Saku Puhakainen
{{short description|Finnish footballer (born 1975)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Saku Puhakainen
| image =
| fullname =
| height = 1.69 m
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1975|1|14}}
| birth_place = Lappeenranta, Finland
| currentclub =
| clubnumber =
| position = Forward
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 1992 | clubs1 = Rakuunat | caps1 = 18 | goals1 = 2
| years2 = 1993–1994 | clubs2 = Kultsu | caps2 = 43 | goals2 = 17
| years3 = 1995 | clubs3 = Kuusysi | caps3 = 25 | goals3 = 8
| years4 = 1996–1999 | clubs4 = TPS | caps4 = 100 | goals4 = 30
| years5 = 1997 | clubs5 = → Aarhus Fremad (loan) | caps5 = 3 | goals5 = 1
| years6 = 2000–2009 | clubs6 = MYPA | caps6 = 257 | goals6 = 75
| years7 = 2010 | clubs7 = Kultsu | caps7 = 9 | goals7 = 8
| totalcaps = 455 | totalgoals = 141
| nationalyears1 = 1997 | nationalteam1 = Finland
| nationalcaps1 = 3 | nationalgoals1 = 2
| pcupdate = 18 May 2010
| ntupdate =
}}
Saku Puhakainen (born 14 January 1975) is a Finnish former footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Since 2000 Puhakainen played for MyPa in the Finnish premier division, Veikkausliiga. His earlier clubs include FC Kuusysi and Turun Palloseura. He achieved the Veikkausliiga top scorer title in 2003. With MyPa he has won the Finnish Cup in 2004 and the Finnish championship in 2005. After being released from MYPA, he returned to Kultsu FC playing in third division. During his career, he made 382 appearances and scored 114 goals in Finnish top-tier Veikkausliiga.
International career
Puhakainen played three times for Finland and scored twice under coach Richard Møller Nielsen in 1997.
Career statistics
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|Domestic cups{{efn|Includes Suomen Cup and Finnish League Cup}} !colspan="2"|Europe !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Rakuunat
|1992 |18 | 2 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 18 | 2 | |||
| rowspan=3|Kultsu
|1993 |26 | 9 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 26 | 9 | |||
| 1994
|Ykkönen |17 | 8 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 17 | 8 | |||
| colspan=2|Total
!43 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 17 | |
| Kuusysi
|1995 |25 | 9 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 25 | 9 | |||
| rowspan=5|TPS
|1996 |Veikkausliiga |25 | 7 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|– | 26 | 7 | ||
| 1997
|Veikkausliiga |26 | 6 | colspan=2|– | 4{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup|name=ui}} | 0 | 30 | 6 | ||
| 1998
|Veikkausliiga |24 | 5 | colspan=2|– | 4{{efn|name=ui}} | 2 | 28 | 7 | ||
| 1999
|Veikkausliiga |25 | 12 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 25 | 12 | |||
| colspan=2|Total
!100 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 109 | 32 | |
| Aarhus Fremad (loan)
|3 | 1 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 3 | 1 | |||
| rowspan=11|MYPA
|2000 |32 | 10 | colspan=2|– | 2{{efn|name=ui}} | 1 | 34 | 11 | ||
| 2001
|Veikkausliiga |31 | 9 | colspan=2|– | 2{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Cup|name=uc}} | 1 | 33 | 10 | ||
| 2002
|Veikkausliiga |28 | 13 | colspan=2|– | 2{{efn|name=uc}} | 0 | 30 | 13 | ||
| 2003
|Veikkausliiga |26 | 14 | colspan=2|– | 4{{efn|name=uc}} | 0 | 30 | 14 | ||
| 2004
|Veikkausliiga |26 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2{{efn|name=ui}} | 1 | 29 | 11 | |
| 2005
|Veikkausliiga |20 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2{{efn|name=uc}} | 0 | 22 | 8 | |
| 2006
|Veikkausliiga |17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Champions League|name=ucl}} | 2 | 21 | 3 | |
| 2007
|Veikkausliiga |25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4{{efn|name=uc}} | 0 | 29 | 4 | |
| 2008
|Veikkausliiga |26 | 5 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 26 | 5 | |||
| 2009
|Veikkausliiga |26 | 2 | 6 | 0 | colspan=2|– | 32 | 2 | ||
| colspan=2|Total
!257||75||7||1||22||5||286||81 | ||||||||
| Kultsu
|2010 |9 | 8 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 9 | 8 | |||
| PEPO Lappeenranta
|2011 |Kakkonen |1 | 0 | colspan=2|– | colspan=2|– | 1 | 0 | |||
| colspan="3"|Career total
!456 | 142 | 8 | 1 | 30 | 7 | 494 | 150 |
{{notelist}}
=International=
| class=wikitable style=text-align:center | ||
| colspan=4|Finland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1997 | 3 | 2 |
| colspan=1|Total||3||2 |
=International goals=
:As of match played 25 February 1997. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Puhakainen goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Saku Puhakainen | ||||||
| scope=col|No.
!scope=col|Date !scope=col|Venue !scope=col|Opponent !scope=col|Score !scope=col|Result !scope=col|Competition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center|1 | 23 February 1997 | rowspan=2|Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | {{fb|CHN}} | align=center|1–1 | align=center|1–2 | Friendly |
| align=center|2 | 25 February 1997 | {{fb|SGP}} | align=center|1–0 | align=center|1–0 | Friendly |
References
- {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904005827/http://guardian.touch-line.com/statscentre.asp?Lang=0&CTID=55&CPID=72&pStr=Player&PLID=43401&TEID=614 |date=4 September 2012 |title=Profile at Guardian's Stats Centre }}
External links
- {{NFT player|10400}}
{{Veikkausliiga top scorers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puhakainen, Saku}}
Category:Finnish men's footballers
Category:Finland men's international footballers
Category:Finnish expatriate men's footballers
Category:Veikkausliiga players
Category:Danish Superliga players
Category:Myllykosken Pallo −47 players
Category:Turun Palloseura footballers
Category:Aarhus Fremad players
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Sportspeople from Lappeenranta
Category:Footballers from South Karelia
Category:Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
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