Maija Saari
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maija Karoliina Saari | ||
| Date of birth | 26 March 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Vaasa, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | AIK | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FC Kiisto | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2008 | FC Honka | ||
| 2009–2010 | Umeå IK | 43 | (4) |
| 2011 | Kolbotn | 20 | (1) |
| 2012 | AIK | 22 | (2) |
| 2013 | Mallbackens IF | 8 | (0) |
| 2014– | AIK | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007– | Finland | 75 | (7) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:54, 3 December 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Maija Karoliina Saari (born 26 March 1986) is a Finnish international footballer. She currently plays in the Swedish Damallsvenskan for AIK, having previously represented Mallbackens IF and Umeå IK in Sweden, Kolbotn in the Norwegian Toppserien and FC Honka in her home country. Since making her debut for the Finland women's national football team in 2007, Saari has won over 70 caps and captained the team.
Club career
A strong, left–sided defender, Saari won three consecutive domestic titles with FC Honka in 2006, 2007 and 2008. She joined the club aged 10 after moving to Helsinki from her birthplace of Vaasa and rose to captain the club. In December 2008 Saari signed a two year contract with Swedish club Umeå IK.[2] In 2011 she played for Kolbotn Fotball in the Norwegian Toppserien, before returning to Sweden with AIK Solna.[3]
Saari returned to AIK for the 2014 season, having spent 2013 with Mallbackens IF.[4]
International career
She made her debut for the senior Finland team on 7 March 2007; playing 90 minutes against Sweden in the Algarve Cup.[5] Saari also played in all four of Finland's matches at UEFA Women's Euro 2009, including the quarter final defeat to England.
In June 2013 Saari, by then the national team captain, was devastated to be ruled out of UEFA Women's Euro 2013 with a cruciate ligament injury.[6]
References
- ↑ "Finland". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ↑ Britta Åkerlund. "Umeå IK värvar finsk landslagsback" (in Swedish). Umea.se. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ↑ AIK signs the Finnish Maija Saari
- ↑ Karlsson, Juho (2 December 2013). "Saari återvänder till AIK" (in Swedish). Yle. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ↑ "Maija Saari" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ↑ Erävuori, Mikael (7 June 2013). "Devastated Saari out for Finland". UEFA. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
External links
- Maija Saari on Twitter
- Maija Saari – FIFA competition record
- Profile at Kolbotn IL (Norwegian)
- Profile at Swedish Football Association (Swedish)
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