- Antti Niemi
Football player infobox
playername= Antti Niemi
fullname = Antti Mikko Niemi
height = height|m=1.85
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1972|5|31|df=yes
cityofbirth =Oulu
countryofbirth =Finland
position =Goalkeeper
Years Active = 1992–2008
years = 1991–1995
1995–1997
1997–1999
1999
1999–2002
2002–2006
2006–2008
clubs = HJK
København
Rangers
→ Charlton Athletic (loan)
Heart of Midlothian
Southampton
Fulham
Total
caps(goals) = 101 (0)
047 (0)
013 (0)
000 (0)
089 (0)
106 (0)
062 (0)
418 (0)
nationalyears = 1992–2007
nationalteam = Finland
nationalcaps(goals) = 067 (0)
pcupdate = 21:01, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =18 November 2006 Antti Mikko Niemi (born 31 May 1972, in
Oulu ) is a former Finnish footballgoalkeeper who ended his career in September 2008 following recurring injuries.Club career
Early career
Niemi began his
Veikkausliiga career in Finland with HJK in 1991. After five seasons at HJK, he moved to Denmark'sFC København and from there to Scottish giants Rangers in 1997.He never became first choice at Rangers, however, and the low point of his career there came on
November 21 ,1998 when he conceded five goals to Celtic in an Old Firm derby atCeltic Park . After that, he was generally a reserve for Rangers, and also had a loan spell at Charlton Athletic. In 1999, Niemi moved to Hearts.outhampton
After three seasons in
Edinburgh , Niemi moved to Southampton in 2002. He played for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup final against Arsenal which was lost 1-0; Niemi was substituted during the game due to a calf injury. After Southampton were relegated in 2005 and failed to be promoted the following season, Niemi decided to return to the Premiership with Fulham, for whom he signed in January 2006.Fulham
Niemi was badly hurt in a freak accident during a match against Watford on 1 January 2007 when rushing out to head the ball; he toppled over his own defender,
Carlos Bocanegra , and landed on his head. He was taken from the field of play on a stretcher after ten minutes of treatment, but was later cleared of any spinal injury. He was released from hospital later that night with only ligament and muscle damage to the neck. [cite web | title= Fulham expect quick Niemi return
work=bbc| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/6223711.stm |date=3 January 2007 | accessdate=June 10 | accessyear=2008]He remained Fulham's first choice keeper until 1 March 2008, when, following injury, he was replaced by
Kasey Keller . On 3 September 2008 it was announced at that he had retired from professional football due to a wrist injury. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/7595990.stm Keeper Niemi announces retirement] BBC Sport, 3 September 2008]International career
Niemi was first choice for the Finnish national team for almost a decade, before announcing his decision to retire from international football in 2005, but returned to the roster in 2007 playing a friendly game against Spain (0-0). He was capped 66 times by his country before this.
References
*cite book
author=Jeremy Wilson
title=Southampton’s Cult Heroes
publisher=Know The Score Books
year=2006
id=ISBN 1-905449-01-1External links
*soccerbase|id=10913|name=Antti Niemi
* [http://www.fulhamfc.com/pprofiles/football_player_profiles_83_316821 Profile at www.fulhamfc.com]
* [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=6704&cc=5739 Profile at ESPNsoccernet.com]
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/byCountry.php?dumpPlayer=6345 FootballDatabase provides Antti Niemi's profile and stats]
* [http://www.icons.com/niemi/ Antti Niemi Official Website] aticons.com
* [http://www.londonhearts.com/scores/players/niemiantti.html Profile] at [http://www.londonhearts.com londonhearts.com]
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