Introduction
Tim Sparv (born 20 February 1987), is a Finnish professional football midfielder who plays for Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland and represents Finland national team. Sparv was born in Oravais, Ostrobothnia, Sparv signed for Southampton in 2003, leaving the Finnish third division outfit Norrvalla FF.
Club career
Southampton
He spent three years in the renowned youth academy of Southampton. He was a member of Southampton's youth team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2005, where he played alongside Theo Walcott, losing on aggregate to Ipswich Town. He was named in the first team squad for 2006–07 season and made numerous reserve team appearances but, as Southampton had a plethora of midfielders from which to choose, he was unable to break through into the first team itself.
Halmstad
On 7 January 2007, he moved to Halmstads BK to play in Allsvenskan, on the advice of both his father and former Halmstads BK player Michael Svensson. On 1 May 2008, he was loaned out to Vaasan Palloseura after suffering illness as well as a lack of playing time with Halmstads.
Groningen
In August 2009, he was close to a move to Groningen, but Halmstad refused to let him go at that point. On 14 August, FC Groningen announced that Sparv would join them as of 1 January 2010. He scored his first goal for Groningen in the opening match of the 2010–11 season, in a 1–1 draw against AZ.
Fürth
In May 2013 Sparv signed a three-year contract with Fürth. He made his 2. Bundesliga debut on 21 July 2013 in a match against Arminia Bielefeld.
FC Midtjylland
On 3 July 2014, Tim Sparv signed a four-year contract with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland. On 20 August 2015, he scored against former club Southampton in the 2015-16 Europa League play-off first leg, which ended in a 1-1 draw. He also started the second leg in Denmark which Midtjylland won, to secure the Danish club a place in the group stage and send Southampton out of the competition.
International career
Sparv was the second youngest player in the squad for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship played at home but did not make an appearance in the tournament. He made his Finland U21 debut on 7 October 2006 and played a big part in the successful 2009 European Championship qualifying campaign, playing in 9 out of 10 games and scoring three goals. He was made team captain during the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and scored a penalty in a 2–1 defeat by England on 15 June 2009.
On 4 February 2009, Sparv made his debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Japan, which ended in a 5–1 defeat. He played his first FIFA World Cup qualification game on 10 October 2009 when Stuart Baxter chose him to the starting line up against Wales in Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
International goals
| # | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 15 August 2012 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 1–2 | 3–3 | Friendly |
Career statistics
Club
- As of 28 February 2015
| Club | Season | Division | League | Domestic Cups | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| VPS | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| VPS Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Halmstad | ||||||||||
| 2007 | Allsvenskan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2008 | Allsvenskan | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2009 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Halmstad Total | 51 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 1 | ||
| Groningen | ||||||||||
| 2009-10 | Eredivisie | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2010-11 | Eredivisie | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 2011-12 | Eredivisie | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 2012-13 | Eredivisie | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| Groningen Total | 98 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 4 | ||
| Greuther Fürth | ||||||||||
| 2013-14 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Greuther Fürth Total | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| Midtjylland | ||||||||||
| 2014-15 | Superliga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2015-16 | Superliga | 31 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 47 | 2 | |
| Midtjylland Total | 60 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 77 | 2 | ||
| Career Total | 245 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 272 | 8 | ||
International
- As of 6 June 2016
| Finland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 |
| 2010 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 |
| 2012 | 9 | 1 |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 |
| 2014 | 9 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 49 | 1 |
Honours
Country
Finland national football team
- 2012 Baltic Cup Runner-up
- 2014 Baltic Cup Bronze
Club
FC Midtjylland
- Danish Superliga: 2014–15
Individual
- 2007: Finland U21 Player of the Year
- 2015: FC Midtjylland Player of the Year
- 2015: Finnish Footballer of the Year
- "Kauden 2007 parhaat" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- "Korpela ja Sparv Vuoden pelaajat" (in Finnish). Palloliitto. 20 October 2015.