Mixu Paatelainen facts for kids
Paatelainen in August 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen | ||
| Date of birth | 3 February 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
The Spartans (sporting director) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1987 | Haka | 48 | (18) |
| 1987–1992 | Dundee United | 133 | (33) |
| 1992–1994 | Aberdeen | 75 | (23) |
| 1994–1997 | Bolton Wanderers | 69 | (15) |
| 1997–1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 23 | (0) |
| 1998–2001 | Hibernian | 93 | (32) |
| 2001–2002 | Strasbourg | 7 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Hibernian | 24 | (7) |
| 2003–2004 | St Johnstone | 33 | (11) |
| 2004–2005 | St Mirren | 16 | (4) |
| 2005 | Cowdenbeath | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 522 | (143) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–2000 | Finland | 70 | (18) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Cowdenbeath | ||
| 2006–2007 | TPS | ||
| 2008–2009 | Hibernian | ||
| 2010–2011 | Kilmarnock | ||
| 2011–2015 | Finland | ||
| 2015–2016 | Dundee United | ||
| 2018 | Ubon UMT United | ||
| 2018 | Latvia | ||
| 2019–2021 | Hong Kong | ||
| 2022 | HIFK | ||
| 2025– | The Spartans (sporting director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen, born on February 3, 1967, is a famous Finnish football player and manager. He is currently the sporting director for The Spartans, a Scottish club. Mixu scored 18 goals in 70 games for the Finnish national team. This makes him one of Finland's top goal scorers and one of the players with the most international games. He is the oldest of three brothers, and all of them played professional football. Their father, Matti, was also a Finnish international player.
Mixu Paatelainen had a long playing career that lasted 20 years. He played for nine different clubs in four countries. Most of his time as a player was spent in Scotland. He played for Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hibernian, St Johnstone, and St Mirren. He also played for Haka in Finland, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England, and Strasbourg in France. While playing for Bolton, Mixu became the first Finnish player to play in the Premier League, England's top football league.
After he stopped playing in 2005, Paatelainen became a manager. He started with the Scottish club Cowdenbeath. He helped them win the Scottish Football League Third Division championship and get promoted. After coaching in Finland for a season with TPS, Paatelainen returned to Scotland. He became the manager of Hibernian, but left after 18 months.
After a year away from the game, Paatelainen became the manager of Kilmarnock. He was Kilmarnock's manager for less than a season but had a lot of success. In March 2011, he was chosen to manage the Finland national team. He held this job until June 2015. In October 2015, he became the manager of Dundee United. He left the club in May 2016 after they were moved down to a lower league. Since then, he has managed Ubon United in Thailand. He also managed the national teams of Latvia and Hong Kong.
Besides playing and managing, Paatelainen has also worked for FIFA and UEFA. He was a technical observer for these big football organizations.
Contents
Mixu's Playing Career
Mixu Paatelainen started his football journey playing for Haka in Finland in 1985. He played 48 league games for Haka and scored 18 goals. In his first season, Haka won the Finnish Cup, which was the only trophy the club won while he was there.
Playing in Scotland
In October 1987, Mixu moved to Scotland to play for Dundee United. He scored a goal in his very first game. He quickly became a key player for the team. In his first season, he scored eleven goals. This included four goals in a huge 7–0 win against Morton. Paatelainen also helped Dundee United reach the Scottish Cup Final in May 1988. However, they lost 2–1 to Celtic. He was the top scorer for Dundee United for the next two seasons. In total, he scored 47 goals in 173 games for the club.
In March 1992, he moved to Aberdeen for a transfer fee of £400,000. During his three seasons there, he scored 23 goals in 75 matches. Paatelainen played in two cup finals with Aberdeen. They lost to Rangers in the League Cup Final in October 1992. They also lost to Rangers again in the Scottish Cup Final in May 1993.
Playing in England
In 1994, Paatelainen moved to England to play for Bolton Wanderers. In his first season, the team was promoted to the Premier League. This made Paatelainen the first Finnish footballer to ever play in the Premier League. He played a very important part in their promotion. In the play-off final against Reading, he scored a goal in extra time to put Bolton ahead 3–2. They went on to win 4–3, returning to the top league after 15 years.
Paatelainen also played in the 1995 League Cup Final. Bolton Wanderers were beaten 2–1 by Liverpool in that match. He could not help Bolton stay in the Premier League in the 1995–96 season. However, they returned the next season by winning the Division One title. They scored 100 goals and earned 98 points that season.
He then played for Wolverhampton Wanderers during the 1997–98 season. He did not score any league goals for Wolves. But he scored four goals in their FA Cup run. He also scored once in the League Cup.
Return to Scotland
After his time in Wolverhampton, Paatelainen decided to go back to Scotland in the summer of 1998. He signed with Hibernian, a club from Edinburgh. Hibs had been moved down to a lower league the season before. Paatelainen's twelve goals in his first season helped his team get promoted back to the top division in Scotland.
Hibernian fans remember him well for scoring three goals in one game. This was in a 6–2 victory over their rivals, Heart of Midlothian, on October 22, 2000. Paatelainen played for Hibs in their 2001 Scottish Cup Final defeat by Celtic. This made him the first player to play in the Scottish Cup final with three different clubs. Despite this, he never won a winner's medal in the competition. Paatelainen left Hibs in 2001 to play for the French club Strasbourg. He then returned to Hibs for one more season. During this time, he played and also helped coach the youth teams.
In 2003, he moved to St Johnstone. Hibs did not want to extend his contract. At St Johnstone, he also worked as an assistant manager. Paatelainen only stayed with St Johnstone for one season. He then moved to St Mirren, where he also served as an assistant manager. This was his last club as a player. During his entire playing career, Paatelainen scored 143 league goals.
Playing for Finland
Paatelainen played 70 matches for the Finland national team. He scored 18 goals for his country. His first international game was on September 9, 1986, against East Germany. One of his most impressive achievements for the national team was scoring four goals in a single match against San Marino. This is still a record for the most goals scored in one game for Finland. He stopped playing international football in 2000. Besides playing for the senior national team, Paatelainen also played eight matches for both the Finland under-21s and the under-19s.
Mixu's Coaching Career
Mixu Paatelainen started his coaching career while he was still playing. He worked as a coach for St Johnstone and St Mirren.
Coaching Cowdenbeath
In August 2005, Paatelainen became the full-time manager of Cowdenbeath. This team played in the Scottish Third Division. In his first season, he led the Blue Brazil to win their first league title in 67 years. He even signed his brothers, Markus and Mikko, to play for the club.
Coaching TPS
On October 21, 2006, Paatelainen left Cowdenbeath to join the Finnish club TPS. He guided TPS to third place in the league. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. This was his only season in charge of TPS.
Coaching Hibernian
Paatelainen was linked to the manager job at his old club, Hibernian, in December 2007. He was officially appointed on January 10, 2008. When he took the job, Hibs had only won one of their last ten games. They had fallen into the bottom half of the Scottish Premier League. Hibs' results got better quickly under Paatelainen. The club secured a spot in the top half of the league.
During the 2008–09 season, Paatelainen faced more pressure from Hibs fans. This was because of poor results and his choice to use a 4–3–3 playing system. Paatelainen eventually changed to a more common 4–4–2 system. He was praised by the media for his smart tactics in winning the last Edinburgh derby of the season. However, he left the job by agreement at the end of May after a disappointing season.
Coaching Kilmarnock
After a year away from football, Paatelainen became the manager of Kilmarnock on June 23, 2010. He received praise from the Scottish media for his work with Kilmarnock. In November 2010, there were rumors that he might become the head coach of the Finland national football team. Paatelainen won the manager of the month award for December 2010. Kilmarnock had a good start with two league wins and a draw. Kilmarnock offered him a long-term contract in March 2011. This was to try and keep him from leaving for other clubs. Paatelainen turned down an offer from Scunthorpe United. But soon after, he accepted an offer from the Finland national team. Even though he left Kilmarnock in March, Paatelainen won the SFWA Manager of the Year award for the 2010–11 season.
Coaching Finland National Team
The Finland national team had a bad start in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers. Their ranking in the FIFA World Rankings dropped a lot. Because of this, the head coach was replaced. Paatelainen was appointed as the new Finland head coach on March 31, 2011. His first game as head coach was a 1–0 away win against San Marino on June 3. However, Finland then lost 5–0 to Sweden in his second game. Both matches were part of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying process.
Paatelainen's agreement with the Finnish Football Association was planned to last until 2016. This meant he would be in charge for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers, the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers, and the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. Since Finland was already out of the UEFA Euro 2012 competition, Paatelainen's main goal was to rebuild the national team. He aimed to help them qualify for future tournaments during his time as head coach. On June 14, 2015, Paatelainen was let go after his fourth loss in a row during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
Coaching Dundee United
Paatelainen was announced as the new head coach of Dundee United in October 2015. He signed a contract until 2018. His first game in charge of the club was a 1–0 loss to Hearts. He could not stop the team from being moved down to a lower league. This was confirmed by a loss in the Dundee derby on May 2, 2016. He left Dundee United two days later.
Coaching Latvia National Team
Paatelainen was appointed head coach of the Latvia national team in May 2018. On December 4, he announced that he would not continue as the head coach after his contract ended that month.
Coaching Hong Kong National Team
Paatelainen became the head coach of the Hong Kong team in April 2019. He signed a two-year contract. Hong Kong was placed in a group for the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification. They played against Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Cambodia. The team won 2-0 against Cambodia and had draws against Cambodia and Bahrain. The qualifiers were stopped after six matches because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hong Kong had a strict "Zero Covid Elimination strategy." Because of this, the Hong Kong team could not prepare or train for the remaining World Cup qualifiers. These games were played in Bahrain in early June 2021. Paatelainen's first contract was extended to cover these last qualifying matches. His contract ended after the World Cup qualifiers, and he decided to return to Europe.
Coaching HIFK
After their manager resigned, the Finnish club HIFK appointed Paatelainen as their new manager. Before he joined, the club had lost in a cup quarter-final. They had also only earned one point from their first two league matches.
Just two months later, the club announced that they might go bankrupt. This lack of money greatly affected the team's season. It led to them being moved down from the Finnish Veikkausliiga. However, Paatelainen did guide HIFK to the semi-finals of the Finnish Cup. This was the first time they reached that stage in 63 years.
Once HIFK's relegation was confirmed, Paatelainen stated that he would not continue as manager after the season ended. He resigned a few days later.
Sporting Director at The Spartans
On April 30, 2025, Mixu Paatelainen was appointed as the sporting director of the Scottish club The Spartans.
Career Statistics
Mixu Paatelainen had a long and successful career as a football player. He played in many league and cup matches.
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Haka | 1985 | Mestaruussarja | 11 | 5 | * | * | — | — | 11 | 5 | ||
| 1986 | Mestaruussarja | 19 | 6 | * | * | — | — | 19 | 6 | |||
| 1987 | Mestaruussarja | 18 | 7 | * | * | — | — | 18 | 7 | |||
| Total | 48 | 18 | — | — | 48 | 18 | ||||||
| Dundee United | 1987–88 | Scottish Premier Division | 19 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 11 | |
| 1988–89 | Scottish Premier Division | 33 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 17 | |
| 1989–90 | Scottish Premier Division | 31 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 9 | |
| 1990–91 | Scottish Premier Division | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 1991–92 | Scottish Premier Division | 30 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 9 | |
| Total | 133 | 33 | 17 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 169 | 47 | ||
| Aberdeen | 1991–92 | Scottish Premier Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | |
| 1992–93 | Scottish Premier Division | 33 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — | 41 | 20 | ||
| 1993–94 | Scottish Premier Division | 36 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 7 | |
| Total | 75 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 91 | 28 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 1994–95 | First Division | 44 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 53 | 14 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | First Division | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 2 | ||
| Total | 69 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | — | 80 | 17 | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1997–98 | First Division | 23 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | 33 | 5 | |
| Hibernian | 1998–99 | Scottish First Division | 26 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 12 | |
| 1999–2000 | Scottish Premier League | 31 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 10 | ||
| 2000–01 | Scottish Premier League | 36 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 43 | 12 | ||
| Total | 93 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 34 | ||
| Strasbourg | 2001–02 | Division 2 | 7 | 0 | * | * | * | * | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Hibernian | 2002–03 | Scottish Premier League | 24 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 29 | 7 | |
| St Johnstone | 2003–04 | Scottish First Division | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 37 | 13 | |
| St Mirren | 2004–05 | Scottish First Division | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 17 | 5 | |
| Career total | 521 | 143 | 48 | 15 | 36 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 618 | 174 | ||
- Asterisk (*) means that more matches and goals might be found as cup records are checked.
International Goals for Finland
Mixu Paatelainen scored many important goals for his country. Here are his goals for the Finland national team:
Win Draw Loss
| No. | Date | Home team | Visiting team | Goals | Score | Result | Venue | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 January 1988 |  Czechoslovakia |
 Finland |
 14' 1–0 (pen.) |
2–0 | Loss | Estadio Insular, Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spain | Friendly |
| 2. | 19 October 1988 |  Wales |
Finland |
45' 2–2 |
2–2 | Draw | Vetch Field, Swansea, Wales | FIFA World Cup 1990 qualification |
| 3. | 11 January 1989 |  Egypt |
Finland |
14' 1–1 |
2–1 | Loss | El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Egypt | Friendly |
| 4. | 11 November 1991 |  Tunisia |
Finland |
43' 0–1 |
1–2 | Win | Tunis, Tunisia | Friendly |
| 5. | 13 March 1991 |  Poland |
Finland |
20' 1–1 |
1–1 | Draw | Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland | Friendly |
| 6. | 13 May 1993 | Finland |
 Austria |
18' 1–0 |
3–1 | Win | Urheilupuisto, Turku, Finland | FIFA World Cup 1994 qualification |
| 7. | 16 November 1994 | Finland |
 Faroe Islands |
75' 4–0 |
5–0 | Win | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland | UEFA Euro 1996 qualification |
| 8. | do. | do. | do. | 85' 5–0 |
do. | Win | do. | do. |
| 9. | 14 December 1994 | Finland |
 San Marino |
24' 1–0 |
4–1 | Win | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland | UEFA Euro 1996 qualification |
| 10. | do | do. | do. | 30' 2–0 |
do. | Win | do. | do. |
| 11. | do. | do. | do. | 86' 3–1 |
do. | Win | do. | do. |
| 12. | do. | do. | do. | 90' 4–1 |
do. | Win | do. | do. |
| 13. | 26 April 1995 | Faroe Islands |
Finland |
75' 0–2 |
0–4 | Win | Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroese Islands | UEFA Euro 1996 qualification |
| 14. | 2 April 1997 |  Azerbaijan |
Finland |
64' 0–2 |
1–2 | Win | Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan | FIFA World Cup 1998 qualification |
| 15. | 5 September 1998 | Finland |
 Moldova |
63' 3–2 |
3–2 | Win | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland | UEFA Euro 2000 qualification |
| 16. | 14 October 1998 |  Turkey |
Finland |
6' 0–1 |
1–3 | Win | Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey | UEFA Euro 2000 qualification |
| 17. | 28 April 1999 |  Slovenia |
Finland |
22' 0–1 (pen.) |
1–1 | Draw | Bežigrad Central Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | Friendly |
| 18. | 5 June 1999 | Finland |
Turkey |
14' 2–0 |
2–4 | Loss | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland | UEFA Euro 2000 qualification |
Managerial Statistics
Here is a summary of Mixu Paatelainen's record as a football manager:
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Cowdenbeath |  |
1 July 2005 | 1 October 2006 | 51 | 29 | 7 | 15 | 111 | 62 | +49 | 56.86 |
| TPS | |
1 October 2006 | 10 January 2008 | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 44.12 |
| Hibernian | |
10 January 2008 | 29 May 2009 | 62 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 68 | 74 | −6 | 30.65 |
| Kilmarnock | |
23 June 2010 | 31 March 2011 | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 44.12 |
| Finland | |
31 March 2011 | 15 June 2015 | 44 | 17 | 9 | 18 | 59 | 62 | −3 | 38.64 |
| Dundee United | |
14 October 2015 | 4 May 2016 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 33 | 52 | −19 | 26.67 |
| Ubon UMT United |  |
13 January 2018 | 22 April 2018 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 18 | −6 | 18.18 |
| Latvia |  |
10 May 2018 | 4 December 2018 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 11.11 |
| Hong Kong |  |
9 April 2019 | 30 June 2021 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 24 | −20 | 8.33 |
| HIFK | |
17 April 2022 | 5 October 2022 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 17 | 61 | −44 | 4.55 |
| Total | 309 | 108 | 62 | 139 | 421 | 448 | −27 | 34.95 | |||
Awards and Achievements
Mixu Paatelainen has won several awards and honors throughout his career as both a player and a manager.
Player Honors
Valkeakosken Haka
- Finnish Cup: 1985
Bolton Wanderers
- Football League First Division: 1996–97; play-offs: 1995
- Football League Cup runner-up: 1994–95
Hibernian
- Scottish First Division: 1998–99
Manager Honors
Cowdenbeath
- Scottish Third Division: 2005–06
Latvia
- Baltic Cup: 2018
Individual Awards
- Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: October 2000
- Scottish Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2008, March 2009, December 2010
- Scottish Premier League Manager of the Season: 2010–11
See also
In Spanish: Mixu Paatelainen para niños
