Niki Mäenpää

Niki Mäenpää

Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-01-23) 23 January 1985
Place of birth	Espoo, Finland
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	VVV-Venlo
Number	12
Youth career
	FC Kasiysi
	HJK
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2006	RC Lens II	17	(0)
2006	→ Telstar (loan)	0	(0)
2006–2009	FC Den Bosch	67	(0)
2009–2011	Willem II	18	(0)
2011–2012	AZ	0	(0)
2012–	VVV-Venlo	85	(0)
National team‡
	Finland U19	5	(0)
2005–2006	Finland U21	13	(0)
2008–	Finland	24	(0)
Honours Finland national football team Runner-up Baltic Cup 2012 Third Baltic Cup 2014
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 February 2015 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 December 2014

Niki Mäenpää (born 23 January 1985), is a Finnish professional football goalkeeper who plays for Dutch Eerste Divisie side VVV-Venlo and represents Finland national team.^[1] Mäenpää was born in Espoo, Finland where he played for the local youth team FC Kasiysi before moving to HJK youth team.

Club career

RC Lens

He started his senior career at Lens Reserves in 2003.^[2] During winter 2006 transfer window, he joined Telstar on loan until the end of the season. He didn't feature in any Ligue 1 match in the first team of RC Lens. His contract with Lens expired on 30 June 2006.

FC Den Bosch

During summer 2006, he joined Dutch Eerste Divisie side FC Den Bosch on a free transfer. He made his breakthrough in season 2006-07 when he played 27 league matches. He made a total of 67 league appearances during 3 seasons. His contract with FC Den Bosch expired in summer 2009.

Willem II

In summer 2009, he joined Dutch Eredivisie side Willem II on a free transfer, making 18 league appearances. He left Willem II on summer 2011, by terminating his contract after they got relegated to Eerste Divisie.

AZ Alkmaar

On 3 October 2011, he joined AZ Alkmaar on a free transfer on a contract until the end of the season, joining compatriot and team captain Niklas Moisander.^[3] However at AZ, he found himself demoted to third-choice, behind Esteban Alvarado and the veteran Erik Heijblok. He left the club after only one season, without making a single appearance for the AZ's first team.

VVV-Venlo

On 29 May 2012 it was announced that Mäenpää had signed a three-year contract with fellow Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo.^[4] The fans voted him as best Venlo player of the season 2013-14.^[5]

International career

Mäenpää was 18 years old in 1 April 2003 when he debuted in Finland´s youth team in a match against Sweden in Malmö. He played his first game in Finland national under-21 football team 30 March 2004 in Corradino in a match against Malta. He gained 13 caps in Finland U21-team.

He made his debut for the Finnish national team on 2 June 2008 in a friendly match in Veritas Stadion, Turku against Belarus when Stuart Baxter chose him to the starting line up.^[6] He played his first FIFA World Cup qualification game in 12 October 2012 in Helsinki Olympic Stadium when Mixu Paatelainen chose him to starting eleven in a match against Georgia.^[7] Recently he has been the playing goalkeeper in most national team games. He played one of his best games in March 2013 when Finland got a surprising 1-1 away draw against Spain in the 2014 World Cup qualifyings.

Honours

Country

Finland national football team

• 2012 Baltic Cup Runner-up
• 2014 Baltic Cup Bronze

Career statistics

Club

^[8][9]

As of 21 February 2015

Club	Season	Division	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
HJK Helsinki
	2003	Veikkausliiga	0	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	5	0
HJK Helsinki Total			0	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	0	0
			RC Lens B
2003–04	CFA	3		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	3	0
2004–05	CFA	14		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	14	0
2005–06	CFA	0		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	0	0
RC Lens B Total			17	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	17	0
			Den Bosch
2006–07	Eerste Divisie	27		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	27	0
2007–08	Eerste Divisie	33		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	33	0
2008–09	Eerste Divisie	7		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	7	0
Den Bosch Total			67	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	67	0
			Willem II
2009-10	Eredivisie	6		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
2010-11	Eredivisie	12		0	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Willem II Total			18	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
			AZ Alkmaar
2011–12	Eredivisie	0		0	0	0	-	-	0	0	0	0
AZ Alkmaar Total			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
			VVV-Venlo
				2012-13	Eredivisie	33	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	36	0
2013-14	Eerste Divisie	33		0	4	0	0	0	0	0	37	0
2014-15	Eerste Divisie	23		0	2	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
VVV-Venlo Total			89	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	98	0
			Career Total			191	0	10	0	0	0	0	0	201	00

International

As of 21 February 2015

Finland national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2008	2	0
2009	2	0
2010	0	0
2011	0	0
2012	6	0
2013	9	0
2014	5	0
Total	24	0

References

External links

• Voetbal International profile (Dutch)
• Niki Mäenpää at VVV-Venlo (Dutch)
• Niki Mäenpää – UEFA competition record
• Niki Mäenpää – FIFA competition record
• Niki Mäenpää career statistics at Soccerbase
• Niki Mäenpää at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Niki Mäenpää at National-Football-Teams.com
• Niki Mäenpää at Soccerway.com
• Niki Mäenpää French league stats at LFP.fr (French)

VVV-Venlo – current squad 1 Tabakis 2 Joppen 3 Promes 4 Balkestein 5 Fleuren 6 Maksimenko 7 Khalouta 8 Post (c) 9 Platje 10 Nijholt 11 Wolters 12 Mäenpää 14 Sevinç 16 Voorn 17 Kruijsen 18 Gijzen 20 Hendriks 21 Donkers 22 Verstappen 24 Elito 25 Altheer 26 Van Crooy 27 Simmons 28 Vilters 38 Buwalda Manager: Steijn