| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Markus Heikkinen | ||
| Date of birth | 13 October 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Katrineholm, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back, Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Rapid Wien | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1997 | Oulun Palloseura | 24 | (5) |
| 1997–1999 | TPS | 22 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | MyPa | 43 | (1) |
| 2001–2003 | HJK | 85 | (1) |
| 2003 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | Aberdeen | 68 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | Luton | 76 | (2) |
| 2007– | Rapid Wien | 118 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| Finland U18 | 2 | (0) | |
| Finland U21 | 3 | (0) | |
| 2002–2011 | Finland | 61 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Markus "Mako" Heikkinen (born 13 October 1978 in Katrineholm) is a Swedish born, Finnish footballer, who currently plays for SK Rapid Wien in the Austrian Bundesliga. Heikkinen can play either as a defensive midfielder or central defender.
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An integral part of the Luton side that finished 10th in The Championship in the 2005-2006 season, Heikkinen collected four awards – the Player of the Year trophy, Players’ Player of the Season, Internet Player of the Season and the Luton News Player of the Season.[1]
His previous clubs include OPS, TPS Turku, MyPa, HJK, Portsmouth, Aberdeen and Luton Town.
During his two years with Aberdeen, Heikkinen was popular and important player, who usually featured in central midfield, where he had a reputation as a tough tackling and dependable player. Despite repeated attempts by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood to get the player to sign a new deal, he indicated that he was unsettled at Aberdeen and wanted to move on.
On 29 December 2006, in a game for Luton against Birmingham City he was feared to have a compound fracture of the fibula, however it was in fact a nasty gash down his leg, after a late challenge by midfielder Fabrice Muamba.[2][3] He returned to action against Stoke City on 17 February 2007.
Heikkinen made his national team debut on 4 January 2002 against Bahrain. He immediately became an important defensive player to his native team. He often played as defensive midfielder. However he returned to his old position as centre back in 2010, after Hannu Tihinen retired in professional football. He announced his retirement from international football on 26 September 2011 [4].
| Finland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | 7 | 0 |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 7 | 0 |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 |
| 2007 | 7 | 0 |
| 2008 | 8 | 0 |
| 2009 | 9 | 0 |
| 2010 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 61 | 0 |
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