Jari Niinimäki

Jari Niinimäki
Personal information
Full name Jari Olavi Niinimäki
Date of birth (1957-12-01)1 December 1957
Place of birth Tampere, Finland
Date of death 10 June 2023(2023-06-10) (aged 65)
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1977 TPV Tampere
1978–1986 Ilves Tampere [1] 166 (71)
1986 AIK 10 (4)
1987–1989 Ilves Tampere 56 (18)
International career
1986–1987 Finland 9 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jari Olavi Niinimäki (1 December 1957 – 10 June 2023) was a Finnish footballer who played as a forward. He made three appearances for Finland national team.

Club career

Niinimäki played most of his career at his hometown club FC Ilves. The exceptions were only the first two seasons he played as senior, when he played with third-tier Finnish side TPV Tampere, and, later in 1986, when he played abroad in Sweden with AIK in the 1986 Allsvenskan.[2]

Niinimäki spent short time in Yugoslavia with Serbian club FK Partizan. He failed to make a debut in an official game, but made one appearance and scored two goals in a friendly match.[3]

International career

Niinimäki made nine appearances for Finland national team in 1986.[4]

Personal life and death

His son, Jesse Niinimäki, became a professional ice hockey player.[2]

Niinimäki died on 10 June 2023, at the age of 65.[5]

Honours

Ilves

References

  1. ^ Note: 166 ap. and 71 goals refer only to the seasons Niinimäki played in first level, but are missing the stats from his first season, in 1978 when he played in second-level.
  2. ^ a b JARI NIINIMÄKI - HAN SPETSADE AIK:s ANFALL I HÖSTSPURTEN 1986 at AIK official website, Retrieved 12 December 2016 (in Swedish)
  3. ^ All-time FK Partizan players at FK Partizan official website, Retrieved 12 December 2016 (in Serbian)
  4. ^ "Jari Niinimäki". eu-football.info. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  5. ^ Teiskonlahti, Kirsi (10 June 2023). "Entinen maajoukkuepelaaja Jari Niinimäki, 65, on kuollut". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b Jari Niinimäki at National-Football-Teams.com


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