Niki Emil Antonio Mäenpää (; born 23 January 1985) is a Finnish 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 plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

Athens Kallithea Athens Kallithea Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, a city and a suburb in Athens. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. The club has finishe ...

. He began his senior club career playing for the

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

reserve team, before signing with

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

at age 21 in 2006. Mäenpää made his international debut for Finland in June 2008, at the age of 23, and has since had over 20 caps, including appearing in 2014

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

Club career

Lens

Mäenpää was born in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland. He started his senior

career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...

at the

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

reserve team in 2003. During winter 2006

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, he joined

Telstar Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

until the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. He did not feature in any

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

match in the first team of RC Lens. His

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

with Lens expired on 30 June 2006.

FC Den Bosch

During summer 2006, Mäenpää joined Dutch

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

side

FC Den Bosch FC Den Bosch () is a professional football club from 's-Hertogenbosch, They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie. They were founded 18 August 1965, as FC Den Bosch/BVV. They are the successor of BVV (1906) and Wilhelmina (1890). Their stadiu ...

on a free transfer. He made his breakthrough in season 2006–07 when he played 27 league matches. He made a total of 67 league appearances during 3

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. His contract with FC Den Bosch expired in summer 2009.

Willem II

In summer 2009, Mäenpää joined Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side Willem II on a free transfer, making 18 league appearances. He left Willem II in summer 2011, by terminating his contract after they got

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

to Eerste Divisie.

AZ Alkmaar

On 3 October 2011, Mäenpää joined

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

on a free transfer on a contract until the end of the

, joining compatriot and team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Niklas Moisander Niklas Kristian Moisander (born 29 September 1985) is a Finnish former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Moisander was born in Turku, where he played for the local Turun Palloseura, TPS youth team before ...

. However at AZ, he found himself demoted to third-choice, behind

Esteban Alvarado Esteban Alvarado Brown (born 28 April 1989) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga FPD club Saprissa and the Costa Rica national team. Club career Saprissa Born in Siquirres, Costa Rica, Alvarado started ...

and the veteran Erik Heijblok. He left the club after only one season, without making a single appearance for the AZ's first team.

VVV-Venlo

On 29 May 2012, it was announced that Mäenpää had signed a three-year contract with fellow Eredivisie side

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch association football, football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutc ...

. Despite being sent off three minutes into his debut match, the fans voted him as best Venlo player of the season 2013–14. In the summer of 2015 he left VVV Venlo on a free transfer after his contract expired

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 6 July 2015, it was announced that Mäenpää had signed a contract with English side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

following his release from

. He made his Brighton & Hove Albion league debut in a 3–0 victory over

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

at Falmer Stadium on 16 August 2016. At the end of 2017–18 season, he left the club.

Bristol City

On 1 August 2018, Mäenpää signed for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. On 4 August 2018, he made his debut in a match against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. On 21 May 2019, it was announced an option to extend his contract was triggered and he would be remaining with The Robins for the 2019–20 season.

Stoke City

Mäenpää signed a short-term contract with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

on 27 November 2020 to act as cover for Josef Bursik following injuries to Adam Davies and

Angus Gunn Angus Fraser James Gunn (born 22 January 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Scotland national team. Gunn began his career at his hometown club Norwich City, before joining Manchester City in 2011, signing his ...

. However he suffered an injury himself in his first training session and Stoke brought in

Andy Lonergan Andrew Michael Lonergan (born 19 October 1983) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Lonergan is a former England U21 international and is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland. After starting his career a ...

Venezia

On 15 February 2021, Mäenpää joined Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

until the end of the 2020–21 season, with an option for the 2021–22 season. In June 2021 it was announced that he had signed a two-year contract to remain at the club until the end of June 2023. On 14 May 2022, in a

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

match against

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (; ), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after ...

, Mäenpää had a man-of-the-match performance with a record-number of 16 saved shots (8 of which came from inside the box). The match ultimately ended in a 1–1 draw, after Venezia's Sofian Kiyine had been sent off with a red card on the 32nd minute.

HJK

On 4 August 2023, after playing professional football abroad for 20 years, Mäenpää returned to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and signed with his former club

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 ...

on a deal for the rest of the

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

season. A couple of weeks later, Mäenpää had made his debuts in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

and in the Finnish premier division

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 ...

, at the age of 38. On 23 May 2024, Mäenpää signed a new deal with HJK for the rest of the 2024 season. On 22 October it was announced that Mäenpää would leave HJK at the end of October after the expiration of his contract.

Athens Kallithea

On 7 February 2025, Mäenpää signed with

International career

Mäenpää was 18 years old on 1 April 2003 when he debuted in Finland's youth team in a match against Sweden in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

. He played his first game in

Finland national under-21 football team The Finland national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Finland. The team qualified for the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, UEFA Euro U21 Championship final tournament for the first time in 2009 UEFA E ...

30 March 2004 in Corradino in a match against

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He gained 13 caps for Finland's U21-team. Mäenpää made his debut for the Finland national team on 2 June 2008 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

Veritas Stadion Kupittaa Football Stadium (; ), officially Veritas Stadion for sponsorship reasons since 2003, is a football stadium in Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwes ...

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

when

Stuart Baxter Stuart William Baxter (born 16 August 1953) is an English-Scottish football coach and former player who currently manages Boavista in the Primeira Liga. Born in England of Scottish parentage, and brought up in both countries, Baxter played pr ...

chose him for the starting line up. During 2012 he established himself as a regular in the Finland national team and gained six caps. He played his first

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

qualification game on 12 October 2012 in

Helsinki Olympic Stadium The Helsinki Olympic Stadium (; ), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer ...

when

Mixu Paatelainen Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and manager who is currently serving as the sporting director of Scottish club The Spartans. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for ...

chose him for the starting eleven in a match against Georgia. He played one of his best games in March 2013 when Finland got a surprising 1–1 away draw against Spain in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. He established himself as the national team's regular goalkeeper and played seven out of eight matches in qualification, and 20 matches in total during 2012–2014.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Finland * Baltic Cup: runner-up

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

; third place

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

HJK *

References

External links

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. official profile
* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maenpaa, Niki Living people 1985 births Footballers from Espoo Finnish men's footballers 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Finland men's international footballers Finland men's youth international footballers Finland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players RC Lens players SC Telstar players FC Den Bosch players Willem II Tilburg players AZ Alkmaar players VVV-Venlo players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Serie A players Serie B players Veikkausliiga players Venezia FC players English Football League players Finnish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Finnish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in England Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Greece FC Kasiysi players Athens Kallithea F.C. players