Mika Aaltonen (born 16 November 1965) 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

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 ...

. His position was an attacking central midfielder. He also played for the Finnish national team. During his career (1982–1994) he played in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

for TPS,

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

, Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. and Tampereen Pallo-Veikot. He finished his career at a relatively young age because of a persistent ankle injury, and because of this, he ended up concentrating more on his studies. Aaltonen studied throughout his playing career, and after he retired from football, he earned a doctorate degree in economics. Aaltonen is best remembered for a goal scored against Italian goalkeeper

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian manager (association football), football manager and former player who last managed Serie A club Cagliari Calcio, Cagliari. He was a long-time Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for In ...

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in 1987 during a match between

Turun Palloseura Turun Palloseura, commonly known as TPS, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland. During the 2022 season, the men's first team of the club competes in Ykkönen, the second highest tier of men's football, and the women's repr ...

and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

stadium in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. This goal more or less earned him a transfer to Inter shortly afterwards.

References

Sources

* ''Jalkapallon Pikkujättiläinen'' (WSOY 2003)

External links

* 1965 births Living people Footballers from Turku Finnish footballers Finland international footballers Turun Palloseura footballers AC Bellinzona players Bologna F.C. 1909 players Hertha BSC players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Veikkausliiga players Serie A players 2. Bundesliga players Liga Leumit players Finnish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Germany Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Israel Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Israel Association football midfielders {{Finland-footy-midfielder-stub