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Petri Pasanen
Petri Pasanen7.jpg
Pasanen with Red Bull Salzburg in 2011
Personal information
Full name Petri Mikael Pasanen
Date of birth (1980-09-24) 24 September 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Lahti, Finland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996 Kuusysi 2 (0)
1996–2000 Lahti 72 (2)
1997 → Hämeenlinna (loan) 4 (0)
1998 → Hämeenlinna (loan) 1 (0)
2000–2004 Ajax 59 (7)
2004 Portsmouth (loan) 12 (0)
2004–2011 Werder Bremen 144 (3)
2011–2012 Red Bull Salzburg 18 (0)
2012–2014 AGF 44 (2)
2014–2015 Lahti 30 (1)
Total 386 (15)
International career
2000 Finland U21 6 (0)
2000–2013 Finland 76 (1)
Managerial career
Lahti (youth)
2022–2023 Lahti (assistant)
Medal record
Finland national football team
Runner-up Baltic Cup 2012
AFC Ajax
Winner Eredivisie 2002
Winner KNVB Cup 2002
Winner Johan Cruijff Shield 2002
Runner-up Eredivisie 2003
Werder Bremen
Runner-up Bundesliga 2006
Runner-up Bundesliga 2008
Runner-up UEFA Europa League 2009
Winner DFB-Pokal 2009
Runner-up DFB-Pokal 2010
FC Red Bull Salzburg
Winner Austrian Bundesliga 2012
Winner Austrian Cup 2012
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Petri Pasanen, born on September 24, 1980, is a Finnish football coach and a TV presenter. He used to be a professional football player. Petri played as a defender, which means he helped protect his team's goal. He was very good at playing in the middle (centre-back), but he could also play on the right or left side of the defense. Petri started his football journey in Finland. Later, he played for big clubs like Ajax in the Netherlands and Werder Bremen in Germany. He even played in the UEFA Champions League and the 2009 UEFA Cup Final. Petri also proudly played 76 games for the Finnish national team, scoring one goal.

Petri Pasanen's Club Career

Starting in Finland: FC Lahti

Petri Pasanen was born in Lahti, Finland. He became a regular player for his local club, FC Lahti, in 1998. That year, his team was promoted to a higher league. Over the next two seasons, he played 42 games for the club in Finland's top league, the Veikkausliiga.

Playing for Ajax in the Netherlands

Many top clubs in Europe became interested in Petri because he was a promising young player. In the summer of 2000, he joined the Dutch club Ajax. He quickly became a regular player in Ajax's defense during his first season. However, his progress was slowed down when he broke his foot in August 2001. This injury made him miss most of the 2001–02 season.

The next season, Petri was back to being a regular player. Ajax even reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, which is a very important European competition. In the 2003–04 season, he didn't play as much for Ajax. He spent the second half of that season on loan at the English club Portsmouth in the Premier League.

Success with Werder Bremen in Germany

After his time at Portsmouth, Petri Pasanen signed with Werder Bremen in Germany in the summer of 2004. Werder Bremen had just won the German league. Petri became a very important player for the club. He helped them finish in the top three in the Bundesliga (Germany's top league) and reach the second round of the Champions League in his first two seasons. While playing for Bremen, he also played in the 2009 UEFA Cup Final, a major European club competition.

Petri Pasanen - SV Werder Bremen (1)
Pasanen with Werder Bremen in 2009

Moving to Red Bull Salzburg

On June 30, 2011, after his contract with Werder Bremen ended, Petri joined Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. On May 12, 2012, Salzburg announced that Petri's contract would not be extended. This meant he was free to find a new club.

Time with AGF Aarhus in Denmark

On July 28, 2012, Petri Pasanen signed a two-year contract with AGF, a top team in the Danish Superliga. He scored his first goal for AGF on December 10, 2012, in a 3-3 home game against Silkeborg.

Returning Home to FC Lahti

In May 2014, FC Lahti announced that Petri Pasanen would return to his hometown club. He signed a contract to play for them until the end of the 2016 season. On September 29, 2015, Petri announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of that season.

Petri Pasanen's International Career

Petri Pasanen was also a regular player for the Finnish national team. He played his first international game on November 15, 2000, against the Republic of Ireland. For Finland, Petri mostly played as a right-back. He also sometimes served as the team's captain when other senior players were not playing. He scored his only goal for Finland on May 22, 2002. This happened in a friendly game at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium against Latvia, which Finland won 2–1.

Petri Pasanen also played for the Finland national futsal team. Futsal is a type of indoor football. He played six games for the futsal team and scored two goals.

Petri Pasanen's Coaching Career

After he stopped playing professional football, Petri Pasanen started working as a youth coach for FC Lahti. He also worked as an assistant coach for the club's main team from 2022 to 2023.

Petri Pasanen's Later Career as a TV Presenter

After his professional football career, Petri Pasanen became a football pundit (someone who gives their opinion on football) for Yle from 2014 to 2018. Then, he worked for MTV Oy from 2018 to 2020. Since 2020, Petri has been a football studio host for MTV and C More Finland. He hosts shows for UEFA Champions League matches and other international football tournaments. In May 2023, Petri also worked as a studio host for the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship tournament.

Petri Pasanen's Personal Life

Petri Pasanen's son, Samuel Pasanen, is also a professional football player. Samuel currently plays for FC Lahti in the Veikkausliiga, just like his father did.

Petri Pasanen's Achievements

Here are some of the awards and championships Petri Pasanen won with his teams:

Ajax

Werder Bremen

  • DFB Ligapokal (German League Cup): 2006
  • DFB-Pokal (German Cup): 2008–09
  • UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2008–09 (finished second in this European competition)

Red Bull Salzburg

Individual Award

  • 2008: Finnish Sports Journalists footballer of the year (He was named the best Finnish footballer by sports journalists)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Petri Pasanen para niños

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