Taavi Aulis Rytkönen (5 January 1929 – 16 April 2014) was a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
. He became the country's first
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
player when he signed for
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
's
Toulouse FC
Toulouse Football Club is French professional football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the premier division of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium de Toulouse lo ...
in 1952.
In total Rytkönen spent eight seasons (1952–1960) in France, winning the
French Cup
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...
in 1957. A
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
, he started his career in Finland with
KuPS Kuopio
Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League, Veikkausliiga.
KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup 4 times ...
in 1945, and after returning from France he worked as player-coach of
HJK Helsinki
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...
1960–1966 and as coach 1967–1971.
Rytkönen earned 37 caps for the
Finnish national team, scoring seven goals. He played for Finland at the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. He also worked as national coach from 1975 to 1978. He was chosen Finland's Player of the Year in 1949, 1950, and 1952.
Finland - Player of the Year Awards
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rytkonen, Aulis
1929 births
2014 deaths
People from Karttula
Association football forwards
Expatriate footballers in France
Finnish expatriate footballers
Finnish football managers
Finnish footballers
Finland international footballers
Finland national football team managers
Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi managers
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players
Kuopion Palloseura players
Ligue 1 players
Ligue 2 players
Olympic footballers of Finland
Toulouse FC players
Sportspeople from North Savo