Toni Kari Mikael Kallio (born 9 August 1978) is a Finnish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and a former player. He is the manager of Ilves in Veikkausliiga. His preferred position as a player was

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, but he also operated as centre back and used to play as

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 ...

when he joined HJK. His nickname is "Bonecrusher", coming from his great physical presence and playing style.

Club career

He started out as a winger, but during his time at Norwegian club

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

was changed into a defender. He is known for his forward runs and good heading, given his tall frame. However, he is also known for making occasional blunders in the national team as he has been forced to play out of his preferred position. Before joining Molde he played for

FC Jazz FC Jazz is a football club from Pori, Finland. It plays in the Finnish third tier Kakkonen. It was invented in 1934. FC Jazz has won two Finnish championships ( 1993 & 1996 ). History PPT 1934–1991 FC Jazz was established in 1934 as ...

TPV Tampere Tampereen Pallo-Veikot (TPV) is a Finnish football club, based in Tampere. The club plays in the Kakkonen, the third highest level of football in Finland. It is the second largest football club in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of active members, ...

and HJK Helsinki in Finland's Veikkausliiga. He won the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

in 2005. In 2007, he briefly went on trial at Lokomotiv Moscow and played 3 times. In 2007, he moved to Young Boys in Switzerland. On 31 January 2008, Kallio joined Fulham on loan, together with Jari Litmanen. He made his Fulham debut the following season against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, in which he helped secure a 1–0 victory. He was immediately awarded the Man of the Match award by visitors of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

website. On 3 July 2008, Kallio signed a two-year deal with Fulham. Kallio joined Sheffield United on a one-month loan deal in late November 2009, making his debut just over a week later at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. After making two appearances, Sheffield United extended his loan deal until the end of January 2010 but just hours after

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...

recalled Kallio due to injuries in defence. On 1 February 2010, Kallio once again joined the Blades on loan until the end of the season. On 1 July 2010, Fulham announced that Kallio had been released from his contract with Fulham. After being released by Fulham, Kallio joined Norway's Tippeligaen side

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

for the rest of the 2010 season. But after making only one appearance as a substitute for the club, the 32-year-old defender was released from his contract on 16 November 2010. Kallio signed a contract at the beginning of year 2011 with

Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

side

Muangthong United F.C. Muangthong United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลเมืองทอง ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League 1. ...

which won the Premier League title on season 2010. On 19 May 2011

has been terminated contract. Kallio joined Finnish Premier League side FC Inter Turku on 8 June 2011. On 18 January 2012 it was announced that he would join Ilves in Finnish second division. Kallio announced his retirement on 3 October 2013.

Coaching career

He was promoted to the position of the head coach of Ilves after serving as an assistant for several years. Late in 2021, his contract was extended for the 2022 and 2023 season, with an option for 2024.

Career statistics

International

International goals

''Finland's score given first. As of 18 August 2011''.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kallio, Toni 1978 births Living people Footballers from Tampere Finnish men's footballers Men's association football defenders FC Jazz players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players Molde FK players BSC Young Boys players Fulham F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Viking FK players

Toni Kallio Toni Kari Mikael Kallio (born 9 August 1978) is a Finnish association football, football coach and a former player. He is the manager of Ilves (football), Ilves in Veikkausliiga. His preferred position as a player was left back, but he also oper ...

FC Inter Turku players Ilves (football) players Veikkausliiga players Eliteserien players Swiss Super League players Premier League players

Finland men's international footballers Finland men's youth international footballers Finland men's under-21 international footballers Finnish expatriate men's footballers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Finnish football managers