Toni Koskela
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Toni Koskela (born 16 February 1983) is a Finnish
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
manager and former player. He is currently the manager of
Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar, Sweden. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1 ...
. Koskela had to retire from his playing career in 2009, aged 26, due to numerous knee injuries. After a short professional playing career, he has managed teams in Finland, Cyprus and Sweden. When managing
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 ...
, he won three Finnish championship titles.


Playing career

After starting his career in Finland, Koskela was snapped up by
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
side
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
but he failed to impress at the club making just three appearances in all competitions, including an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
game against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. In November 2005 he was close of signing a contract with
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 ...
but Cardiff did not want to let him go, so the transfer failed. Eventually he was released by the club and quickly transferred to Greek club
Ilisiakos Ilisiakos Football Club () is an Athens-based Association football, football club that was founded in 1927 by Michalis Xydis, Lambropoulos, Evgenopoulos, Nikolaos Plessas, ''et al.''. They played in Delta Ethiniki until 2003. Ilisiakos spent the ma ...
. He has also played for FC Jokerit,
FC Hämeenlinna FC Hämeenlinna is a Finnish football club, based in Hämeenlinna. The club's manager is Tomi Uusitorppa, and it plays its home matches at Kauriala. The team was formed in 1991. Club's history Initial years FC Hämeenlinna was founded in a ...
,
FC KooTeePee FC KooTeePee was a Finnish football club. History Originally, FC KooTeePee was founded as a reserve team of Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP, founded 1927). In the year 2000, it became an independent club. At that time, Kotkan Työväen Pal ...
and
JJK Jyväskylä Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly referred to as JJK Jyväskylä or simply JJK, is a Finnish football club, based in Jyväskylä. JJK plays its home matches at Harjun Stadion. History Early years 1923–1992 Jyväskylän Palloilija ...
in the Finnish
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 ...
, and Norwegian club
Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a association football, football club based in Molde Municipality, Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club w ...
.


International career

A former Finnish youth international, Koskela also represented Finland under-21 youth national team in 2004. In April 2005, Koskela and
Njazi Kuqi Njazi Kuqi (born 25 March 1983) is a Finnish former professional footballer, who played as a forward. Kuqi started his career with FC Lahti of the Veikkausliiga in 2002, spending three years with the club and scoring twenty goals in all competi ...
were both temporarily suspended from the international duties by the Finnish FA, due to leaving the U21 team's hotel in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
without permission from the head coach
Markku Kanerva Markku Tapio Kanerva (born 24 May 1964) is a Finnish football manager, former player and elementary school teacher. Most recently he served as the manager of the Finland national team. Playing career Kanerva, who is known by the nickname ''"Ri ...
.


Managerial career

Koskela started coaching in youth teams of PK-35 and HJK. In 2013, he started as an assistant coach of HJK first team, and since 2015 managed the club's reserve team
Klubi 04 Klubi 04 is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. It is the reserve team of HJK Helsinki for whom a number of the players are also registered. History Klubi 04 was founded in 2004 when HJK bought FC Jokerit. Initially Klubi 04 played in K ...
in third-tier
Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the fourth level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. Until the end of 2023, ''Kakkonen'' was the third-highest level in Finland, but after the creation of new second-t ...
. Koskela led Klubi 04 to win the Kakkonen Southern Group, but the team eventually lost in the promotion play-offs to
GrIFK Grankulla IFK, or GrIFK as the name is commonly abbreviated, is a Finnish sports club from the city of Kauniainen. The club was formed in 1925 and the main activities covered are football, ice-hockey, handball, floorball and alpine. Each sp ...
. At the end of the 2017 season, Koskela led Klubi 04 to win a promotion to second-tier
Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...
.


RoPS

Koskela was named the head coach of
Rovaniemen Palloseura Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS) is a football club founded in 1950 and based in Rovaniemi, Finland. RoPS played in the Finnish Premier Division, (''Veikkausliiga'') for 32 years, from 1981 to 2021. In 2021, RoPS withdrew from professional football ...
(RoPS) ahead of the
2018 Veikkausliiga The 2018 Veikkausliiga was the 88th season of top-tier football in Finland. HJK were the defending champions. Fixtures for the 2018 season were announced on 17 January 2017. The season started on 7 April 2018 and ended on 27 October 2018. Teams ...
season. In his first year as a head coach in the Finnish premier division, Koskela led RoPS to win a silver medal with one of the smallest budget in the league. At the end of the season, he was awarded the Coach of the Year.


HJK Helsinki

In May 2019, he was named the new manager of
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 ...
following the sacking of
Mika Lehkosuo Mika Lehkosuo, nicknamed "Bana", (born 8 January 1970) is a Finnish football manager and former player who works as the head coach for the Finland U21 national team. Playing career A midfielder, Lehkosuo played most of his career at HJK Helsin ...
. He stated that it was good to "return back home" to HJK, after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal. HJK reportedly paid RoPS a fee of €150,000 for Koskela's contract. During his first three full seasons as the head coach of HJK, Koskela led the club to three straight
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 ...
titles in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In addition, he managed the club to two visits in the group stages of European competitions, qualifying for the
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Rom ...
and for the
2022–23 UEFA Europa League The 2022–23 UEFA Europa League was the 52nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 14th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Sevilla defeated Roma in the final pl ...
. He was named the Manager of the Year in the
2022 Veikkausliiga The 2022 Veikkausliiga was the 92nd season of top-tier football in Finland. HJK won the championship for the third consecutive season. Teams KTP (relegated after one year in the top flight) were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the b ...
season, for the second time in his career. HJK parted ways with Koskela on 13 July 2023, after a 1–0 win over
Larne FC Larne Football Club is a professional Northern Irish football club based in Larne, County Antrim, that competes in the NIFL Premiership. History The club was founded in 1889 after Rev. Turner, Mr WN Brown and L. Jackson Holmes watched a game of ...
in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
qualifiers, following a relatively poor run of overall form in domestic results.


AEL Limassol

On 15 October 2023, Koskela was named the manager of
AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...
in
Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...
. After winning two of his three first games in charge, he received a massive amount of positive support from the fans on social media. On 22 January 2024, the club announced the termination of Koskela's contract on mutual agreement. Later Koskela revealed in Finnish media, that prior to his departure, the club had extensive financial problems to pay salaries for the players and the staff.


Kalmar FF

On 20 December 2024, Koskela was named the manager of Swedish side
Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...
on a three-year contract until the end of 2027. Koskela was selected the
Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...
Manager of the Month for April 2025, after leading Kalmar FF to unbeaten run with four wins and a draw.Säsongens första Månadens spelare och tränare till IFK Norrköping, Mjällby AIF och Kalmar FF
svenskelitfotboll.se, 9 May 2025


Personal life

His mother is a former basketball and handball player Kristiina Koskela, and his maternal grandfather was the former referee Fjalar Åsten, who refereed in football,
bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...
,
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
and
rinkball Rinkball is a winter team sport played on ice with ice skates and is most popular in Finland, where it is known as ''kaukalopallo''. This ball sport originated in Sweden in the 1960s and from there landed in Finland in the 1970s. The objective ...
.


Career statistics


Club


Managerial


Managerial honours

HJK *
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 ...
:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
,
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*
Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...
:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
*Finnish Cup runner-up:
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
*
Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup (in Finnish: ''Liigacup''), is a knock-out football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The competition is notably the only football competition in Europe which is most ...
: 2015, 2023 RoPS *Veikkausliiga runner-up:
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
Individual *
Finnish Football Manager of the Year Finnish Football Manager of the Year title has been awarded in Finland since 1981. The nomination is made by Finnish Football Managers' Association. Finnish Football Managers of the Year {, class="wikitable" style="margin: 0;" , - ! Year !! Man ...
: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 *Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year:
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*
Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...
Manager of the Month: April 2025.


References


Guardian Football


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koskela, Toni 1983 births Living people Footballers from Helsinki Finnish men's footballers FC Jokerit players Molde FK players Cardiff City F.C. players JJK Jyväskylä players Veikkausliiga players English Football League players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Finnish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Men's association football midfielders 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Finnish football managers Finnish expatriate football managers Rovaniemen Palloseura managers Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi managers AEL Limassol managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Veikkausliiga managers Cypriot First Division managers Ykkönen players Finnish football coaches Football League (Greece) players Ilisiakos F.C. players FC Hämeenlinna players FC KooTeePee players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi non-playing staff Expatriate football managers in Sweden Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Kalmar FF managers Superettan managers