Mihkel Aksalu

Mihkel Aksalu (born 7 November 1984) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Estonia national team. He most lately played for Veikkausliiga club SJK.

Mihkel Aksalu
Aksalu with Estonia in 2019
Personal information
Full name Mihkel Aksalu[1]
Date of birth (1984-11-07) 7 November 1984
Place of birth Kuressaare, Estonia
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 Sörve 39 (0)
2000 Kuressaare 1 (0)
2003 HÜJK Emmaste 10 (0)
2003–2005 Tervis Pärnu 29 (0)
2003–2009 Flora 115 (0)
2004 Lelle 2 (0)
2006 Flora II 6 (0)
2010–2012 Sheffield United 0 (0)
2010 → Mansfield Town (loan) 2 (0)
2012 Flora II 1 (0)
2012 Flora 7 (0)
2013–2019 SJK 221 (0)
National team‡
1999–2000 Estonia U16 4 (0)
Estonia U17 2 (0)
2003 Estonia U20 1 (0)
2004–2007 Estonia U21 13 (0)
2007– Estonia 45 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 October 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 October 2019

Club career

Kuressaare

Aksalu joined the youth system of his hometown club Kuressaare and played for their reserve team Muhumaa (renamed Sörve in 2002). He made his debut in the Meistriliiga in his single appearance for Kuressaare on 23 September 2000, in a 4–1 away win over Valga.

Flora

In December 2002, Aksalu was included in Flora's first team squad for pre-season training.[2] During his first seasons with the club, he mostly played for the club's reserve side Tervis Pärnu. Aksalu became a regular starter for Flora in the 2006 season. His first trophy with Flora came in the 2007–08 Estonian Cup.

Sheffield United

On 29 January 2010, following a successful trial, Aksalu signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Championship club Sheffield United for a transfer fee of £180,000. Kevin Blackwell, Sheffield United's manager at the time, claimed Aksalu was the best goalkeeping triallist he had seen in a long time and had the potential to become Estonia's number one.[3] However, Aksalu failed to impress new manager Gary Speed and was unable to break into the first team.

On 6 October 2010, Aksalu joined Conference National club Mansfield Town on a two-month loan.[4][5] He remained sidelined through most of his spell due to an abdominal muscle problem, making only three appearances before returning to Bramall Lane in December. After a lengthy spell on the sidelines following back surgery, Aksalu was released by the club on 19 January 2012.[6]

Return to Flora

Following his release, Aksalu returned to Estonia and began training with his former club Flora to regain his fitness. He rejoined the team on 9 April 2012.[7]

SJK
Aksalu with SJK in 2015

On 4 April 2013, Aksalu signed a one-year contract with Ykkönen club SJK.[8] He made his debut for the team on 4 May 2013, in a 2–1 home win over PK-35 Vantaa. SJK won the 2013 Ykkönen and were promoted to the Veikkausliiga. In October 2013, Aksalu signed a new two-year contract with the club.[9] On 24 August 2015, his contract was extended to 2017.[10] Aksalu won the Veikkausliiga title in the 2015 season.[11] He was named league's Best Goalkeeper and SJK's Player of the Year.[12] Aksalu was named club captain ahead of the 2016 season. On 24 September 2016, Aksalu helped his team win the 2016 Finnish Cup by saving two penalties in a shootout against HJK in the final.[13]

International career

Aksalu has represented Estonia at under-16, under-17, under-20 and under-21 levels, amassing 20 youth appearances overall.[14]

He made his senior international debut for Estonia on 17 October 2007, playing the first half of a friendly match against Montenegro, where he conceded the only goal of the game. In 2015, he succeeded Sergei Pareiko as Estonia's number one goalkeeper.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 21 September 2019.[1][15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sörve2000Esiliiga110———110
2001II liiga160———160
2002II liiga120———120
Total390———390
Kuressaare2000Meistriliiga1000———10
HÜJK Emmaste2003II liiga10000———100
Tervis Pärnu2003Esiliiga7010——2[lower-alpha 3]0100
2004Esiliiga15010———160
2005Esiliiga7000———70
Total29020——20330
Flora2003Meistriliiga1000—000010
2005Meistriliiga8030—00—110
2006Meistriliiga15020—001[lower-alpha 4]0180
2007Meistriliiga30000—2[lower-alpha 5]04[lower-alpha 6]0360
2008Meistriliiga30020—2[lower-alpha 5]02[lower-alpha 6]0360
2009Meistriliiga31030—2[lower-alpha 5]03[lower-alpha 7]0390
Total1150100—601001410
Lelle2004II liiga2000———20
Flora II2006Esiliiga6000———60
Sheffield United2009–10Championship000000——00
2010–11Championship000000——00
2011–12League One000000—0000
Total000000—0000
Mansfield Town (loan)2010–11Conference National201000—0030
Flora II2012Esiliiga1000———10
Flora2012Meistriliiga7020—000090
SJK2013Ykkönen26000———260
2014Veikkausliiga3002060——380
2015Veikkausliiga32010302[lower-alpha 5]0—380
2016Veikkausliiga31020402[lower-alpha 8]0—390
2017Veikkausliiga32060—2[lower-alpha 5]0—400
2018Veikkausliiga18060———240
2019Veikkausliiga15020———170
Total184019013060—2220
Total39603401301201204670
  1. Includes the Estonian Cup, FA Cup and Finnish Cup
  2. Includes the Finnish League Cup
  3. Appearances in Esiliiga promotion play-offs
  4. Appearance in Estonian Supercup
  5. Appearances in UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearances in Baltic League
  7. One appearance in Estonian Supercup, two appearances in Baltic League
  8. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International
As of match played 26 March 2019.[17]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Estonia
200720
200830
200910
201030
201210
201310
201430
201570
201680
201780
201870
201910
Total450

Honours

Club

Flora

SJK

Individual
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References
  1. "Mihkel Aksalu" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  2. "Flora ja Valga nimetasid koosseisu" [Flora and Valga announce squads] (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 4 December 2002.
  3. "Sheffield United sign Estonia keeper Mihkel Aksalu". BBC Sport. 29 January 2010.
  4. "Mansfield Town swoop for keeper Mihkel Aksalu". BBC Sport. 6 October 2010.
  5. "Stags loan for Aksalu". The Telegraph. 7 October 2010.
  6. "Mihkel Aksalu lahkus Sheffield Unitedist" [Mihkel Aksalu left Sheffield United] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 19 January 2012.
  7. "Mihkel Aksalu liitus taas FC Floraga" [Mihkel Aksalu rejoined FC Flora] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 9 April 2012.
  8. "Ametlik: Mihkel Aksalust sai Seinäjoki mängija" [Official: Mihkel Aksalu became Seinäjoki's player] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 4 April 2013.
  9. "Aksalu pikendas kõrgliigasse tõusva SJK-ga lepingut" [Aksalu extended his contract with top flight-promoted SJK] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 30 October 2013.
  10. "Eesti jalgpallikoondise väravavaht pikendas Soomes lepingut" [Estonia national team extended his contract in Finland] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 24 August 2015.
  11. "Mihkel Aksalu ja SJK võitsid Soome meistritiitli" [Mihkel Aksalu and SJK won the Finnish championship] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 25 October 2015.
  12. "Mihkel Aksalu valiti Soome kõrgliigas hooaja parimaks väravavahiks" [Mihkel Aksalu named best goalkeeper in the Finnish top flight] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 30 October 2015.
  13. "Mihkel Aksalu kaks penaltitõrjet aitasid SJK Soome karikafinaalis võidule" [Mihkel Aksalu's two saves in the final helped SJK win the Finnish Cup] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 24 September 2016.
  14. "Aksalu, Mihkel" (in Estonian). ESBL.
  15. "M. Aksalu". Soccerway.com.
  16. "Mihkel Aksalu". National-Football-Teams.com.
  17. "Mihkel Aksalu" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.

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