Sakari Tukiainen
Sakari Tukiainen (born October 2, 1991 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish forward that plays for HIFK.
 Tukiainen playing with Thisted FC | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sakari Tukiainen | ||
| Date of birth | 2 October 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | HIFK | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2008 | Espoo Palloseura (EPS) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | CLE | (30) | |
| 2014 | Atlantis FC | 29 | (40) |
| 2015–2016 | Flora U21 | 6 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Flora | 40 | (18) |
| 2015 | → Tulevik (loan) | 16 | (6) |
| 2017–2018 | RoPS | 26 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | Thisted FC | 44 | (17) |
| 2019– | HIFK | 13 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Club career
Tukiainen began his career with Finnish youth academy Espoo Palloseura (EPS), where he played from 1997 until 2008 when he quit the game. At EPS, Tukiainen played as a defender. He stopped playing football at the age of 17 due to lack of motivation.[1]
After a five-year break, his friend encouraged him to play for Club Latino Español who were playing in the 7th Division in Helsinki. Club Latino Español in Helsinki who were then coached by Paraguayan Rodrigo Acosta. Acosta saw a striker in Tukiainen, and he was their best in 2013 with 30 goals.
In January 2014, he moved to neighboring club Atlantis FC, who were playing in the Finnish Kakkonen and coached by the Nigerian Niran Akhimetan. He started with the reserve team, but soon joined the first team. His goal star continued to be brilliant in Atlantis, as during the season 2014 Tukiainen scored 40 goals in 27 games and broke Kakkonen's one-time goal, which was formerly owned by Pasi Nevanperä and Joel Pohjanpalo (33 goals).
In November 2014, Tukiainen went to a test camp at the Allsvenskan AIK, where he scored two goals in him only test game, but ended up not joining AIK. In December 2014, he moved to Estonia, the Champions League FC Flora, one of the most successful clubs in the Estonia. He played with Flora and was also loaned to JK Tulevik Viljandi for a brief period. He signed with RoPs in 2017. RoPs already had several experienced strikers, and Tukiain did not get to feature prominently until the end of the season.[2] He signed with Thisted FC in January of 2018. In the 2018-2019 season, he became the top scorer for that season with 10 goals, and an additional 3 in the DBU cup. [3]
He is an avid futsal player who played both futsal and football for much of his career. He also has a rank of Second Lieutenant having served in the Finnish Army for one year.
He signed for Thisted in 2018 after they sold their top striker Mikkel Agger to Norway's Sarpsborg 08.[4]
References
- "Atlantis-tykin tuhkimotarina - alasarjoista AIK:n testiin". www.iltalehti.fi.
- "Onko Sakari Tukiainen RoPSin uusi ykköstykki?". Lapin Kansa. 5 April 2017.
- Vendner, Daniel (3 February 2018). "Thisted FC skriver med to spillere". www.nordjyske.dk.
- "Finland - S. Tukiainen - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com.