Kai Haaskivi (born 28 December 1955 in

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

) is a retired

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 ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. He starred in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, playing outdoor as well as

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

. He also played for the

Finland national football team The Finland national football team ( fi, Suomen jalkapallomaajoukkue, sv, Finlands fotbollslandslag) represents Finland in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland, the governing body ...

. He now coaches in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Playing career

Professional

The 178 cm midfielder began his NASL career in the summer of 1978 with the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. ...

. Haaskivi played in 1979–80 with the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion t ...

and 1981–82 with the Edmonton Drillers. He led the league in assists in 1981 with 21 and helped the Drillers win the 1980–81 NASL indoor championship and was named the MVP of the finals. He finished his NASL career with 112 points in 135 games. Haaskivi began his

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

career in the league's inaugural season of 1978–79 with the

Houston Summit Houston Summit were a professional indoor soccer team that operated from 1978 to 1980. They played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1980, the franchise was moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Blast. Their roster mainly include ...

. Playing the next season with the Summit as well, he was named an MISL all-star in both seasons. The team lost the championship to the New York Arrows in 1980. Haaskivi went on to star with the Cleveland Force from 1982–88. While with the Force he led the league in assists in the 1986–87 season. He then played one season for the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

before returning to Cleveland as player-coach of the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

in 1989. He retired as a player after the 1991–92 season when the MISL, by then named Major Soccer League, folded. The Crunch moved to the National Professional Soccer League. Haaskivi served as color analyst on the team's radio broadcasts. Haaskivi finished his career in the top ten of several MISL career statistical categories, including fifth in points with 683, tied for ninth in goals with 297, second in assists with 386, and eights in games played with 425. He was an eight-time league all-star selection and was named MVP of the 1987 All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

International

Haaskivi played 12 full internationals for Finland, notching three goals in the process. In a 1982 friendly in Helsinki against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, celebrating the Finnish F.A.'s 75th anniversary, he scored on a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

as the Finnish team lost 1–4. He also scored against Italy's World Cup Legend, Dino Zoff, in Turin, Italy during a 1978 World Cup qualifier.

Coaching career

During the mid-1990s he served as the first director for

IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...

's soccer academy in

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. He was assistant coach of the U-17 U.S. National (boys) Teams. From 2001 to 2004 he was head coach and general manager of

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

, an

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

team. He also coached in Cleveland as the men's and women's head coach for the Myers University Mustangs, and NAIA school. Served as the director of coaching for the Cleveland United and the Braden River soccer club in Florida. Currently works for the US Soccer Federation as a Youth National Team Scout.

Awards and honors

In September 2006, Kai was inducted to the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and in March 2013, Haaskivi was one of six men named to the 2013 class of the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame. The other inductees are

Gordon Jago Gordon Harold Jago (born 22 October 1932) is an English former football player and manager, and the former director of the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup international youth tournament. Playing career Born in Poplar, London, Jago began his profession ...

Preki Predrag Radosavljević ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Радосављевић; born June 24, 1963), better known by the nickname Preki (), is a Serbian-American former soccer player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach with Seattle Sounde ...

, Zoltán Tóth, Brian Quinn, and

Mike Stankovic Mike Stankovic (born November 11, 1956) is a retired Serbian Americans, Serbian-American association football, soccer defender (association football), defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North Ame ...

Personal

Haaskivi is brother-in-law of former star Finnish ice hockey player

Matti Hagman Matti Risto Tapio "Hakki" Hagman (21 September 1955 – 11 October 2016) was a Finnish professional ice hockey player. Hagman was the first Finnish-born and Finnish-trained player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the first to play ...

and uncle to Calgary Flames Left Wing

Niklas Hagman Niklas Hagman (born December 5, 1979) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He was a third round pick of the Florida Panthers, 70th overall, at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with Florida i ...

. His father, Olavi Haaskivi, served as the Director of Coaching for the Finnish Football Association for 35 years. His son is the actor

Olli Haaskivi Olli Haaskivi is a Finnish-American actor. Early life and family He was born in Cleveland, Ohio where his father, Finnish soccer player Kai Haaskivi, was playing for the Cleveland Force. When Haaskivi was 8, the family moved to Florida, where he ...

. Daughter, Nina Haaskivi.

Notes and references

General

Citations

External links

Kai Haaskivi
Profile at SoccerInCollege.com

at NASLjerseys.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Haaskivi, Kai 1955 births Living people Baltimore Blast (original MISL) players Cleveland Crunch (MSL) players Cleveland Crunch (original MISL) players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Dallas Tornado players Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982) players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States Finland international footballers Finnish expatriate footballers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Finnish footballers Association football midfielders Houston Hurricane players Houston Summit players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Sportspeople from Lahti Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC coaches Finnish football managers