005 and 2006 he played for FC Lahti in the Finnish Premier Division.

Career statistics

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As of 1 September 2024.[4][5]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MPS 1991 Kolmonen
1992 Kolmonen
Total 37 21 0 0 0 0 37 21
Ponnistus 1992 Kakkonen 26 8 26 8
HJK 1994 Veikkausliiga 12 2 2[b] 1 14 3
1995 Veikkausliiga 21 4 3[c] 2 24 6
Total 33 6 0 0 5 3 38 9
RoPS 1996 Veikkausliiga 14 2 14 2
Hereford United 1996–97 Third Division 13 1 13 1
HJK 1997 Veikkausliiga 25 7 2[b] 0 27 7
1998 Veikkausliiga 26 1 1 0 9[d] 2 36 3
Total 51 8 1 0 11 2 63 10
Brann 1999 Tippeligaen 13 1 2 2 15 3
Brann 2 1999 2. divisjon 1 0 1 0
Trelleborg 2000 Allsvenskan 23 7 23 7
2001 Allsvenskan 22 2 22 2
Total 45 9 0 0 0 0 45 9
HJK 2002 Veikkausliiga 29 18 2[e] 0 31 18
2003 Veikkausliiga 23 11 1 0 4[d] 1 28 12
2004 Veikkausliiga 22 7 4[d] 2 26 9
Total 74 36 1 0 10 2 85 38
Lahti 2005 Veikkausliiga 25 4 25 4
2006 Veikkausliiga 7 2 7 2
Total 32 6 0 0 0 0 32 6
Career total 339 97 4 2 26 7 369 106
  1. ^ Includes Suomen Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearancess in UEFA Euro Cup

International career

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He was capped 31 times for Finland, scoring 6 goals between 1998 and 2004.

References

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  1. ^ a b Nielsen, Atle (2008). Sportsklubben Brann: 100 år med tro, håp og kjærlighet (in Norwegian). Bergen: Schibsted. p. 252. ISBN 978-82-516-2658-3.
  2. ^ Mika "Hirvi" Kottila haluaa hoitaa isyyden kunnialla maaliin ennen kuin harkitsee valmentajapestiä – Ex-futari on ollut lasten kanssa kotona jokaisena kouluaamuna, Vantaan Sanomat, 14 November 2021
  3. ^ Mika Kottila lopettaa uransa, Ilta-Sanomat, 10 October 2006
  4. ^ Mika Kottila stats, Finnish FA
  5. ^ Mika Kottila, National-Football-Teams