Tim Sparv
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Tim Sparv | |||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 20 February 1987 | |||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Oravais, Finland | |||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||
Playing position | Defensive Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||||
Current team | FC Midtjylland | |||||||||||||||||
Number | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||
1993–2003 | Norrvalla FF | |||||||||||||||||
2003–2006 | Southampton | |||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | Southampton | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
2007–2009 | Halmstad | 51 | (1) | |||||||||||||||
2008 | → VPS (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
2010–2013 | FC Groningen | 98 | (4) | |||||||||||||||
2013–2014 | Greuther Fürth | 28 | (1) | |||||||||||||||
2014– | FC Midtjylland | 19 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||
Finland U16 | 6 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
Finland U17 | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
Finland U19 | 19 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
2007–2009 | Finland U21 | 19 | (6) | |||||||||||||||
2009– | Finland | 45 | (1) | |||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 March 2015. † Appearances (Goals). |
Tim Sparv (born 20 February 1987), is a Finnish professional football midfielder who plays for Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland and represents Finland national team. Sparv was born in Oravais,[1] Ostrobothnia, Sparv signed for Southampton in 2003,[2] leaving the Finnish third division outfit Norrvalla FF.[3]
Club career
Southampton
He spent three years in the renowned youth academy of Southampton.[4] He was a member of Southampton's youth team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2005,[5] where he played alongside Theo Walcott,[6] losing on aggregate to Ipswich Town.[7] He was named in the first team squad for 2006–07 season[8] and made numerous reserve team appearances but, as Southampton had a plethora of midfielders from which to choose, he was unable to break through into the first team itself.
Halmstad
On 7 January 2007, he moved to Halmstads BK to play in Allsvenskan, on the advice of both his father and former Halmstads BK player Michael Svensson.[9] On 1 May 2008, he was loaned out to Vaasan Palloseura after suffering illness as well as a lack of playing time with Halmstads.[10]
Groningen
In August 2009, he was close to a move to Groningen, but Halmstad refused to let him go at that point.[11] On 14 August, FC Groningen announced that Sparv would join them as of 1 January 2010.[12] He scored his first goal for Groningen in the opening match of the 2010–11 season, in a 1–1 draw against AZ.
Fürth
In May 2013 Sparv signed a three year contract with Fürth.[13] He made his 2. Bundesliga debut in 21 July 2013 in a match against Arminia Bielefeld.
FC Midtjylland
On July 3, 2014 Tim Sparv signed a four year contract with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.[14]
International career
Sparv was the second youngest player in the squad for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship played at home but did not make an appearance in the tournament. He made his Finland U21 debut on 7 October 2006 and played a big part in the successful 2009 European Championship qualifying campaign, playing in 9 out of 10 games and scoring three goals. He was made team captain during the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and scored a penalty in a 2–1 defeat by England on 15 June 2009.[15]
On 4 February 2009, Sparv made his debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Japan, which ended in a 5–1 defeat.[16] He played his first FIFA World Cup qualification game in 10 October 2009 when Stuart Baxter chose him to the starting line up against Wales in Helsinki Olympic Stadium.[17]
International goals
# | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 15 August 2012 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | 1–2 | 3–3 | Friendly |
Honours
Country
Finland national football team
- 2012 Baltic Cup Runner-up
- 2014 Baltic Cup Bronze
Individual
- 2007: Finland U21 Player of the Year [18]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | Division | League | Domestic Cups | Europe | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
VPS | ||||||||||
2008 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
VPS Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
Halmstad | ||||||||||
2007 | Allsvenskan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
2008 | Allsvenskan | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
2009 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
Halmstad Total | 51 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 1 | ||
Groningen | ||||||||||
2009-10 | Eredivisie | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
2010-11 | Eredivisie | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
2011-12 | Eredivisie | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
2012-13 | Eredivisie | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | |
Groningen Total | 98 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 5 | ||
Greuther Fürth | ||||||||||
2013-14 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
Greuther Fürth Total | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
Midtjylland | ||||||||||
2014-15 | Superliga | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
Midtjylland Total | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
Career Total | 204 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 215 | 7 | ||
International
- As of 28 March 2015[21]
Finland national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2009 | 5 | 0 |
2010 | 7 | 0 |
2011 | 6 | 0 |
2012 | 9 | 1 |
2013 | 7 | 0 |
2014 | 9 | 0 |
2015 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 45 | 1 |
References
- ↑ "Tim Sparv aloittaa Pohjalaisen kolumnistina" (in Finnish). POHJALAINEN.fi. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ↑ "Tim Sparv valitsi Halmstadin Southamptonin jälkeen" (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
- ↑ "Tim Sparv tulossa lainapapereilla Suomen kentille?" (in Finnish). Iltasanomat. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ "England out to start the party right". The Independent. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ↑ "Town starlets win Youth Cup". Ipswich Star. 23 April 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ↑ "Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal: Theo Walcott must learn from Gareth Bale's ascent". The Telegraph. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ↑ "GALLERY: Ipswich Town lift 2005 Youth Cup with win over Southampton". greenun24.co.uk. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ "Southampton squad 2006/07". footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ "Finländsk U21-landslagsman klar för HBK" (in Swedish). Svenskafans.com. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- ↑ "HBK lånar ut Sparv till Vaasa" (in Swedish). Hallandsposten.se. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
- ↑ "Groningen fail in Sparv bid". skysports.com. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ↑ "Sparv per 2010 naar FC Groningen" (in Dutch). fcgroningen.nl. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ↑ "Maajoukkuefutaaja Tim Sparv siirtyy Saksaan" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ↑ "Finsk landsholdsspiller på plads i FC Midtjylland" (in Danish). fcm.dk. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ↑ Fletcher, Paul (15 June 2009). "England U21s 2–1 Finland U21s". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Sparv debuterade" (in Swedish). HBK.se. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ↑ "Suomi löi Walesin ja varmisti kolmospaikan" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ↑ "Kauden 2007 parhaat" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ↑ http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/29773/Tim_Sparv.html
- ↑ http://nr.soccerway.com/players/tim-sparv/6141/
- ↑ "Tim Sparv" (in Finnish). palloliitto.fi. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
External links
- Tim Sparv at FC Midtjylland (Danish)
- Tim Sparv at SpVgg Greuther Fürth (German)
- Tim Sparv at FC Groningen (Dutch)
- Tim Sparv – UEFA competition record
- Tim Sparv – FIFA competition record
- Tim Sparv career statistics at Soccerbase
- Tim Sparv at fussballdaten.de (German)
- Tim Sparv at National-Football-Teams.com
- Tim Sparv at Soccerway.com
- Profile at FA of Finland's official website (Finnish)
- BBC profile
- HBK Profile (Swedish)
- Profile at ESPNsoccernet
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