Kalevi Lehtovirta facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kalevi Valdemar Lehtovirta | ||
| Date of birth | 20 February 1928 | ||
| Place of birth | Turku, Finland | ||
| Date of death | 10 January 2016 (aged 87) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Maarian Kisa-Veikot | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1946–1948 | Turun Weikot (TUL) | (14) | |
| 1948–1950 | Turun Weikot | 52 | (36) |
| 1951-1953 | Turun Pyrkivä | (33) | |
| 1953-1957 | Red Star Paris | 63 | (18) |
| 1957-1962 | Turun Palloseura | 94 | (34) |
| 1963-1964 | Turun Toverit | (8) | |
| 1965-1966 | Turun Pyrkivä | (1) | |
| National team | |||
| 1947–1959 | Finland | 44 | (13) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1962 | TPS | ||
|
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Kalevi Valdemar Lehtovirta (born February 20, 1928 – died January 10, 2016) was a famous Finnish football player. He played as a striker, which means he was a forward player whose main job was to score goals. Kalevi also represented his home country, Finland, in the 1952 Summer Olympics.
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About Kalevi Lehtovirta's Life
Kalevi Lehtovirta was born in Turku, Finland. Later in his life, while he was playing football in Paris, France, he met and married a local woman. They had twin sons together. His family lived in the Montmartre area of Paris. Today, his children and grandchildren still live in France.
Kalevi Lehtovirta's Football Career
Kalevi Lehtovirta had a long and exciting career in football, playing for several clubs and his national team.
Playing for Clubs
Kalevi started his football journey playing for a youth team called Maarian Kisa-Veikot. In 1947, he joined the senior team of Turun Weikot. He played there for a few seasons.
After 1950, Kalevi moved to Turun Pyrkivä, where he played for three years. In 1953, he made a big move. He became only the second Finnish footballer to play professionally when he joined Red Star F.C. in French Division 2. This was a very important step for Finnish football players.
During his second season with Red Star, his team almost got promoted to the top French league, Ligue 1. However, they didn't get promoted because of an issue involving their manager. After playing for four seasons in Paris, Kalevi returned to his hometown of Turku. He then played for Turun Palloseura and Turun Toverit. He finished his playing career back at Turun Pyrkivä.
Playing for Finland
Kalevi Lehtovirta was also a key player for the Finnish national team. He played in 44 international matches for Finland and scored 13 goals.
His first game for Finland was in 1947 against Sweden in Borås. He scored his first goal for Finland against Sweden in 1948. One of his most memorable moments was scoring the winning goal in a friendly match against Yugoslavia in 1950.
