Paulus Arajuuri

Paulus Verneri Arajuuri (born 15 June 1988) is a Finnish professional footballer, who plays as a centre back for Pafos in the Cypriot First Division and the Finland national team.[2] He began his senior club career playing for FC Espoo, before making his Veikkausliiga debut with Honka at age 18 in 2006.

Paulus Arajuuri
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-06-15) 15 June 1988[1]
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Pafos
Number 23
Youth career
1993–1999 Halkian Alku
2002–2003 NuPS
2004 Jokerit
2005 FC Espoo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 FC Espoo 8 (1)
2006 Honka 1 (0)
2006 → FC Espoo (loan) 8 (2)
2007 Klubi 04 25 (0)
2008–2009 IFK Mariehamn 48 (3)
2009–2013 Kalmar FF 56 (3)
2014–2016 Lech Poznań 70 (5)
2017–2019 Brøndby 67 (3)
2019– Pafos 17 (2)
National team‡
2008 Finland U20 3 (0)
2008–2010 Finland U21 12 (0)
2010– Finland 43 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:57, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:42, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

Arajuuri made his international debut for Finland in January 2010, at the age of 21.

Club career
Arajuuri (left) and Mika Niskala at IFK Mariehamn

FC Espoo

Arajuuri made his debut on senior level in the ranks of FC Espoo during season 2005. He gained 8 caps and scored one goal.

Honka

During season 2006 he made his debut in the Veikkausliiga with FC Honka against rivals HJK Helsinki. During the season, he was loaned back to FC Espoo for 8 matches.

Klubi 04

For the season 2007 he joined HJK Helsinki. He did not make any appearances in the first team, but spent the whole season playing for the reserve team Klubi 04 in the Ykkönen.

IFK Mariehamn

Originally from Helsinki, Arajuuri moved to the Åland Islands and IFK Mariehamn in 2008. During his first season with IFK Mariehamn, he participated in all except two games, making it a total of 24 appearances.

During the summer of 2009, Arajuuri was frequently linked with a move to Sweden, especially to Djurgårdens IF. Arajuuri's player agent, Jonas Wirmola, admitted to one of the major newspapers of Åland that Djurgården and several other clubs had shown interest in the young Finnish defender.[3]

Kalmar FF

Eventually, Arajuuri signed a four-year deal (on a Bosman-transfer) with the Swedish champions of 2008, Kalmar FF on 24 September 2009.[4]

Arajuuri netted his first league goals for Kalmar FF home against GAIS on 23 June 2011. He scored twice to help the Småland club earn a 2–1 victory.[5]

Lech Poznań

On 1 January 2014, Arajuuri signed for Polish side Lech Poznań.[6]

Brøndby IF

On 7 July 2016, Arajuuri signed for Brøndby IF.

International career

Finland youth teams

Arajuuri made his debut in the Finland national under-21 football team in a friendly against Poland in Jyväskylä on 3 June 2008.[7] Arajuuri was called up to represent Finland in the U-21 national team qualifiers for the 2011 U-21 Euros. He was a part of the squad that faced the Netherlands and Poland in September 2009, and since that become a regular.[8] Arajuuri has also represented Finland's U-23 national team in the International Challenge Trophy.[9]

Finland first team

Arajuuri earned his first cap for Finland in a friendly against South Korea on 18 January 2010 in Málaga, Spain. He came on as a substitute in the 84th minute.[10] He scored his first goal for the national team on 11 October 2015 in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualification match against Northern Ireland.[11]

Career statistics

Club
As of 3 July 2020[12]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kalmar 2010 Allsvenskan 1302010—160
2011 10210——112
2012 2110060–271
2013 12030——150
Total 5636070—693
Lech Poznań 2013–14 Ekstraklasa 50———50
2014–15 2534100—294
2015–16 280513000361
2016–17 12210—00132
Total 7051023000837
Brøndby 2016–17 Superliga 8020——100
2017–18 2823020—332
2018–19 2703030—330
2019–20 41—61—102
Total 67380111—864
Pafos 2019–20 Cypriot First Division 17230——202
Career total 210132722110025816

1 Including Polish SuperCup.

International
As of 9 July 2019[13]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Finland
201010
201100
201220
201310
201400
201551
201691
201771
201880
201940
Total373

International goals
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.[13]
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 October 2015Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland Northern Ireland1–11–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
2.5 September 2016Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland Kosovo1–01–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.9 October 2017Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland Turkey1–12–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours and achievements

Club

Lech Poznań[12]

Brøndby IF

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gollark: Thus, reject garbage collector, return to osmarksmalloc.
gollark: I'm sure you thought that I thought that you were sure that I was sure that I'd like to think that you'd like to think that I'd like you to think that you'd like me to think that you'd like me to think so.
gollark: I'm sure you'd like to think I'd like to think I'd like to think you'd like me to think so.
gollark: I'm sure you'd like me to think so.

References
  1. "P.Arajuuri". soccerway.com. SOCCERWAY. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  2. "Paulus Arajuuri" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. "Fortfarande oklart kring Arajuuri-flytt". Nya Åland (in Swedish). Mariehamn, Finland. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  4. "Paulus Arajuuri siirtyy Kalmariin". Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). Mariehamn, Finland. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  5. "Paulus frälste Guldfågeln Arena". Kalmar FF (in Swedish). Kalmar, Sweden. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  6. http://www.lechpoznan.pl/news/paulus,arajuuri,pilkarzem,lecha
  7. "U21 Suomi-Puola 3.6". Futismaailma.com (in Finnish). Jyväskylä, Finland. 3 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  8. "Paulus representerar Finland". GMM (in Swedish). Helsinki, Finland. 26 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  9. "U23: Suomi Italian kimppuun keskiviikkona". Palloliitto.fi (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  10. "Förlust för Lyyski och Arajuuri i debuten". Nya Åland (in Swedish). Mariehamn, Finland. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  11. "Finland 1-1 Northern Ireland: Michael O'Neill's men finish top of Group F". Sky Sports. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  12. "Paulus Arajuuri". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  13. "Paulus Arajuuri". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
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