Saku Pesonen (born 10 November 1985) was Finnish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and a former goalkeeper. He was the former manager of Kultsu.

Club career

Pesonen started his footballing career at his local club FC Pantterit in 2002 while they played at the

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and fourth level of Finnish football system. He was signed by Veikkausliiga side FC Lahti in 2006 where he provided a backup for then first-choice goalkeeper Michał Sławuta. He made his top flight debut on 22 October 2010 against Tampere United. Despite winning the Finnish League Cup in 2007 season, Pesonen was only able to make in total of four appearances during those two season with Lahti. Pesonen left FC Lahti 2008 and dropped down a level to sign with

FC Hämeenlinna FC Hämeenlinna is a Finnish football club, based in Hämeenlinna. It currently plays in the Finnish third Division (''Kakkonen''). The club's manager is Tomi Uusitorppa, and it plays its home matches at Kauriala. The team was formed in 1991. ...

where he was an instant first choice. After a successful period with Hämeenlinna, Pesonen was snapped up by FC Haka for the 2009 season to cover as backup for Janne Korhonen. In January 2010 Pesonen signed a two-year contract extension with FC Haka, and he was promoted to first choice in the middle of the 2010 season after Korhonen's departure to JJK.

Coaching career

He was appointed head coach of Kultsu for the 2021 season upon his retirement as a player. The contract was extended for the 2022 season in November 2021. He retired from coaching at the end of the 2022 season and was replaced by Marko Kohonen.

References

1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Lappeenranta Finnish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers FC Lahti players FC Hämeenlinna players FC Haka players Kultsu FC players Ykkönen players Veikkausliiga players Kakkonen players Finnish football managers {{Finland-footy-goalkeeper-stub