Jussi Kujala (born 4 April 1983 in Tampere) is a Finnish former footballer. Having started his career as an attacking midfielder, he has since dropped deeper down the field. He was the captain of the Finnish U21 national team in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifiers.
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | (1983-04-04) 4 April 1983 (age 39) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Tampere, Finland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder, Defender | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1992–1999 | FC Ilves | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1999–2000 | Tampere United | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000–2004 | Ajax | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2009 | Tampere United | 119 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 | TPS | 6 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010–2012 | De Graafschap | 40 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 | FC Ilves | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013–2014 | KuPS | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 | FC Ilves | 29 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finland U21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2009 | Finland | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Kujala made his debut for United in 2000 and he gained 10 caps and one goal for the team.
After Tampere United he spent four seasons playing in the junior and reserve teams of Ajax Amsterdam.
He returned to Tampere United in 2004. As the club had financial difficulties in 2009 he was allowed to leave the team.
He transferred to TPS Turku during the summer 2009 transfer window.
In January 2010 he left TPS Turku and signed with Dutch side De Graafschap on a free transfer.
In September 2012, Kujala signed a contract with his old junior team Ilves.[1] Ilves was promoted to Ykkönen at the end of the season.
On 27 November Kuopion Palloseura announced that they had signed Kujala for two years.[2]
In January 2015 he signed a one-year contract with FC Ilves.[3]
He announced his retirement in December 2015.[4]
Kujala made his international debut in Finland's national team in 2004 against Oman.
De Graafschap
Finland national team | ||
Year | Apps | Goals |
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2004 | 1 | 0 |
2005 | 0 | 0 |
2006 | 2 | 0 |
2007 | 0 | 0 |
2008 | 1 | 0 |
2009 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 5 | 0 |
Tampere United
De Graafschap
Ilves