There are two different "Player of the Year" awards in Finland. The sports journalists have elected their "Player of the Year" since 1947, the Finnish FA theirs since 1953. Both awards were originally for the calendar year (i.e. the Finnish league season), but in 2016 the award of the Finnish FA was changed to cover the European season from autumn to spring.
The Player of the Year in the Finnish domestic league has been elected since 1990, based on a vote among the players themselves. All players in the Finnish league are eligible, no matter their citizenship.
1947 Leo Turunen Sudet Helsinki 1948 Thure Sarnola (gk) HPS Helsinki 1949 Aulis Rytkönen KuPS Kuopio 1950 Aulis Rytkönen KuPS Kuopio 1951 Kalevi Lehtovirta Pyrkivä Turku 1952 Aulis Rytkönen KuPS Kuopio 1953 Mauno Rintanen (gk) HJK Helsinki 1954 Matti Hiltunen KPT Kuopio 1955 Matti Jokinen (gk) VIFK Vaasa 1956 Lauri Lehtinen HJK Helsinki 1957 Alpo Lintamo HPS Helsinki 1958 Kai Pahlman HPS Helsinki 1959 Unto Nevalainen HIFK Helsinki 1960 Juhani Peltonen Haka Valkeakoski 1961 Olli Heinonen Reipas Lahti 1962 Juhani Peltonen Haka Valkeakoski 1963 Olli Heinonen Reipas Lahti 1964 Juhani Peltonen Haka Valkeakoski / Hamburger SV (Ger) 1965 Juhani Peltonen Hamburger SV (Ger) 1966 Matti Mäkelä UponP Lahti 1967 Lars Näsman (gk) UponP Lahti 1968 Timo Nummelin TPS Turku 1969 Seppo Kilponen OPS Oulu 1970 Timo Kautonen Reipas Lahti 1971 Arto Tolsa Beerschot VAV (Bel) 1972 Miikka Toivola TPS Turku 1973 Jouko Suomalainen KPT Kuopio 1974 Arto Tolsa Beerschot VAV (Bel) 1975 Göran Enckelman (gk) TPS Turku 1976 Aki Heiskanen KPT Kuopio 1977 Arto Tolsa Beerschot VAV (Bel) 1978 Atik Ismail HJK Helsinki 1979 Seppo Pyykkö OPS Oulu 1980 Aki Lahtinen OPS Oulu 1981 Juha Dahllund HJK Helsinki 1982 Pasi Rautiainen Werder Bremen (Ger) / Arminia Bielefeld (Ger) 1983 Kari Ukkonen Cercle Brugge (Bel) 1984 Olli Huttunen (gk) Haka Valkeakoski 1985 Ismo Lius Kuusysi Lahti 1986 Esa Pekonen Kuusysi Lahti 1987 Ari Hjelm Ilves Tampere 1988 Mika-Matti Paatelainen Dundee United (Sco) 1989 Ari Heikkinen TPS Turku 1990 Jari Litmanen Reipas Lahti 1991 Marko Myyry KSC Lokeren (Bel) 1992 Jari Litmanen MyPa Myllykoski / AFC Ajax (Ned) 1993 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1994 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1995 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1996 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1997 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1998 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1999 Sami Hyypiä Willem II (Ned) / Liverpool FC (Eng) 2000 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2001 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2002 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2003 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2004 Antti Niemi (gk) Southampton FC (Eng) 2005 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2006 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2007 Jussi Jääskeläinen (gk) Bolton Wanderers (Eng) 2008 Petri Pasanen Werder Bremen (Ger) 2009 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2010 Sami Hyypiä Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2011 Roman Eremenko Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr) / Rubin Kazan (Rus) 2012 Niklas Moisander AZ Alkmaar (Ned) / AFC Ajax (Ned) 2013 Niklas Moisander AFC Ajax (Ned) 2014 Roman Eremenko Rubin Kazan (Rus) / CSKA Moskva (Rus) 2015 Roman Eremenko CSKA Moskva (Rus) 2016 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger) 2017 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger) 2018 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger) / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2019 Teemu Pukki Norwich City (Eng) 2020 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2021 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2022 Natalia Kuikka (woman) Portland Thorns (Usa) 2023 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Bayer Leverkusen (Ger)
9 Sami Hyypiä 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 8 Jari Litmanen 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 6 Lukas Hradecky (gk) 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 4 Juhani Peltonen 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965 3 Roman Eremenko 2011, 2014, 2015 Aulis Rytkönen 1949, 1950, 1952 Arto Tolsa 1971, 1974, 1977 2 Olli Heinonen 1961, 1963 Niklas Moisander 2012, 2013 The sports journalists elect also the Finnish "Athlete of the Year" among all sports disciplines. That award has been won by a football player three times: 1995 (Jari Litmanen), 2001 (Sami Hyypiä) and 2019 (Teemu Pukki).
1953 Mauno Rintanen (gk) HJK Helsinki 1954 Pekka Kupiainen Jäntevä Kotka 1955 Matti Jokinen (gk) VIFK Vaasa 1956 Lauri Lehtinen HJK Helsinki 1957 Alpo Lintamo HPS Helsinki 1958 Kai Pahlman HPS Helsinki 1959 Unto Nevalainen HIFK Helsinki 1960 Juhani Peltonen Haka Valkeakoski 1961 Olli Heinonen Reipas Lahti 1962 Juhani Peltonen Haka Valkeakoski 1963 Olli Heinonen Reipas Lahti 1964 Juhani Peltonen Haka Valkeakoski / Hamburger SV (Ger) 1965 Lars Näsman (gk) UponP Lahti 1966 Pertti Mäkipää UponP Lahti 1967 Timo Kautonen Reipas Lahti 1968 Jouni Jalonen TPS Turku 1969 Tommy Lindholm HIFK Helsinki 1970 Timo Kautonen Reipas Lahti 1971 Arto Tolsa Beerschot VAV (Bel) 1972 Miikka Toivola TPS Turku 1973 Jouko Suomalainen KPT Kuopio 1974 Arto Tolsa Beerschot VAV (Bel) 1975 Göran Enckelman (gk) TPS Turku 1976 Ari Mäkynen VPS Vaasa 1977 Arto Tolsa Beerschot VAV (Bel) 1978 Miikka Toivola HJK Helsinki 1979 Seppo Pyykkö OPS Oulu 1980 Aki Lahtinen OPS Oulu 1981 Aki Lahtinen OPS Oulu / Notts County (Eng) 1982 Olli Huttunen (gk) Haka Valkeakoski 1983 Kari Ukkonen Cercle Brugge (Bel) 1984 Olli Huttunen (gk) Haka Valkeakoski 1985 Jukka Ikäläinen KePS Kemi 1986 Petri Tiainen Kuusysi Lahti / AFC Ajax (Ned) 1987 Ari Hjelm Ilves Tampere 1988 Mika-Matti Paatelainen Dundee United (Sco) 1989 Jari Europaeus RoPS Rovaniemi 1990 Jari Litmanen Reipas Lahti 1991 Marko Myyry KSC Lokeren (Bel) 1992 Jari Litmanen MyPa Myllykoski / AFC Ajax (Ned) 1993 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1994 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1995 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1996 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1997 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1998 Jari Litmanen AFC Ajax (Ned) 1999 Sami Hyypiä Willem II (Ned) / Liverpool FC (Eng) 2000 Jari Litmanen FC Barcelona (Esp) 2001 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2002 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2003 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2004 Antti Niemi (gk) Southampton FC (Eng) 2005 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2006 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2007 Jussi Jääskeläinen (gk) Bolton Wanderers (Eng) 2008 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) 2009 Sami Hyypiä Liverpool FC (Eng) / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2010 Sami Hyypiä Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2011 Roman Eremenko Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr) / Rubin Kazan (Rus) 2012 Niklas Moisander AZ Alkmaar (Ned) / AFC Ajax (Ned) 2013 Niklas Moisander AFC Ajax (Ned) 2014 Roman Eremenko Rubin Kazan (Rus) / CSKA Moskva (Rus) 2015 Tim Sparv FC Midtjylland (Den) 2015/16 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger) 2016/17 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger) 2017/18 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger) 2018/19 Teemu Pukki Norwich City (Eng) 2019/20 Teemu Pukki Norwich City (Eng) 2020/21 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 2021/22 Glen Kamara Rangers (Sco) 2022/23 Lukas Hradecky (gk) Bayer Leverkusen (Ger)
9 Sami Hyypiä 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jari Litmanen 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 5 Lukas Hradecky (gk) 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023 3 Juhani Peltonen 1960, 1962, 1964 Arto Tolsa 1971, 1974, 1977 2 Roman Eremenko 2011, 2014 Olli Heinonen 1961, 1963 Olli Huttunen (gk) 1982, 1984 Timo Kautonen 1967, 1970 Aki Lahtinen 1980, 1981 Niklas Moisander 2012, 2013 Teemu Pukki 2019, 2020 Miikka Toivola 1972, 1978
1990 Jari Litmanen Reipas Lahti 1991 Kimmo Tarkkio Haka Valkeakoski 1992 Antti Niemi (gk) HJK Helsinki 1993 Jari Rantanen FinnPa Helsinki 1994 Petri Sulonen TPS Turku 1995 Valeri Popovitch Haka Valkeakoski 1996 Jari Vanhala Jaro Pietarsaari 1997 Alexei Eremenko Jaro Pietarsaari 1998 Valeri Popovitch Haka Valkeakoski 1999 Valeri Popovitch Haka Valkeakoski 2000 Shefki Kuqi Jokerit Helsinki 2001 Paulus Roiha HJK Helsinki 2002 Valeri Popovitch Haka Valkeakoski 2003 Valeri Popovitch Haka Valkeakoski 2004 Antti Pohja TamU Tampere 2005 "Adriano" [1] MyPa Myllykoski 2006 Jarkko Wiss TamU Tampere 2007 Juska Savolainen TamU Tampere 2008 Dominic Chatto Inter Turku 2009 Wayne Brown TPS Turku 2010 "Medo" [2] HJK Helsinki 2011 Timo Furuholm Inter Turku 2012 Irakli Sirbiladze Inter Turku 2013 Tim Väyrynen Honka Espoo 2014 Robin Lod HJK Helsinki 2015 Aleksandr Kokko RoPS Rovaniemi 2016 Emile Paul Tendeng Ilves Tampere 2017 Filip Valencic HJK Helsinki 2018 "Joao Klauss" [3] HJK Helsinki [1] full name Adriano Thiel Munoz [2] full name Mohamed Kamara [3] full name Joao Klauss de Mello
5 Valeri Popovitch 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 No other player has won the award more than once. gk = goalkeeper
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Authors: Roberto Di Maggio and Heikki Pietarinen
Last updated: 16 Apr 2024
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