Paulus Arajuuri

Paulus Arajuuri
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-06-15) 15 June 1988[1]
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Lech Poznań
Number 23
Youth career
1993-1999 Halkian Alku
2002-2003 NuPS
2004 Jokerit
2005 FC Espoo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 FC Espoo 8 (1)
2006 Honka 1 (0)
2006 → FC Espoo (loan) 8 (2)
2007 Klubi-04 25 (0)
2008–2009 IFK Mariehamn 48 (3)
2009–2013 Kalmar FF 56 (3)
2014– Lech Poznań 64 (3)
National team‡
2008 Finland U20 3 (0)
2008–2010 Finland U21 12 (0)
2010– Finland 17 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 September 2016

Paulus Verneri Arajuuri (born 15 June 1988) is a Finnish professional footballer, who plays as a centre back for Lech Poznań in the Ekstraklasa and the Finland national team.[2] He began his senior club career playing for FC Espoo, before making his Veikkausliiga debut with Honka at age 18 in 2006.

Arajuuri made his international debut for Finland in January 2010, at the age of 21.

Club career

Arajuuri (left) and Mika Niskala at IFK Mariehamn

FC Espoo

Arajuuri made his debut on senior level in the ranks of FC Espoo during season 2005. He gained 8 caps and scored one goal.

Honka

During season 2006 he made his debut in the Veikkausliiga with FC Honka against rivals HJK Helsinki. During the season he was loaned back to FC Espoo for 8 matches.

Klubi-04

For the season 2007 he joined HJK Helsinki. He didn't make any appearances in the first team, but spent the whole season playing for the reserve team Klubi-04 in the Ykkönen.

IFK Mariehamn

Originally from Helsinki, Arajuuri moved to the Åland Islands and IFK Mariehamn in 2008. During his first season with IFK Mariehamn, he participated in all except two games, making it a total of 24 appearances.

During the summer of 2009, Arajuuri was frequently linked with a move to Sweden, especially to Djurgårdens IF. Arajuuri's player agent, Jonas Wirmola, admitted to one of the major newspapers of Åland that Djurgården and several other clubs had shown interest in the young Finnish defender.[3]

Kalmar FF

Eventually, Arajuuri signed a four-year deal (on a Bosman-transfer) with the Swedish champions of 2008, Kalmar FF on 24 September 2009.[4]

Arajuuri netted his first league goals for Kalmar FF home against GAIS on 23 June 2011. He scored twice to help the Småland club earn a 2–1 victory.[5]

Lech Poznań

On 1 January 2014, Arajuuri signed for Polish side Lech Poznań.[6]

International career

Arajuuri made his debut in the Finland national under-21 football team in a friendly against Poland in Jyväskylä on 3 June 2008.[7]

Arajuuri has also represented Finland's U-23 national team in the International Challenge Trophy.[8]

Arajuuri was called up to represent Finland in the U-21 national team qualifiers for the 2011 U-21 Euros. He was a part of the squad that faced the Netherlands and Poland in September 2009, and has since that become a regular.[9] Arajuuri earned his first cap for Finland in a friendly against South Korea on 18 January 2010 in Málaga, Spain. Arajuuri came on as a substitute in the 84th minute.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 October 2016.[11]
Club Season League League Cup Europe Other1 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kalmar FF 2010 Allsvenskan 1302010–160
2011 10200––102
2012 2110060–271
2013 12030––150
Total 56 3 5 0 7 0 – 68 3
Lech Poznań 2013–14 Ekstraklasa 50–––50
2014–15 2534100–294
2015–16 280513000361
2016–17 6000–0060
Total 64 3 9 2 3 0 0 0 76 5

1 Including Polish SuperCup.

Honours

Club

Lech Poznań[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "P.Arajuuri". soccerway.com. SOCCERWAY. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Paulus Arajuuri" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Fortfarande oklart kring Arajuuri-flytt". Nya Åland (in Swedish). Mariehamn, Finland. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  4. ↑ "Paulus Arajuuri siirtyy Kalmariin". Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). Mariehamn, Finland. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  5. ↑ "Paulus frälste Guldfågeln Arena". Kalmar FF (in Swedish). Kalmar, Sweden. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-23.
  6. ↑ http://www.lechpoznan.pl/news/paulus,arajuuri,pilkarzem,lecha
  7. ↑ "U21 Suomi-Puola 3.6". Futismaailma.com (in Finnish). Jyväskylä, Finland. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  8. ↑ "U23: Suomi Italian kimppuun keskiviikkona". Palloliitto.fi (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  9. ↑ "Paulus representerar Finland". GMM. Helsinki, Finland. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-26. (Swedish)
  10. ↑ "Förlust för Lyyski och Arajuuri i debuten". Nya Åland (in Swedish). Mariehamn, Finland. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  11. 1 2 "Paulus Arajuuri". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 August 2015.

External links

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