Joonas Einari Kolkka (born 28 September 1974) is a Finnish retired professional

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 ...

who played as a left winger most of his career, but could also play on the right wing. Having started his career in his native Finland, he went on to play for several clubs in the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, England, and the USA.

Club career

Born in Lahti, Kolkka started his career with Reipas Lahti and MyPa in Finland's Veikkausliiga. He won the Finnish Cup with MyPa in 1995 before joining Netherlands'

Willem II Willem II may refer to: People * William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands * William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands Other uses * Willem II (football club), a Du ...

the same year. In 1998 Kolkka joined Dutch club PSV Eindhoven on a four-year contract. At PSV he won two league championships and got to play in the UEFA Champions League. Kolkka then moved to Greek side

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

in 2001, and he spent two seasons there. After leaving Greece, Kolkka played a season each for

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

of the German Bundesliga and Crystal Palace of the English Premiership. He scored at both Anfield and Old Trafford during his stay at the club, and also scored in the thrilling 3–3 draw with Norwich. He was released by Palace, and returned to the Netherlands in 2005, signing a one-year deal with

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

. After an impressive season with ADO, he was signed by Dutch side Feyenoord in the summer of 2006, and played until summer 2011 for

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

. In 2011, he was signed by his former club, Willem II, being employed as a player and a sales manager of the club. On 4 May 2012, it was announced that Kolkka had signed a three-month-contract with Texas Dutch Lions, in the third level of American football (not Dayton Dutch Lions). After his contract with the Dutch Lions expired, Kolkka returned to the Netherlands, working as a youth coach for his former club PSV.

International career

Kolkka made his debut for the Finland national team on 26 October 1994 against Estonia, and was a regular in the Finland lineup until 2010.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kolkka goal.''

Honours

MyPa * Finnish Cup: 1995 PSV * Eredivisie: 1999–2000, 2000–01 Finland *

Nordic Football Championship The Nordic Football Championship ( da, Nordisk Mesterskab, no, Nordisk Mesterskap, sv, Nordiska Mästerskapet, fi, Pohjoismaiden-mestaruusturnaus, commonly abbreviated NM or PM) was an international football competition contested by the men's ...

: 2000–01

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolkka, Joonas 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Lahti Finnish footballers Finland international footballers Association football wingers Reipas Lahti players Myllykosken Pallo −47 players Willem II (football club) players PSV Eindhoven players Panathinaikos F.C. players Borussia Mönchengladbach players Crystal Palace F.C. players ADO Den Haag players Feyenoord players NAC Breda players Veikkausliiga players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Super League Greece players Bundesliga players Premier League players Finnish expatriate footballers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Greece Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States