Mixu Paatelainen

Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and the head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK.

He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's all time thirteenth most capped player and fifth top goalscorer.

He is the eldest of three brothers, all of whom have played professional football.

Their father Matti was also a Finnish international.

Paatelainen had a 20-year playing career, playing for nine clubs in four countries.

Most of his career was spent in the Scottish leagues, with Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hibernian, St Johnstone and St Mirren.

He also played for Valkeakosken Haka in Finland, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England and RC Strasbourg in France.

While at Bolton, Paatelainen became the first Finn to play in the Premier League.

Paatelainen made his debut for Valkeakosken Haka in 1985.

He played 48 league matches for Haka, scoring 18 goals.

During his debut season, Haka won the Finnish Cup, the only honour of the club during his time there.

In October 1987, Scottish Premier Division club Dundee United signed him for a £100,000 transfer fee.

He scored on his debut a day later and quickly established himself as a first team regular, scoring 11 goals in his first season, including four goals in a 7–0 rout of Morton in April 1988.

Paatelainen also helped Dundee United reach the Scottish Cup Final in May 1988, although had to settle for a runners-up medal as United lost 2–1 to Celtic.

He was the club's top scorer for the following two seasons, and in total scored 47 times in 173 matches for United.

In March 1992, he transferred to Aberdeen for £400,000.

During the three seasons he stayed there, he scored 23 goals in 75 matches.

Paatelainen played in two cup finals during his time at Pittodrie, but lost to Rangers in October 1992 in the League Cup Final and in May 1993 lost to the same opposition in the Scottish Cup Final.

The team was promoted to the Premier League in his first season with the club, which then meant that Paatelainen became the first Finnish footballer to play in the Premier League (as the old First Division had been rebranded in 1992).

He played a crucial part in the promotion triumph, putting Bolton 3–2 ahead in their playoff final clash with Reading in extra time on their way to a 4–3 victory which ended a 15-year exile from the top flight.

Paatelainen transferred in 1994 to English club Bolton Wanderers.

Paatelainen also played in the 1995 League Cup Final, in which Wanderers were beaten 2–1 by Liverpool.

He was unable to keep Bolton in the Premier League in 1995–96, although they did return the next season by winning the Division One title with 100 goals and 98 points.

He then played for Wolverhampton Wanderers during the 1997–98 season.

He failed to score for Wolves in the league but scored four times in their FA Cup run, with goals against Darlington (two), Charlton Athletic and Wimbledon.

He also scored once in the League Cup, against Queens Park Rangers.

After his spell in Wolverhampton, Paatelainen decided to return to Scotland in the summer of 1998; this time signing for Edinburgh club Hibernian.

Hibs had been relegated the previous season, and Paatelainen's twelve goals in his first season helped his side get promotion back to the top division in Scotland.

He is fondly remembered by Hibernian supporters for his hat-trick in a 6–2 victory over Edinburgh derby rivals Heart of Midlothian on 22 October 2000.

Paatelainien's appearance for Hibs in their 2001 Scottish Cup Final defeat by Celtic meant that he became the first player to play in the Scottish Cup final with three clubs.

Despite this, Paatelainien never collected a winners medal in the competition.

Paatelainen left Hibs in 2001 to sign for French club Strasbourg.

After retiring as a player in 2005, Paatelainen became manager of Scottish club Cowdenbeath, where he helped the club win the championship of Scottish Football League Third Division and earn a promotion.

After a season coaching in his native Finland with TPS, Paatelainen returned to Scotland as manager of Hibernian.

He left that position by mutual consent after 18 months.

After a year out of the game, Paatelainen was appointed manager of Kilmarnock.

He was Kilmarnock manager for less than one season, but enjoyed personal success during that time.

He was appointed manager of the Finland national team in March 2011, a position he held until June 2015.

He was appointed as Dundee United manager in October 2015, parting company with the club in May 2016 after their relegation to the Scottish Championship.

He has subsequently managed Ubon United in Thailand, and the national teams of Latvia and Hong Kong.