Mixu Paatelainen

Mixu Paatelainen
Personal information
Full name Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen[1]
Date of birth (1967-02-03) 3 February 1967
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1987 Valkeakosken 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 RC 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)
National team
1989–2000 Finland 70 (18)
Teams managed
2005–2006 Cowdenbeath
2006–2007 TPS
2008–2009 Hibernian
2010–2011 Kilmarnock
2011–2015 Finland
2015–2016 Dundee United

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish football player and manager who was most recently the head coach of Scottish Premiership club Dundee United. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland’s all time thirteenth most capped player and fifth top goalscorer. He is the eldest of three brothers, all of whom have played professional football. Their father Matti was also a Finnish international.

Paatelainen had a 20-year playing career, playing for nine different clubs in four countries. Most of his career was spent in the Scottish leagues, with Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hibernian, St Johnstone and St Mirren. He also played for Valkeakosken Haka in Finland, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England and RC Strasbourg in France. While at Bolton, Paatelainen became the first Finn to play in the Premier League.

After retiring as a player in 2005, Paatelainen became manager of Scottish club Cowdenbeath, where he helped the club win the championship of Scottish Football League Third Division and earn a promotion. After a season coaching in his native Finland with TPS, Paatelainen returned to Scotland as manager of Hibernian. He left that position by mutual consent after 18 months. After a year out of the game, Paatelainen was appointed manager of Kilmarnock. He was Kilmarnock manager for less than one season, but enjoyed personal success during that time. He was appointed manager of the Finnish national team in March 2011, a position he held until June 2015. He was appointed by Dundee United in October 2015, parting company with the club in May 2016 after United's relegation to the Scottish Championship.[2]

Playing career

Club career

Paatelainen made his debut for FC Haka in 1985. He played 48 league matches for Haka, scoring 18 goals. During his debut season, Haka won the Finnish Cup, the only honour of the club during his time there.

In October 1987, Scottish Premier Division club Dundee United signed him for a £100,000 transfer fee. He scored on his debut a day later and quickly established himself as a first team regular, scoring 11 goals in his first season, including four goals in a 7–0 rout of Morton in April 1988. Paatelainen also helped Dundee United reach the Scottish Cup Final in May 1988, although had to settle for a runners-up medal as United lost 2–1 to Celtic. He was the club's top scorer for the following two seasons, and in total scored 47 times in 173 matches for United.[3]

In March 1992, he transferred to Aberdeen for £400,000. During the three seasons he stayed there, he scored 23 goals in 75 matches.[3] Paatelainen played in two cup finals during his time at Pittodrie, but lost to Rangers in October 1992 in the League Cup Final and in May 1993 lost to the same opposition in the Scottish Cup Final.[4]

Paatelainen transferred in 1994 to the English side Bolton Wanderers. The team was promoted to the Premier League in his first season with the club, which then meant that Paatelainen became the first Finnish footballer to play in the Premier League (as the old First Division had been rebranded in 1992). He played a crucial part in the promotion triumph, putting Bolton 3–2 ahead in their playoff final clash with Reading in extra time on their way to a 4–3 victory which ended a 15-year exile from the top flight.[5]

Paatelainen also played in the 1995 Football League Cup Final, in which Wanderers were beaten 2–1 by Liverpool. He was unable to keep Bolton in the Premier League in 1995–96, although they did return the next season by winning the Division One title with 100 goals and 98 points. He then played for Wolverhampton Wanderers during the 1997–98 season. He failed to score for Wolves in the league but scored four times in their FA Cup run, with goals against Darlington (two),[6] Charlton Athletic[7] and Wimbledon.[8] He also scored once in the League Cup, against Queens Park Rangers.[9]

After his spell in Wolverhampton, Paatelainen decided to return to Scotland in the summer of 1998; this time signing for Edinburgh club Hibernian. Hibs had been relegated the previous season, and Paatelainen's twelve goals in his first season helped his side get promotion back to the top division in Scotland.[10] He is fondly remembered by Hibernian supporters for his hat-trick in a 6–2 victory over Edinburgh derby rivals Heart of Midlothian on 22 October 2000.[11] Paatelainen left Hibs in 2001 to sign for French club Strasbourg. He then returned to Hibs for one season, where he combined his playing duties with coaching the youths.[10]

In 2003, he transferred to St Johnstone, when Hibs no longer wished to extend his contract,[12] also acting as an assistant manager. Paatelainen only stayed with St Johnstone for one season. Paatelainen then transferred to St Mirren, where he also served as an assistant manager. This was his last club. During his playing career Paatelainen scored 143 league goals.

National Football Team of Finland

Paatelainen played 70 matches for Finland, scoring 18 goals. He played his first international match on 9 September 1986, against East Germany.[13] One of his feats in the national team was scoring four goals in a single match against San Marino, which stands as a record number of goals in one match for Finland. He retired from international football in 2000.[14] In addition to his appearances for the senior national team, Paatelainen also played 8 matches each for the Finland national under-21 football team and the Finland national under-19 football team.

Coaching career

Cowdenbeath

Having previously worked as a coach while still playing for St Johnstone and St Mirren, Paatelainen was appointed full-time manager of Scottish Third Division part-time football team Cowdenbeath in August 2005. In his first season, he guided the Blue Brazil to their first league title in 67 years. He signed his brothers Markus and Mikko for the club.

TPS

On 21 October 2006, Paatelainen resigned as manager of Cowdenbeath to join Finnish club TPS. He guided TPS to third place and UEFA Intertoto Cup qualification in what was to be his only season in charge.

Hibernian

Paatelainen was linked with the managerial vacancy at former club Hibernian in December 2007, and he was appointed on 10 January 2008.[15] He commented upon taking the job that he wanted to make Hibs play a bit more direct, which he later claimed was misinterpreted as him wanting to play a long ball game.[16] Paatelainen took the Hibs job at a time when they had only won one of their previous ten games and had slipped into the bottom half of the Scottish Premier League. Hibs’ results initially improved under Paatelainen and the club secured a place in the top half of the league.[11]

During the 2008–09 season, Paatelainen came under increasing pressure from Hibs fans[17] due to poor results and his favouring of a 4–3–3 system.[18] Paatelainen eventually abandoned 4–3–3 in favour of a more orthodox 4–4–2 system.[19] He was criticised by Abdessalam Benjelloun, who accused Paatelainen of favouring outdated long ball tactics.[19] Paatelainen responded by saying that Benjelloun was "frustrated" at not being a regular pick for club or country.[19] A poor run of results early in 2009 led to many Hibs supporters calling for Paatelainen to be sacked,[17][20] but he did manage to lead the team into the top half of the league again. Paatelainen was also praised by the media for his tactical approach in winning the last Edinburgh derby of the season,[21] but he left the job by mutual consent at the end of May after a disappointing season.[11]

Kilmarnock

After a year out of the game, Paatelainen was appointed manager of Kilmarnock on 23 June 2010.[22] Paatelainen has earned plaudits from the Scottish media for his early work with Kilmarnock.[23] In November 2010, he was linked with the head coach position of the Finland national football team.[23][24] Paatelainen won the manager of the month award for December 2010, as Kilmarnock continued their good start with two league wins, against Hibernian and Inverness CT, and a draw at Celtic Park.[25] Kilmarnock offered him a long-term contract in March 2011, in an attempt to frustrate interest in Paatelainen from Scunthorpe United.[26] The approach from Scunthorpe was rejected by Paatelainen, but soon afterwards he accepted an offer from Finland.[27] Despite having left Kilmarnock in March, Paatelainen won the SFWA Manager of the Year award for the 2010/11 season.[28]

Finland

Following a bad start by Finland in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying and their decline in the FIFA World Rankings from 33 to 86, head coach Stuart Baxter was sacked.[29][30] Paatelainen was appointed as the new Finland head coach on 31 March 2011.[27] His first match as a head coach was a 1–0 away win against San Marino on 3 June,[31] but Finland then suffered a 5–0 defeat by Sweden in his second game.[32] Both matches were part of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying process.

Paatelainen’s deal with the Finnish Football Association extended to 2016, covering not only the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers but also the FIFA World Cup 2014 and the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.[31] As Finland was already eliminated from UEFA Euro 2012, Paatelainen's task was to renew the national team and try to qualify for one or more of the tournaments during his projected tenure as Finland’s head coach.[33] On June 14, 2015 Paatelainen was sacked following his fourth defeat in a row.

Dundee United

Paatelainen was announced as the new head coach of Dundee United in October 2015, having signed a contract until 2018. His first match in charge of the club was a 1-0 defeat to Hearts at Tannadice.[34] He was unable to prevent the side from relegation which was confirmed on 2 May 2016, and parted company with the club two days later.[2]

Paatelainen’s time at Bolton Wanderers led to him being mentioned in the comedy show Phoenix Nights, which was set in the Bolton area.[35] This happened when the doormen Max & Paddy drunkenly made a prank call to their boss Brian Potter, claiming that Paatelainen worked at the Coroner’s office in Bolton and that the club was on fire.

Statistics

[36][37][38]

Playing career

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland League Finnish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1985FC HakaMestaruussarja115**——115
1986196**——196
1987187**——187
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1987–88Dundee UnitedScottish Premier Division1996200—2511
1988–8933106433304517
1989–90317212031389
1990–91201102030261
1991–92306213200359
1991–92Aberdeen610000—61
1992–9333166123—4120
1993–94366302031447
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1994–95Bolton WanderersFirst Division44121082—5314
1995–96FA Premier League1511010—171
1996–97First Division1020000—102
1997–98 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2305451—335
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998–99HibernianScottish First Division26122000—2812
1999–00Scottish Premier League3194100—3510
2000–01 36115120—4312
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2001–02RC StrasbourgDivision 270****1080
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2002–03HibernianScottish Premier League2473020—297
2003–04St JohnstoneScottish First Division33111032—3713
2004–05St Mirren1640011—175
Total Finland 4818 ——4818
Scotland 37411041112211122437132
England 921574143—11322
France 70 1080
Career total 52114348153614132618174

International goals

[39]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Managerial career

As of match played 2 May 2016
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Cowdenbeath Scotland August 2005 21 October 2006 51 29 7 15 111 62 +49 56.86
TPS Finland October 2006 2007 34 15 5 14 57 41 +16 44.12
Hibernian Scotland 10 January 2008 24 May 2009 62 19 18 25 68 74 −6 30.65
Kilmarnock Scotland 23 June 2010 31 March 2011 34 15 6 13 55 44 +11 44.12
Finland Finland 31 March 2011 14 June 2015 44 17 11 16 54 54 +0 38.64
Dundee United Scotland 14 October 2015 4 May 2016 29 8 4 17 29 45 −16 27.59
Total 252 103 51 98 373 319 +54 40.87

International matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Upcoming matches

Personal awards and achievements

Honours and Achievements

Player

FC Haka
Bolton Wanderers
Hibernian

Manager

Cowdenbeath

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players’ Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 475. ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
  2. 1 2 "Dundee United: Mixu Paatelainen leaves as manager". BBC Sport. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Mixu Paatelainen". Arab Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "12 - Aberdeen Ambition". Shearer Wonderland: The Autobiography. Black & White Publishing. October 2011. ISBN 978-1845023454. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Turnbull, Simon (14 January 1998). "Quakers quelled by hungry Wolves". London: The Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "Wolves 3 Charlton 0". Sporting Life. 3 February 1998. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  8. ↑ Brenkley, Stephen (14 February 1998). "FA Cup 5th Round: Balance of Wolves". London: The Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "QPR 0 Wolves 2". Sporting Life. 12 August 1997. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  10. 1 2 Strachan, Colleen. "Hibs Cult Heroes: Part One; Best Foreigners". The Scotsman. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Murray, Keir (2 June 2009). "Will Hibs miss Mixu?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Paatelainen is a Saint". BBC Sport. 20 May 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  13. ↑ http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/futis/uutiset_erik.shtml/arkistot/futis/2007/04/521171?TPS
  14. ↑ MTV3 Internet 6.8.2000: Mika-Matti Paatelainen quits in the national team. Retrieved 31 October 2007
  15. ↑ "Paatelainen is new Hibs manager". BBC Sport. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  16. ↑ McGarry, John (19 September 2010). "Mixu's route 1 Rage". News of the World. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  17. 1 2 Black, Jim (18 January 2009). "Ex-hero Paatalainen becoming the villain of the piece". The Observer. London. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  18. ↑ "Time for Hibs to deliver". Edinburgh Evening News. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  19. 1 2 3 Gordon, Moira (7 December 2008). "Staying power". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  20. ↑ Gibbons, Glenn (24 February 2009). "Paatelainen held culpable as Hibs toil to break out of spiral of decline". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  21. ↑ Aitken, Mike (9 May 2009). "Hearts stopped as Hibs show guts at Tynecastle". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  22. ↑ Barnes, John (23 June 2010). "Mixu Paatelainen is named as the new Kilmarnock manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  23. 1 2 Mitchell, Bert (12 November 2010). "Mixu gives his verdict on the Killie revival". Evening Times. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  24. ↑ "Mixu Paatelainen content after Kilmarnock draw". BBC Sport. 13 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  25. ↑ "Paatelainen lifts SPL monthly manager's award". BBC Sport. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  26. ↑ MacPherson, Graeme (25 March 2011). "Paatelainen offered new deal in bid to ward off Scunthorpe". The Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  27. 1 2 Barnes, John (31 March 2011). "Mixu Paatelainen leaves Kilmarnock to take Finland job". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  28. ↑ "More awards for Izaguirre, Goodwillie and Paatelainen". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  29. ↑ "Suomi vajosi futislilliputtien joukkoon". hs.fi (in Finnish). HS. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  30. ↑ "Ratkaisu tyydytti kaikkia osapuolia". www.palloliitto.fi (in Finnish). Palloliitto. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  31. 1 2 "Paatelainen maajoukkueen päävalmentajaksi". YLE Urheilu. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  32. ↑ Marzocchi, Massimo (8 June 2011). "Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat-trick painful for Mixu Paatelainen". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  33. ↑ Finnish News Bureau (31 March 2011). "Mixu Paatelainen: Maajoukkueen puolustuksessa tehty isoja virheitä". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  34. ↑ "Mixu Paatelainen confirmed as Dundee United head coach until 2018". STV Sport. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  35. ↑ Gordon, Moira (13 January 2008). "Mixu arrives all clued up". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  36. ↑ Rothmans Football Yearbooks and Sky Sports Yearbooks 1988–2011
  37. ↑ Jalkapallokirja 2008. Suomen palloliiton julkaisu.
  38. ↑ Veikkaaja 2011.
  39. ↑ Yrjö Lautela & Göran Wallén (eds.): Rakas jalkapallo. Sata vuotta suomalaista jalkapalloa. Teos, Helsinki, 2007.
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