Hannu Tihinen

Hannu Tihinen
Personal information
Full name Hannu Tihinen
Date of birth (1976-07-01) 1 July 1976
Place of birth Keminmaa, Finland
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Centre back
Youth career
1991–1992 KePS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 KePS 77 (12)
1997–2000 HJK Helsinki 65 (8)
2000–2002 Viking 71 (8)
2001 → West Ham United (loan) 8 (0)
2002–2006 Anderlecht 101 (14)
2006–2010 Zürich 116 (9)
Total 438 (51)
National team‡
1997–2010 Finland 76 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 June 2010.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 June 2010

Hannu Tihinen (born 1 July 1976 in Keminmaa, Lapland) is a retired Finnish footballer who played as a defender.

He has played for clubs in Finland, Norway, England, Belgium and Switzerland.

Club career

Tihinen started his career with KePS in the lower divisions before moving to Veikkausliiga club HJK for the 1997 season. He won both the Finnish championship and Finnish Cup once with HJK, and also earned UEFA Champions League experience with the club in the 1998-99 season. Tihinen then joined Norwegian club Viking in 2000. He spent two and a half seasons with Viking, while also having a brief loan spell at West Ham United in the English Premiership. Whilst at West Ham he played in their 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 2000-01 FA Cup.[1] In 2002 Tihinen joined Belgian giants Anderlecht. He played in Belgium for four years, winning two Belgian championships. After Tihinen's contract with Anderlecht expired in the summer of 2006, he was snapped up by Zürich on a three-year deal. He was Captain of the 2006-07 Swiss Championship and the 2008-09 Swiss Championship winning team.

On 30 September 2009, Tihinen scored the winning goal for FC Zurich after 10 minutes against A.C. Milan in the Group C game of the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League.

On 7 May 2010 Tihinen announced that he would retire after the 2009-10 season, mainly because of his head injuries. His last game was an away draw (3-3) against Neuchâtel Xamax on 16 May 2010. After retiring, he will join FC Zürich as an assistant director.[2][3]

On 13 April 2012, the 35-year-old Tihinen announced his candidacy to run for the new president of the Football Association of Finland, as the post was left open after Sauli Niinistö was elected as President of Finland.[4]

International career

Tihinen made his debut for the Finnish national team on 5 June 1999 against Turkey. He formed Finland's regular central defensive pairing with Sami Hyypiä for most of the 2000s.

International goals

Finland’s score first.[5]

# Date Location Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 5 June 1999 Finland Helsinki  Turkey 2–4 Loss UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2. 15 August 2001 Finland Helsinki  Belgium 4–1 Win Friendly
3. 12 October 2002 Finland Helsinki  Azerbaijan 3–0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
4. 7 September 2005 Finland Tampere  Macedonia 5–1 Win 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. 5 September 2009 Azerbaijan Lankaran  Azerbaijan 2–1 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Helmet

Tihinen injured his head many times during his career. Because of that he wore a helmet during his last seasons. He was also very good with his head, which he used to score most of his goals.

Honours

HJK

Viking

Anderlecht

FC Zürich

References

  1. ↑ "Di Canio sinks Man Utd". BBC. 28 January 2001. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  2. ↑ "Hannu Tihinen lopettaa peliuransa - siirtyy johtoportaaseen" (in Finnish). Iltasanomat. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Hannu Tihinen beendet seine Spielerkarriere" (in German). FC Zürich. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Tihinen runs for FA presidency (in Finnish)
  5. ↑ Hannu Tihinen international matches at Finnish FA (in Finnish)
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