Maija Saari

Maija Karoliina Saari (born 26 March 1986) is a Finnish international footballer who plays as a defender. She previously represented AIK, Mallbackens IF and Umeå IK in Sweden, Kolbotn, Stabæk Fotball Kvinner, and Vålerenga in the Norwegian Toppserien and FC Honka and HPK in her home country. Since making her debut for the Finland women's national football team in 2007, Saari has won over 85 caps and captained the team.

Maija Saari

Personal information
Full name	Maija Karoliina Saari
Date of birth	(1986-03-26) 26 March 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Vaasa, Finland
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Stabæk
Youth career
	FC Kiisto
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2008	FC Honka
2009–2010	Umeå IK	43	(4)
2011	Kolbotn	21	(1)
2012	AIK	22	(2)
2013	Mallbackens IF	8	(0)
2014–2015	AIK	36	(2)
2016	Stabæk
2016	Vålerenga
2017–2018	HPK
International career‡
2007–2016	Finland	86	(9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:21, 29 December 2015 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 06:21, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

Club career

A strong, left-sided defender, Saari won three consecutive domestic titles with FC Honka in 2006, 2007 and 2008. She joined the club aged 10 after moving to Helsinki from her birthplace of Vaasa and rose to captain the club. In December 2008 Saari signed a two-year contract with Swedish club Umeå IK.^[2] In 2011, she played for Kolbotn Fotball in the Norwegian Toppserien, before returning to Sweden with AIK.^[3]

Saari returned to AIK for the 2014 season, having spent 2013 with Mallbackens IF.^[4] In December 2015 she agreed a return to Norway, signing a two-year deal with Stabæk Fotball Kvinner.^[5]

International career

She made her debut for the senior Finland team on 7 March 2007; playing 90 minutes against Sweden in the Algarve Cup.^[6] Saari also played in all four of Finland's matches at UEFA Women's Euro 2009, including the quarter-final defeat to England.

In June 2013 Saari, by then the national team captain, was devastated to be ruled out of UEFA Women's Euro 2013 with a cruciate ligament injury.^[7]

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	12 April 2016	Stadion Mitar Mićo Goliš, Petrovac, Montenegro	Montenegro	4–1	7–1	UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying

References

1. "Finland". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
2. Britta Åkerlund. "Umeå IK värvar finsk landslagsback" (in Swedish). Umea.se. Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
3. "AIK signs the Finnish Maija Saari". Archived from the original on 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
4. Karlsson, Juho (2 December 2013). "Saari återvänder till AIK" (in Swedish). Yle. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
5. Holmlund, Tor Bjørnar (21 December 2015). "Finlands landslagskaptein har signert for Stabæk" (in Norwegian). Budstikka. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
6. "Maija Saari" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Archived from the original on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
7. Erävuori, Mikael (7 June 2013). "Devastated Saari out for Finland". UEFA. Retrieved 3 December 2013.

External links

• Maija Saari on Twitter
• Maija Saari – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Maija Saari – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Profile at Kolbotn IL at the Wayback Machine (archived September 5, 2011) (in Norwegian)
• Maija Saari at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish) (archived)
• Maija Saari at Soccerway