Introduction
Teemu Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish footballer who plays currently as a forward for Danish Superliga club Brøndby. He also plays at international level for Finland. He operates mainly as a centre-forward who often plays on the wings.
Club career
KTP
Pukki began his career as a youth at his hometown club, KTP, playing for their under-19 side. He made his debut for the first team at 16 years old and his performances saw him called up to play for Finland's youth international sides. In two seasons of first-team football, Pukki made 29 appearances in the Finnish Premier League (Veikkausliiga) and scored three goals.
Sevilla
Pukki moved to Sevilla from KTP and was called up for the Sevilla first team for the away match against Real Madrid on 7 December 2008, but was an unused substitute. He received his La Liga debut at home against Racing on 25 January 2009. He found himself unused in Sevilla playing mostly for the reserve side Sevilla Atletico and he decided to return to Finland.
HJK Helsinki
On 28 August 2010, Pukki signed a three-and-half-year contract with the Finnish Veikkausliiga club HJK. Pukki made his debut 30 August a match against IFK Mariehamn. He managed to score his first goal for HJK in the next match against FF Jaro which was his first goal in a league match for nearly two years. During season 2010 he managed to play in seven games and score two goals for HJK in the 2010 season. At the end of the season HJK and Pukki won the Finnish Veikkausliiga and silver in the Finnish Cup.
During season 2011 he scored 11 goals and notched eight assists in 18 league matches out which he was in the starting line up in 13. He was chosen to 2011 Veikkausliiga All Stars -team. Pukki was also a key figure in HJK´s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifications. He scored two goals against Bangor City and HJK´s both goals in a 2–0 home win against FC Schalke 04. Pukki also scored HJK´s only goal in the 6–1 away match against Schalke.
FC Schalke 04
Pukki scored three goals in two matches against FC Schalke 04 in August 2011 during the Europa League qualifier. First he scored twice in the first leg in Helsinki, and in Gelsenkirchen he scored an away goal. However, it was not enough to help HJK qualify to the group stage. Schalke was so impressed, they offered him a place in their squad. On 31 August 2011, Pukki joined the German Bundesliga side on a three-year contract.
On 6 November, he scored two goals for Schalke as he debuted in the starting 11 against Hannover 96. By doing so, he became the third Finn to score a brace in the German Bundesliga, after Ari Hjelm and Pasi Rautiainen.
Celtic
Pukki signed a four-year deal with Celtic from FC Schalke 04 for an undisclosed fee on 31 August 2013. He scored on his debut in a 3–1 win against Hearts on 14 September 2013 and again on his home debut against St Johnstone on 21 September. On 26 January 2014 he scored against Hibernian. Overall though, Pukki's first season at Celtic was considered something of a disappointment as he struggled with form and failed to fill the void left by Gary Hooper who had left at the start of the season. Pukki himself later acknowledged the lack of impact he had made, admitting he initially felt playing in Scotland would be "easier" than in Germany. He found the speed and physical nature of the game in Scotland difficult to adjust to, and stated "Scottish football is not easy. It’s not a bad league at all".
On 8 July 2014, Pukki scored his first Celtic hat trick in a pre-season friendly against LASK Linz in a 5–2 victory for Celtic. Pukki scored twice in Celtic's victory against KR Reykjavik at Murrayfield Stadium in Celtic's UEFA Champions League qualifying match, the match ended 4–0 with Celtic winning 5–0 on aggregate. However, he struggled to make any impact in the next qualifying round matches against Legia Warsaw and was substituted at half-time in the league defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 6 August 2014.
Brøndby
On 1 September 2014, Pukki signed a one-year loan deal with option to buy with Danish side Brøndby IF. He made his debut 13 days later in a league match at home against Randers and scored his first goal two weeks later in a 2–2 draw away against Esbjerg. He went on to score another four goals in his next four games, and was rewarded for his form by being voted the Superliga Player of the Month for October, finishing the season as the club's top scorer, with nine goals. On 19 June 2015, Pukki signed a three-year contract with Brøndby for an undisclosed fee. On 4 August 2016, Pukki scored three goals when Brøndby knocked out Hertha BSC in the third round of the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League qualifiers, winning 3-1, thereby overcoming a 0-1 deficit from the first leg in Berlin.
International career
Pukki debuted in the Finland national team on 4 February 2009 when Stuart Baxter used him as a substitute against Japan in a friendly match played in Tokyo . He scored his fifth goal for his country on 22 March 2013, scoring the equaliser as Finland recorded a 1–1 draw at reigning world and European champions Spain in World Cup qualifying.
In May 2014, Pukki, on six goals at the time, scored his first international double. He scored twice in two minutes in a friendly with the Czech Republic national football team. The Czechs scored in between Pukki's two goals and later equalised as the match ended two apiece. The match was held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
International goals
- As of match played 9 October 2016. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Pukki goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 May 2012 | Red Bull Arena, Wals-Siezenheim, Austria | 11 |  Turkey | 2–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 15 August 2012 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 14 |  Northern Ireland | 3–3 | ||
| 3 | 11 September 2012 | Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech Republic | 16 |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 4 | 14 November 2012 | GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus | 18 |  Cyprus | 3–0 | ||
| 5 | 22 March 2013 | El Molinón, Gijón, Spain | 20 |  Spain | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 11 June 2013 | Central Stadium, Gomel, Belarus | 23 |  Belarus | 1–0 | ||
| 7 | 21 May 2014 | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 30 | Czech Republic | 2–2 | Friendly | |
| 8 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 9 | 6 October 2016 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | 52 |  Iceland | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Career statistics
Club
- As of 11 December 2016
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| FC KooTeePee | 2006 | Veikkausliiga | 5 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2007 | 24 | 3 | ? | ? | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | ||
| Total | 29 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||||
| Sevilla Atlético | 2008–09 | Segunda División | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | |
| Total | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | |||
| Sevilla | 2008–09 | Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| HJK Helsinki | 2010 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 2011 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 16 | ||
| Total | 25 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 18 | ||
| FC Schalke 04 | 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | |
| 2012–13 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 3 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 47 | 8 | |||
| Celtic | 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 25 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 7 |
| 2014–15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Total | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 37 | 9 | ||
| Brøndby IF | 2014–15 | Danish Superliga | 27 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 10 | |
| 2015–16 | 33 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 44 | 13 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 20 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 21 | ||||
| Total | 80 | 32 | 6 | 3 | — | 16 | 9 | 102 | 44 | |||
| Career total | 215 | 66 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 16 | 267 | 85 | ||
International
- As of 12 November 2016
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | |||
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2013 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 54 | 9 | |
Honours
Club
- Sevilla
- Copa del Rey Juvenil de Fútbol: 2008
- HJK
- Veikkausliiga (2): 2010, 2011
- Finnish Cup: 2011
- Celtic
- Scottish Premiership: 2013-14
Individual
- 2011: Veikkausliiga All Stars
- "La suerte da la espalda al Juvenil" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo. 29 June 2008.
- ^ "Nordic Football".
- "Kopla-joukkue 2011 nimetty" (in Finnish). Kymppipaikka. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2015.