Timo Furuholm (born 11 October 1987) is a Finnish politician and a former professional football forward. He is currently a member of the Parliament of Finland, for the Left Alliance. Furuholm was born in Pori, Finland where he started his senior career in local FC Jazz. He made his Veikkausliiga debut at age 15 in 2003.

Timo Furuholm
Timo Furuholm during a match in 2018 in Turku
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-10-11) 11 October 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Pori, Finland[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
0000–2002 Toejoen Veikot
2003 Jazz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 Jazz 4 (0)
2004 Musan Salama 21 (17)
2005–2011 Inter Turku 95 (40)
2012–2013 Fortuna Düsseldorf 9 (0)
2013Hallescher FC (loan) 16 (8)
2013–2016 Hallescher FC 87 (27)
2017–2021 Inter Turku 131 (45)
International career
Finland U17 3 (1)
2008 Finland U21 2 (0)
2010–2013 Finland 10 (2)
Medal record
Finland national football team
Second place Baltic Cup 2012
FC Inter Turku
Second place Finnish League Cup 2007
First place Finnish League Cup 2008
First place Veikkausliiga 2008
First place Finnish Cup 2009
Second place Veikkausliiga 2011
Hallescher FC
Second place Saxony-Anhalt Cup 2014
First place Saxony-Anhalt Cup 2015
First place Saxony-Anhalt Cup 2016
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Furuholm made his international debut for Finland in January 2010, at the age of 22.

Club career

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Early career

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In 2003, Furuholm made his Veikkausliiga debut for FC Jazz, playing against FF Jaro at the age of 16. At the time, he was the youngest player ever to make an appearance in the Finnish top flight. In 2004, he played for another Pori based team, Musan Salama in the Finnish II division, making 21 appearances and scoring 17 goals.

FC Inter Turku

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In 2005, he signed with FC Inter Turku. He has since suffered from multiple injuries. During the 2007 season he made 14 appearances and two goals for Inter. In the next season he missed three months because of a knee injury, and was only able to make nine appearances and four goals. The following season he was finally able to play the whole season without injuries, making in total of 23 appearances and scoring impressive 11 league goals. He however missed almost the whole 2010 season as he injured himself in the early days of the season (only four appearances, no goals). The 2011 season was finally his breakthrough, as he went on scoring 22 league goals and only losing by one goal to Kimmo Tarkkio and Valeri Popovitch as the record goalscorer in Veikkausliiga. After the 2011 season, his contract with Inter expired and he became a free agent.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

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On 10 January 2012, it was announced that 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf had signed Furuholm, with a contract running until June 2014.[2] A year later, he signed for Hallescher FC on loan, joining his compatriot, Kristian Kojola. He scored two minutes into his debut for the club, a 1–1 draw with Stuttgarter Kickers, and ended the season with eight goals, making him Halle's top scorer for the season.

Hallescher

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Timo Furuholm during a training match in 2013 in Esens.

On 26 August 2013, Hallescher FC made the move permanent and announced they had signed Furuholm on a two-year deal.[3] During season 2013–14 he scored 12 goals and was the best scorer of his team and eight best in the league.[4]

Return to FC Inter Turku

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On 7 December 2016 it was announced that Furuholm would return to Inter Turku.[5]

International career

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Furuholm made his international debut for the Finnish national team in January 2010, as he came from the bench to replace Hermanni Vuorinen in a friendly match against South Korea at Málaga, Spain.[6] He scored his first national goal on 10 August 2011 in a friendly against Latvia and second goal on 20 February 2012 in match against Austria.[7] He was chosen for the starting line up for the first time on 25 May 2012 in a match against Turkey.[8]

Personal life

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Timo Furuholm is the son of former Finnish footballer and Eurosport commentator Tapio Furuholm. He is married and has a daughter who was born in February 2014.[9]

Outside football

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In 2020, Furuholm started social science studies at the University of Turku.

In 2021 Finnish municipal elections, Furuholm became a member of the Turku city council for the Left Alliance, receiving 865 votes in his first election.[10] He became a member of the Parliament of Finland in 2023 Finnish parliamentary election.[11][12][13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 29 April 2017[14][15]
Club Season League Domestic Cups[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jazz 2003 Veikkausliiga 4 0 0 0 4 0
MuSa 2004 Kakkonen 18 17 0 0 18 17
VG-62 2004 Ykkönen 2 1 0 0 2 1
Inter Turku 2005 Veikkausliiga 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
2006 Veikkausliiga 7 0 0 0 7 0
2007 Veikkausliiga 14 2 0 0 14 2
2008 Veikkausliiga 9 4 0 0 9 4
2009 Veikkausliiga 23 11 0 0 2[b] 0 25 11
2010 Veikkausliiga 4 0 5 3 1[c] 0 10 3
2011 Veikkausliiga 33 22 3 1 10 3
Total 95 40 8 4 3 0 107 44
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2011-12 2. Bundesliga 9 0 0 0 9 0
Fortuna Düsseldorf II 2011–12 Regionalliga West 1 0 1 0
2012–13 Regionalliga West 6 0 6 0
Total 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Hallescher FC (loan) 2012-13 3. Liga 16 8 0 0 16 8
Hallescher FC 2013-14 3. Liga 32 12 0 0 32 12
2014-15 3. Liga 35 12 2 1 37 13
2015-16 3. Liga 18 3 1 0 19 3
2016-17 3. Liga 2 0 2 3 4 3
Total 87 27 5 4 0 0 92 31
Inter Turku 2017 Veikkausliiga 31 9 7 5 38 14
2018 Veikkausliiga 29 9 7 3 36 12
2019 Veikkausliiga 25 10 4 2 2[c] 1 31 13
2020 Veikkausliiga 21 10 7 3 1[c] 0 29 13
2021 Veikkausliiga 25 7 5 2 2[d] 0 32 9
Total 131 45 30 15 5 1 166 61
Career total 369 143 43 23 8 1 420 167

International goals

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# Date Location Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 August 2011 Riga   Latvia 2–0 2–0 Friendly
2. 29 February 2012 Klagenfurt   Austria 1–3 1–3 Friendly

International

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As of 15 October 2013[16][17]
National team Year Apps Goals
Finland
2010 1 0
2011 4 1
2012 3 1
2013 2 0
Total 10 2

Honours and achievements

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Inter Turku

Hallescher FC

Individual

  • Veikkausliiga Striker of the Year: 2011[20]
  • Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2020[21]

References

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  1. ^ Timo Furuholm at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ "Fortuna verpflichtet Stürmer Timo Furuholm" [Furuholm joins Düsseldorf] (in German). Fortuna Düsseldorf. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Willkommen zurück! Timo Furuholm unterschreibt Zweijahresvertrag" (in German). Hallescher FC. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Summary – 3. Liga". Soccerway. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Maalitykki Furuholm palaa FC Interiin" (in Finnish). FC Inter Turku. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Etelä-Korea kaatoi Huuhkajat" (in Finnish). palloliitto.fi. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Mika Ojala A-maajoukkueen valopilkku Itävallassa" (in Finnish). fcinter.fi. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. ^ "17-vuotias debytoi Huuhkajissa lauantaina" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Kulttiasemassa Hallescherissa" (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  10. ^ Kuntavaalit, Turun Sanomat archive
  11. ^ Timo Furuholm, Left Alliance
  12. ^ Timo Furuholm luki ylioppilaaksi, pääsi yliopistoon ja nyt eduskuntaan – lasten toive ei toteutunut, Helsingin Sanomat, 3 April 2023
  13. ^ von Bernd, Jolitz (26 February 2021). "In seinem Heimatland Dieser frühere Fortune wird jetzt Politiker" (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Timo Furuholm". National Football Teams. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Timo Furuholm". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Timo Furuholm" (in Finnish). palloliitto.fi. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  17. ^ Timo Furuholm at National-Football-Teams.com
  18. ^ FC Interin Timo Furuholm Veikkausliigan toukokuun pelaaja Archived 4 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
  19. ^ veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
  20. ^ veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish)
  21. ^ "Pallo-Koplan Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue on valittu". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
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