HJK Helsinki

Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki (), or simply as HJK (), is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history in the top tier of Finnish football. The club's home ground is the 10,770-seat Töölö Football Stadium, where they have played their home games since 2000.

Generally considered as Finland's biggest club, HJK is the most successful Finnish club in terms of championship titles with 33. The club has also won 14 Finnish Cups and 6 Finnish League Cups. Many of Finland's most successful players have played for HJK before moving abroad. The club has also similar success with women's Kansallinen Liiga.

HJK is the only Finnish club that has participated in the UEFA Champions League group stage. In 1998, they beat Metz in the play-off round to clinch their place in the competition for the following season. HJK have also participated twice in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League in 2014–15 and 2022–23 respectively, along with appearing three times in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The club's highest score in a European competition came during the 2011–12 season, with a 13–0 aggregate victory over Welsh champions Bangor City, which included a 10–0 home win.

HJK's traditional kit colours have long been blue and white striped shirts with blue shorts and socks. The club's crest has been nearly untouched for a century, it has only undergone one minor font change to modernize it.

History

20th century

The club was founded as Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi – Helsingfors Fotbollsklubb in 1907 by Fredrik Wathén. The founding meeting was held at a bowling alley in Kaisaniemi Park in May. The first ever competitive fixture was played against Ekenäs IF in Ekenäs. HJK won 2–4.

Early on, HJK became popular among Finnish-speaking students, while Swedish-speaking students preferred to play mainly for Unitas or HIFK. In late 1908, after a heated debate, the language was switched to unilingually Finnish and this resulted in many Swedish-speaking members switching over to HIFK and other clubs, although a few chose to stay.

In 1909, the colours blue and white were chosen to support the fennoman movement and bandy was introduced as the club's second official sport. The club moved from Kaisaniemi Ground to the new Eläintarha Stadium. At the end of the year, Fredrik Wathen was forced to leave his post as the club's chairman due to illness.

In 1910, Lauri Tanner became the longest-running club chairman to date. The same year, the club's first international match was played, against Eriksdals IF from Stockholm in Kaisaniemi. The first championship title was won in 1911. In 1915, the club moved to newly build Töölön Pallokenttä. In 1916, tennis was introduced as the third official sport in HJK, and it was played in the club until the early 1920s. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, two HJK club members, fighting for the "Whites", were killed.

In 1921, the first bandy championship was won and during the following five seasons, HJK reached five finals, winning three more titles. Bowling was added to the club's repertoire in 1925, but the bowlers formed their own club, Helsingin Keilaajat, the following year. In 1928, ice hockey became an official sport and the first championship was won in 1929. League format was introduced to Finnish football in 1930 but HJK failed to qualify for the first season. In 1931, HJK played their first season in the league, however at the end of the season, they were relegated.

During World War II, HJK lost 22 members serving in the military, of which nine fell in the Winter War, twelve in the Continuation War and one in the Lapland War. In 1943, handball was introduced as the club's sixth official sport. HJK won one silver and two bronze medals in handball during the following three seasons but did not gain further success. Handball was first of HJK's sports where women also competed. The women's team played a total of 22 seasons at the highest level; their highest finish was fourth.

In 1963, HJK played their last ever season in the second level of the football pyramid, winning 20 out of 22 matches and scoring 127 goals. In 1964, the newly promoted club won their tenth championship title and the following season, in 1965–66, they played their first European Cup match, against Manchester United at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. However, a 2–9 aggregate loss resulted in HJK's elimination from the competition.

In 1966, the club secured their first ever cup title by winning KTP 6–1 in the final in front of 7,000 spectators. Bandy section was disbanded in the late 1960s. The last official sport, figure skating, was added into the club's repertoire in 1966, was abolished in 1972. The ice hockey section was also disbanded in 1972 and the last season in handball was played in 1978. Hereafter, HJK therefore only participated in football following 69 years as a multisport club.

1998–1999: First Champions League appearance

The 1998–99 season saw HJK become the first and, to date, only Finnish club to play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, after defeating Metz in the second qualifying round. The club also managed a respectable five points in their group, defeating Benfica at home and earning draws at home to 1. FC Kaiserslautern and away to Benfica. They lost to PSV twice and to Kaiserslautern away.

2000–2018: First Europa League appearance

The club's current home stadium, the Bolt Arena, was opened in 2000. The 20th championship title was won in 2002, and in 2008 the club won its tenth Finnish Cup title. The 2009 season was the start of a championship run that resulted in six titles in a row from 2009 to 2014.

In 2014, HJK became the first Finnish club to play in the UEFA Europa League group stage after defeating Rapid Wien in the play-off round. HJK, with wins over Torino and Copenhagen at home, finished third in their group with six points.Aalto, Seppo ym: Tähtien tarina: Helsingin jalkapalloklubi 100 vuotta. Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, 2007. .Tuhkunen, Yrjö: Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi 1907–1957. Helsinki: Laatupaino Oy, 1957.

HJK made several acquisitions during the winter of 2015, including Córdoba forward Mike Havenaar, J-league playmaker Atomu Tanaka and Birmingham City holding midfielder Guy Moussi. With the new signings on their side, HJK began the season on a high by winning the league cup, a feat they had not accomplished since 1998. HJK also played its first local derby against HIFK since April 1972, drawing 1–1. However, HJK could not replicate the league success they had enjoyed for the last six seasons, finishing the 2015 season in third place, behind champions SJK and runners-up RoPS.

During the 2017 campaign the club lost only three games, which resulted in a domestic double.

HJK won the 2018 Veikkausliiga, 16 points clear at the top.

2019–2023: Toni Koskela era

HJK failed to win the 2019 championship, as KuPS won the league. HJK's season was unusually unsuccessful, manager Mika Lehkosuo was replaced by Toni Koskela mid-season, and the club finished in a disappointing 5th place in the league with 37 points. During the season, HJK named Miika Takkula their new sporting director in July.

Koskela's first three full seasons have seen HJK win three titles in a row, including the club's 30th championship in 2020. HJK also won the Finnish cup in 2020. For the 2022 season, HJK loaned in some new additions like Conor Hazard, Nassim Boujellab, Bojan Radulović and Malik Abubakari. The club's 2022 title was a remarkable 11th in 15 years.

The club has also fared well in European competitions under Koskela. During the 2021 season, HJK qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, where they finished 3rd in the group with six points. During the 2022 season, HJK qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League for only the second time in the club's history, by defeating Silkeborg IF 2–1 on aggregate in the play-off round. HJK's group included Italian AS Roma, Spanish Real Betis, and Bulgarian Ludogorets. Despite valiant home performances, HJK performed poorly on the road, losing all three away games with a total goal difference of 0–7. HJK ended the campaign fourth in the group with a single point, from a 1–1 draw to Ludogorets at home.

HJK started the 2023 Veikkausliiga season relatively poorly, and eventually head coach Koskela was dismissed, following a 1–0 home victory against Larne FC in the Champions League qualifiers in July.

2023: Korkeakunnas

Koskela was replaced by his last season's assistant coach Toni Korkeakunnas. Korkeakunnas led HJK to a third consecutive European group stage, advancing to the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, by defeating Romanian champions Farul Constanța in the play-off round 3–2 on aggregate. HJK also renewed their league title for the fourth straight season, on a goal difference against KuPS.

After the season, the club announced that Korkeakunnas will not receive a contract extension, and that the new manager would be announced soon. It was also announced earlier in late August 2023, that sporting director Miika Takkula departs from the club. In September, Vesa Mäki was named as his replacement as a new sporting director.

2024: Sibila and Virta

On 3 November 2023, the club announced that they had appointed Spanish coach Ferran Sibila as the manager of HJK on a two-year deal, starting in January 2024. On 21 December 2023, it was reported by Helsingin Sanomat that Sibila lacks the required UEFA Pro -coaching licence, and thus would not be eligible to work solely as a head coach in Veikkausliiga. The club's new sporting director Vesa Mäki, who was in charge of recruiting Sibila, said in the media that Sibila is going to start the required UEFA Pro -training in February 2024 in Sweden, or the club could name their assistant coach Ossi Virta as an associate head coach with Sibila.

On 3 January 2024, it was reported in Swedish media that Sibila was not granted a spot in the aforementioned UEFA Pro -training class by Swedish FA. The next day, HJK announced that the club will comply with the licence requirements set by Veikkausliiga, Finnish FA and UEFA. On 12 January 2024, HJK appointed Ossi Virta as the club's new interim head coach, until Sibila is able to attend the UEFA Pro -class.

During the 2024 pre-season, reigning Veikkausliiga Top Goalscorer Bojan Radulović was sold to Huddersfield Town for £1.2 million and Defender of the Year Tuomas Ollila was acquired by Paris FC.

2024–2025: Korkeakunnas returns

On 20 May 2024, Ferran Sibila and the sporting director Vesa Mäki were both sacked and Toni Korkeakunnas was appointed the head coach of the first team again.

Winger Topi Keskinen joined Aberdeen FC in August for an estimated transfer fee of around €1 million. During the summer of 2024, as has become routine, HJK made a slate of transfers mid-season as the team's form remained poor. The club brought in striker and former Veikkausliiga golden boot winner Lee Erwin, goalkeeper Thijmen Nijhuis, centre-backs Georgios Antzoulas and Daniel O'Shaughnessy, midfielder Kevor Palumets, and wingers Alessandro Albanese and Ozan Kökcü. Despite being knocked out of the Champions League earlier in the 1st qualifying round by Panevėžys, HJK managed to qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League new league phase, after defeating KÍ Klaksvík in the play-off round 3–2 on aggregate with two stoppage-time goals, making it the club's fourth consecutive appearance in the final phase of a European competition. During the club's European qualification campaign, Erwin scored five goals in six matches, including three goals over the two games against Klaksvik.

After HJK was not able to defend their championship and had finished third in Veikkausliiga, in late October 2024 the club appointed Petri Vuorinen the new sporting director to fill the vacancy. Korkeakunnas led the club to start the 2025 Veikkausliiga season with a historical record-breaking six-game losing streak. Korkeakunnas was fired on 4 May, after 1–1 draw against Inter Turku. Assistant coach Miika Nuutinen was named the interim manager.

Crest and colours

Badge

In 1910, HJK arranged competition to find a crest for club, but the club board wasn't happy with the proposals. The crest was finally designed by Osmo Korvenkontio in 1913, it has only gone through minor changes during history.

Colours

First kit of HJK was plain white shirt, black shorts and black socks with few white horizontal stripes on top. In 1909 HJK introduced its trademark blue and white striped shirt. Blue and white colours were homage to fennoman movement. Black trunks still remained for decades. Shirt was changed to unicolour blue for season 1973 due to pressure from sponsors. In attempt to professionalize hockey department club had fallen in to financial despair and sponsors demanded more visibility for their logos. Clubs financial situation had improved by 1986 and due fans demands shirt was changed back to striped by the end of the year and has remained so ever since.

Honours

*Veikkausliiga:
**Winners (33): 1911, 1912, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1923, 1925, 1936, 1938, 1964, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
**Runners-up (14): 1921, 1933, 1937, 1939, 1956, 1965, 1966, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2016
*Finnish Cup:
**Winners (14): 1966, 1981, 1984, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016–17, 2020
**Runners-up (6): 1975, 1985, 1990, 1994, 2010, 2021
* Finnish League Cup:
**Winners (6): 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2015, 2023
**Runners-up (3): 1995, 2009, 2012

Women's football

* Finnish Women's Championship:
**Winners (24): 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991. 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2019, 2024
* Finnish Women's Cup:
**Winners (17): 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2019

Ice hockey

* Finnish Championship:
**Winners (3): 1928–29, 1931–32, 1934–35
**Runners-up (6): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1971–72
*Finnish Cup:
**Winners (1): 1970

Bandy

* Finnish Championship:
**Winners (5): 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1937
**Runners-up (3): 1925, 1927, 1946

Figure skating

*Finnish Champions
**Pia Wingisaar: 1966, 1967
**Anuliisa Numminen: 1970
**Tarja Säde: 1971
**Tarja Näsi: 1972

League history

*85 seasons in ''Veikkausliiga/Mestaruussarja/SM-Sarja''
*6 seasons in ''Ykkönen/Suomisarja''
: Sources:

Supporters and rivalries

HJK Helsinki supporters
Historically HJK had a wide support within Finnish speaking, prosperous middle class of Helsinki. The club's supporters were often nationalistic after the fashion of almost every other Finnish FA club at the time. Leftist working class' clubs played their own leagues and competitions under the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation. However, The club remained open to all 'honorable citizens' regardless of their native language, race or social class, and always had members from other communities as well. Before the 1970s HJK came to be known especially as a Töölöan club due to most of their activity taking place in this particular district.

During recent decades the club's old image as a prosperous, middle class group from Töölö has largely disappeared due to social changes in Finland as well as migration from inner city to housing projects built during the mass migration from the countryside during the 1960s and the 1970s.

The Helsinki Derby and other local rivalries

HJK's main rivals in Helsinki were widely considered to be Kiffen, HPS and HIFK. In the past these were the four big clubs from Helsinki. The clubs were mainly separated by language, HJK and HPS being Finnish speaking clubs whereas HIFK and KIF were Swedish speaking. These four clubs competed also in bandy, ice hockey and handball. The support for HJK mainly came from around the inner city and after 1940s also from Töölö, in its early years HPS Support came from same areas as HJK. Later in 1940s and 1950s when HJK support shifted more towards Töölö area, HPS gained more support in Vallila and Alppila districts, this was mostly due their youth activities taking part in those particular areas, these boundaries were not strict however and each of the four clubs had support, players and members across the city. HJK were already founding youth teams to new suburbs in 1960s and their reputation as a Töölöan club was short lived. KIF and HPS were both struggling to survive and were both relegated to lower leagues after 1964 season and rapidly lost their support. KIF made a brief two season stint to first level in 1977–78. While both KIF and HPS are still active as of 2020, they have spend their recent decades playing in lower levels, HPS focusing more on youth football in northern Helsinki.

HJK and HIFK share the biggest rivalry being two of the oldest and most successful clubs. Both were also successful in Bandy which was major winter sport in the first half of the 20th century, KIF and HPS gained lesser success. Also in Ice Hockey clubs faced numerous times and played more seasons in first level than HPS or KIF. A match between these two clubs is called as Stadin derby. Language was the biggest separating factor between the clubs, HIFK was the club of choice for the Swedish speaking population of the city and HJK for the Finnish speaking. In 2015 HIFK was promoted back to the top flight after 40 years of struggling in the lower leagues having played their last season in the top division in 1972. Since HJK ceased their activity in other sports during the 1960s and 1970s the rivalry faded away on a large scale and in recent decades many even supported both clubs at the same time, HJK in football and HIFK in ice hockey. However, due to the rise of the Finnish supporter scene in the 2000s, there is a high tension between the most vocal supporters.

HJK shared a short but fierce rivalry with FC Jokerit around the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Jokerit were well supported due to their popular ice hockey section and the clubs also competed against each other in ice hockey in the late 1960s and the early 1970s.

Multiple Helsinki based clubs have played in the league but due to their short term visits and relatively low support base large scale rivalries were never born. Some notable clubs were Ponnistus, FinnPa, Pallo-Pojat and Helsingin Toverit.

Helsinki-Lahti rivalry

HJK has competed against Lahti based clubs from the 1960s, between 1964 and 1980 HJK and Lahden Reipas had a minor rivalry as both clubs gained good success winning some titles and were also generally well supported. Reipas also won seven cup titles against one of HJK. Reipas was relegated after 1980 season. More notable rivalry was against Kuusysi from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Between 1981 and 1992 HJK won six league titles against Kuusysi's five, both clubs also won the cup twice, facing two times in the finals (which were both won by HJK). Both clubs also performed well in the European competitions. In 1996 both the Lahti clubs merged and FC Lahti was born, HJK and FC Lahti matches are more known from outside pitch activities, some crowd disturbances and small fights have occurred which otherwise are rare in Finnish football. Due to a relatively short distance between the two cities, these matches often draw more notable away support than others.

HJK-Haka rivalry

HJK and Valkeakosken Haka are the two most successful clubs in Finnish football, HJK with 27 league and 12 cup titles and Haka with 9 league and 12 cup titles. The match is also considered as "urban vs. rural" rivalry as HJK is a club from Finland's biggest city Helsinki and Haka is representing the small town of Valkeakoski.

On 1 October 2012, in a Veikkausliiga match at the Tehtaan kenttä, Valkeakoski, Haka and HJK drew 2–2 after scandalous events. When Haka was leading the match 2–0, HJK was given a throw-in. Two HJK players threw two balls in at the same time in different places, and the referee let the game continue with two balls on the field. Seconds later, Juho Mäkelä scored a goal for HJK with the ball which was thrown-in further up the pitch. The goal was granted and shortly after HJK equalized the game. At the end of the season, HJK won their 18th Finnish championship title, and Haka were relegated to second-tier Ykkönen, after 15 consecutive seasons in the Veikkausliiga.

Stadiums

The club's current home stadium is Töölö Football Stadium, located in Töölö neighbourhood in Helsinki, where HJK has played their home matches since its completion in 2000. Initially the stadium had natural grass pitch, but in 2003 the surface was changed to artificial turf.

During their first years in 1907–1908, HJK played at the Kaisaniemen kenttä, and in 1909–1914 at the Eläintarha Stadium. HJK's first official home ground was Töölön Pallokenttä where they played in 1915–1998. During the Veikkausliiga era, HJK played their home matches occasionally also at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.

Home grounds

* Kaisaniemen kenttä: 1907–1908
* Eläintarha Stadium: 1909–1914
* Töölön Pallokenttä: 1915–1998
* Helsinki Olympic Stadium: 1939–2000
* Töölö Football Stadium: 2000–present

Attendances

HJK reached their highest average attendance record in the 1969 Mestaruussarja-season with 8,058 spectators, when the club was playing at Töölön Pallokenttä.

Transfers

HJK Helsinki has produced a large number of players who have gone on to represent the Finland national team. Over the years, HJK has also provided the most probable way for transfers abroad in Finland for Finnish and international players. In August 2011, HJK sold Teemu Pukki to a German Bundesliga club Schalke 04 for €1.8 million, which is the record transfer fee in Veikkausliiga. Besides Pukki, also Joel Pohjanpalo, Alexander Ring, Jukka Raitala, Dawda Bah and Luka Hyryläinen transferred to Bundesliga clubs from HJK.

Record transfers

Players

First team squad

Out on loan

Reserve team

HJK's reserve team Klubi 04 currently plays in the Ykkösliiga, Finnish second tier.

Klubi 04 squad

Out on loan

Management and boardroom

Coaching staff

''Updated 4 May 2025''

Performance Unit

''Also with Women's team and Reserve team. Updated 24 April 2025''

Boardroom

''Updated 20 May 2024''

Managers and captains

Managers

Captains

Hall of Fame

The HJK Hall of Fame was established in 1997, when the club celebrated its 90th anniversary. Initially 16 people were named, after which it has been completed several times.

* 1. Niilo Tammisalo
* 2. Eino Soinio
* 3. Aatos Lehtonen
* 4. Reijo Jalava
* 5. Kai Pahlman
* 6. Aulis Rytkönen
* 7.
* 8. Lauri Lehtinen
* 9. Miikka Toivola
* 10. Jari Europaeus
* 11.
* 12. Juha Dahllund
* 13. Pasi Rautiainen
* 14. Jyrki Nieminen
* 15. Hanna-Mari Sarlin
* 16. Atik Ismail
* 17. Markku Kanerva
* 18. Markku Peltoniemi
* 19. Jari Rantanen
* 20. Kari Rissanen
* 21. Aki Hyryläinen
* 22. Tommi Grönlund
* 23. Petri Helin
* 24. Mika Lehkosuo
* 25. Aarno Turpeinen
* 26. Ville Nylund
* 27. Christina Forssell
* 28. Terhi Uusi-Luomalahti
* 29.
* 30. Aki Riihilahti
* 31. Pasi Rasimus
* 32. Kaija Salopuro
* 33. Heidi Lindström
* 34. Ville Wallén
* 35. Mikael Forssell
* 36. Sanna Malaska
* 37. Sebastian Sorsa

European record

UEFA club competition record

''Updated 12 December 2024.''

Matches

UEFA coefficient

''Correct as of 21 May 2025.''

References

External links

official website

Klubipääty – supporters

Forza HJK – fan club

{{Finnish Champions in Football

Football clubs in Helsinki
Football clubs in Finland
1907 establishments in Finland
Association football clubs established in 1907
Bandy clubs established in 1907
Defunct bandy clubs in Finland