Janne Lindberg (born 24 May 1966) is a Finnish former professional

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 lea ...

who works as a coaching coordinator for MP. Before that he worked as a sporting director of

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

club VPS, but was fired at the end of 2023 for harassing scandal.

Playing career

Lindberg joined his local club Kumu as a six-year-old boy where he stayed for 18 years. In 1990, at the age of 24, he moved onto

Haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

and after two years at Haka he transferred to MyPa. At MyPa Lindberg established himself as a Finnish International, gaining the first of his 34 caps in 1992. He also experienced European football in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. In 1994, ex-Morton player Jimmy Pearson recommended Lindberg to then Greenock Morton manager Allan McGraw. As a result, Morton signed Lindberg at a cost of £250,000; a deal that included Lindberg's MyPa teammate and compatriot Marko Rajamäki. Lindberg (and Rajamäki) made their débuts on 22 October 1994 against

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...

, a match Morton lost 2–1. However, both players went on to have impressive careers at Morton. Lindberg made approximately 88 appearances, scoring five goals. In 1997 Lindberg's contract at Morton was not renewed and he signed for German side

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken () is a German Football in Germany, football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. History The club began its existence as the footbal ...

. His family did not settle in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, consequently he returned to former club MyPa in 1998 where he played until 2005.

Coaching career

After a lengthy spell coaching at MyPa, he became coach at VPS. In 2002 Lindberg was instrumental in the transfer of former Finnish Under 21 internationalist Jani Uotinen from MyPa to former club Morton. In September 2008 Lindberg was appointed as the new head coach of MyPa care-taking the rest of the season after the manager

Janne Hyppönen Janne Hyppönen (born 14 September 1970 in Vehkalahti) is a top Finland, Finnish Manager (football), football manager and former player. He has coached Veikkausliiga clus Myllykosken Pallo, MYPA and FC KooTeePee, KooTeePee. Later he has also work ...

was sacked. Previously Lindberg had worked as an assistant of Hyppönen. He left this post in 2010 and joined another

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

-based club Sudet, which he coached until 2017. During 2014–2017, Lindberg was an assistant coach of the Finland under-21 national team. During 2021–2023, Lindberg worked as a sporting director of

club Vaasan Palloseura (VPS). He was fired after the 2023 season, after it went public that he had sent several sexually harassing messages to female colleagues. On 26 September 2024, Lindberg started as a coaching coordinator for the youth sector of

Ykkösliiga ''Ykkösliiga'' (English language, English: ''"League One"''; ) is the second highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. The teams in Ykkösliiga also play a pre-s ...

club

Mikkelin Palloilijat Mikkelin Palloilijat (or MP) is a Finnish professional football club, based in Mikkeli, that competes in the Ykkönen, the third tier in Finnish football league system. The club was founded in 1929 and also included volleyball, bandy and ice h ...

(MP).

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lindberg goal.''

Honours

MYPA *

runner-up:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Greenock Morton * Scottish Second Division: 1994–95 1. FC Saarbrücken * Saarland Cup: 1997–98 Individual *

Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...

: Captain's Ball 2003Captain's Ball
palloliitto.fi

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindberg, Janne 1966 births Living people People from Kuusankoski Sportspeople from Kouvola Footballers from Kymenlaakso Finnish men's footballers Veikkausliiga players FC Haka players Myllykosken Pallo −47 players Greenock Morton F.C. players 1. FC Saarbrücken players Finnish football managers Vaasan Palloseura managers Finland men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Scottish Football League players Finnish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Myllykosken Pallo −47 managers Veikkausliiga managers Finnish sporting directors Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Regionalliga players Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Vaasan Palloseura non-playing staff 20th-century Finnish sportsmen Kuusankosken Kumu players