Laura Elina Österberg Kalmari (; born 27 May 1979) is 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 ...

former

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 ...

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 ...

. Immediately prior to her retirement in early 2012, she had been playing as 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 ...

for American

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS) team

Sky Blue FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

. She is the

Finland women's national football team The Finland women's national football team, also known as nickname The Boreal Owls ( fi, Helmarit), represents Finland in international women's football. The team, controlled by the Football Association of Finland (SPL/FBF), reached the semi ...

's most

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

player.

Club career

Österberg Kalmari played in Finnish clubs

Puistolan Urheilijat Puistolan Urheilijat (abbreviated PuiU) is a sports club from Helsinki, Finland specialising in football, badminton, tennis, volleyball, bowling and fitness. The club was formed in 1929 and currently has 1,400 members. The men's football first te ...

Malmin Palloseura Malmin Palloseura (abbreviated as MPS) is a Helsinki-based football club that was formed in 1948. The club's first team has been playing mostly in the Second and Third Divisions. Currently the team plays in the Kakkonen which is the third tier of ...

and HJK before moving to the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

in 2000. Kalmari returned to HJK to play in the inaugural

UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

in 2001–2002. HJK reached the semi-finals, and then she moved back to the United States to play with

Boston Renegades Boston Renegades was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Divisi ...

in the W-League. In 2002, she moved to Swedish

Damallsvenskan The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...

club

Umeå IK Umeå IK () is a professional association football club based in the city of Umeå, in northern Sweden, and currently playing Damallsvenskan, the first tier of women's football in Sweden. They were one of the most successful football clubs in ...

, where she won the UEFA Women's Cup two years in succession. Österberg Kalmari also played for Djurgården/Älvsjö in 2005 and 2006, before moving to AIK in 2007. With

(WPS) team

Österberg Kalmari scored seven goals in 33 appearances across the 2010 and 2011 seasons. After the failure of the professional league in America, Österberg Kalmari announced her retirement from playing in April 2012.

International career

Following her senior debut in March 1996, Österberg Kalmari represented the

130 times, scoring 41 goals. She is the all-time leading goalscorer of the national team. In 2005, Österberg Kalmari played in the finals of the 2005 European Championships in

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

. Finland reached the semi-finals, which remains her nation's best achievement in women's football. After a break from international football which included the birth of her daughter, Österberg Kalmari was recalled to the national team in January 2009 having last played in September 2006. She went on to represent hosts Finland in the 2009 European Championships, where they reached the quarter-finals. Österberg Kalmari is a five-time winner of the Women's Finnish Footballer of the Year—more times than any other player. She collected the award in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2010.

Personal life

Österberg Kalmari married Niko Österberg in 2007. Their daughter Meja was born in March 2008.

References

External links

Sky Blue FC profile
1979 births Living people Finnish women's footballers Finland women's international footballers Finnish expatriate footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden FIFA Century Club NJ/NY Gotham FC players Umeå IK players AIK Fotboll (women) players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (women) players Damallsvenskan players Women's Professional Soccer players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (women) players Kansallinen Liiga players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States USL W-League (1995–2015) players Portland Pilots women's soccer players Women's association football forwards Boston Renegades players {{Finland-footy-forward-stub