Jussi Kujala (footballer)

Jussi Kujala (born 4 April 1983 in Tampere) is a Finnish former footballer. Having started his career as an attacking midfielder, he has since dropped deeper down the field. He was the captain of the Finnish U21 national team in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifiers.

Jussi Kujala
Kujala with De Graafschap in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1983-04-04) 4 April 1983 (age 43)
Place of birth Tampere, Finland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Positions
Youth career
1992–1999 Ilves
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Tampere United 10 (1)
2000–2004 Ajax 0 (0)
2004–2009 Tampere United 119 (8)
2009 TPS 6 (1)
2010–2012 De Graafschap 40 (1)
2012 Ilves 6 (2)
2013–2014 KuPS 29 (0)
2015 Ilves 29 (1)
Total 239 (12)
International career
Finland U21
2004–2009 Finland 5 (0)
Medal record
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Kujala made his debut for United in 2000; he made ten appearances and scored one goal for the team.

After Tampere United, he spent four seasons playing in the junior and reserve teams of Ajax.

He returned to Tampere United in 2004. As the club had financial difficulties, in 2009 he was allowed to leave the team.

He transferred to Turku during the summer 2009 transfer window.

In January 2010, he left Turku, and signed with Dutch side De Graafschap on a free transfer.

In September 2012, Kujala signed a contract with his old junior team Ilves.[1] Ilves was promoted to Ykkönen at the end of the season.

On 27 November, KuPS announced that they had signed Kujala for two years.[2]

In January 2015, he signed a one-year contract with Ilves.[3]

He announced his retirement in December 2015.[4]

International career

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Kujala made his international debut in Finland's national team in 2004 against Oman.

Personal life

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His brother Mikko is a football coach.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 1 September 2024.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] League cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tampere United 1999 Ykkönen 3030
2000 Veikkausliiga 7171
Total 101000000101
Ajax 2001–02 Eredivisie 00000000
2002–03 Eredivisie 00000000
Tampere United 2004 Veikkausliiga 8080
2005 Veikkausliiga 2356[b]0295
2006 Veikkausliiga 190112[b]0221
2007 Veikkausliiga 251108[c]0341
2008 Veikkausliiga 250104[d]0300
2009 Veikkausliiga 1921090292
Total 119841902001529
TPS 2009 Veikkausliiga 6161
De Graafschap 2009–10 Eerste Divisie 100100
2010–11 Eredivisie 17010180
2011–12 Eredivisie 13121152
Total 401310000432
Ilves 2012 Kakkonen 6262
KuPS 2013 Veikkausliiga 2302081331
2014 Veikkausliiga 6060
Total 290208100391
Ilves 2015 Veikkausliiga 3011060371
Career total 2401410223120029317
  1. Includes Suomen Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

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As of 26 March 2013[5]
Finland national team
YearAppsGoals
200410
200500
200620
200700
200810
200910
Total50

Honours

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References

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  1. "Paluumuuttaja Jussi Kujala vahvistaa Ilvestä nousukarsinnoissa". YLE uutiset (in Finnish). 9 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  2. "Jussi Kujala liittyi KuPS:n riveihin". KuPS.fi (in Finnish). 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  3. "Jussi Kujala palaa kasvattajaseuraansa". ilvesedustus.com (in Finnish). FC Ilves. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  4. "Jalkapallomaajoukkueessa esiintynyt Jussi Kujala, 32, päätti lopettaa uransa". yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. 8 December 2015. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  5. "Jussi Kujala".
  6. Steenbergen, Mark van (4 April 2020). "Het kampioenschap van 2010 met De Graafschap bezorgt Powel nog steeds kippenvel". De Gelderlander (in Dutch).
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