Antti Niemi
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| Antti Niemi | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antti Mikko Niemi | |
| Date of birth | May 31, 1972 (age 34) | |
| Place of birth | Oulu, Finland | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |
| Nickname | Antti | |
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Fulham | |
| Number | 29 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1991-1995 1995-1997 1997-2000 1999-2003 2002-2006 2006- |
HJK Helsinki København Rangers Heart of Midlothian Southampton Fulham |
101 (0) 47 (0) 13 (0) 89 (0) 106 (0) 30 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1992-2004 | Finland | 66 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Antti Niemi (born May 31, 1972, in Oulu) is a Finnish football goalkeeper who plays for Fulham F.C. in the English Premiership.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Niemi began his Veikkausliiga career in Finland with HJK Helsinki in 1991. After five seasons at HJK, he moved to Denmark's FC København and from there to Scottish giants Rangers in 1997.
He never became first choice at Rangers though, and mostly played with the reserves, while also having a loan spell at Charlton.
In 1999 Niemi moved to Hearts, where he became known as one of the most respected goalkeepers in the SPL. He moved to Southampton in 2002, and soon established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in England.
On March 15, 2003 Niemi went up for a late corner against his current team, Fulham, at Loftus road. And with some luck the ball came to him at the edge of the box and he proceeded to crash a shot against the bar, allowing Michael Svensson to head the ball into an open goal for a Southampton equaliser. The match finished 2-2.
He played for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup final against Arsenal which was lost 1-0. He pulled up in agony after 64 minutes clutching his calf after taking a goal-kick and was stretchered off, to be replaced by Paul Jones. After Southampton were relegated in 2005 and failed to be promoted the following season, Niemi decided to return to the Premiership with Fulham, for whom he signed in January 2006. He is their first choice keeper.
Widely considered Finland's best ever goalkeeper, Niemi was first choice for the Finnish national team for almost a decade, before announcing his decision to retire from international football in 2005. He was capped 66 times by his country.
Niemi is known as an excellent shot-stopper with great reflexes. Having played for middle-to-bottom drawer teams throughout his career, he has gained something of a reputation for carrying his team through against relentless pressure from superior opponents. His main shortcoming is a relative lack of stature and occasional unwillingness to leave the goalmouth, resulting in lack of control of the penalty area. This has been shown a number of times at Craven Cottage, when he and other players have gone for the same ball, one time resulting in a freak accident against Watford FC.
Niemi was badly hurt during the match against Watford for Fulham on January 1, 2007. Whilst rushing out to head the ball, he toppled over his own defender, Carlos Bocanegra and landed straight onto his head. He was taken from the field of play on a stretcher after 10 minutes of treatment, but was later cleared of any spinal cord or column injury. He was released from hospital later that night with only ligament and muscle damage to the neck[1].
Niemi is married with two children.
[edit] Honours
- FA Cup finalist 2003
[edit] References
- Jeremy Wilson (2006). Southampton’s Cult Heroes. Know The Score Books. ISBN 1-905449-01-1.
[edit] External links
- Antti Niemi career stats at Soccerbase
- Profile at www.fulhamfc.com
- Profile at ESPNsoccernet.com
- FootballDatabase provides Antti Niemi's profile and stats
- Antti Niemi Official Website at icons.com
| Fulham F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
2 Volz | 3 Bocanegra | 4 Queudrue | 5 Christanval | 6 Knight | 7 Rosenior | 8 Brown | 9 Helguson | 11 Montella | 12 Laštůvka | 13 Radzinski | 14 Bouba Diop | 15 John | 16 Jensen | 17 Elliott | 19 Pearce | 20 McBride | 21 Bullard | 22 Routledge | 23 Dempsey | 24 Pembridge | 25 Davies | 26 Collins | 27 Elrich | 28 Milsom | 29 Niemi | 32 Omozusi | 37 Smertin | Manager: Coleman |
Categories: 1972 births | Living people | People from Oulu | Finnish footballers | Finland international footballers | Football (soccer) goalkeepers | HJK Helsinki players | F.C. Copenhagen players | Rangers F.C. players | Charlton Athletic F.C. players | Heart of Midlothian F.C. players | Southampton F.C. players | Fulham F.C. players | FA Premier League players
