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Joel Pohjanpalo

Joel Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo (born 13 September 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie B club Venezia. He also represents the Finland national football team. Pohjanpalo was born in Helsinki, Finland where he began his career with HJK. He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 26 October 2011 at the age of 17 and moved out to Germany at age 19 in 2013.

After multiple successful loan spells in Germany and Turkey, Pohjanpalo left Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 and was acquired by Italian side Venezia, where he quickly became a fan favourite cult player, and was named one of the team captains.

Pohjanpalo made his full international debut for Finland senior national team in November 2012 at the age of eighteen, and has since made over 60 appearances, including playing in matches for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, and in the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament.

Club career

Pohjanpalo started football in a youth team of a Helsinki-based club PK-35.

HJK

A product of his hometown club HJK, Pohjanpalo emerged through the youth ranks, first appearing with the reserve team (Klubi-04) in 2011 at the age of 16. He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 26 October 2011, starting against RoPS. During his first season in the Finnish 2nd division with Klubi-04, he made 21 appearances, scored a record-breaking 33 league goals and was awarded as the series player of the season. Following his excellent performances with the reserves, Pohjanpalo signed a new contract with HJK on 7 December 2011, keeping him in the Finnish capital until 2015.

Pohjanpalo started HJK's first league match of the 2012 Veikkausliiga season on 15 April 2012, scoring a hat-trick within the space of three minutes (162 seconds) against IFK Mariehamn. After a three-day trial with Liverpool in August 2012, Pohjanpalo was offered a three-year contract but rejected the deal due to a lack of guaranteed playing time for Liverpool F.C. Reserves. He finished the 2012 season at HJK with 19 goals in 42 games in all competitions. He was awarded as the Veikkausliiga rookie of the season.

Bayer Leverkusen and loans

2013–14: VfR Aalen (loan)

On 1 September 2013, Pohjanpalo was loaned to German Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen for a loan fee of €500,000, who then loaned him to 2. Bundesliga team VfR Aalen. At Aalen, Pohjanpalo started thirteen matches and appeared as a substitute in a further nine, scoring five goals.

2014–16: Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)

In April 2014, Pohjanpalo renewed his contract with HJK, extending it to 2018. At the same time HJK extended his loan contract with Bayer Leverkusen a further two years, which Pohjanpalo spent on loan at Fortuna Düsseldorf. He was voted the 2. Bundesliga Player of the Month in October 2014, following a hat-trick against Darmstadt 98.

His loan spell with Fortuna Düsseldorf was extended for 2015–16 season. In March 2016, Pohjanpalo was assigned to the club's reserve team Fortuna Düsseldorf II for one week due to appearing late at the local night club and thus breaking the entry ban and violating the club's code of conduct.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 21 March 2016, Leverkusen announced that they had exercised their option to permanently sign Pohjanpalo from HJK Helsinki for a transfer fee of €1.5 million. On 27 August 2016, Pohjanpalo finally made his debut for the club in their opening game of the 2016–17 Bundesliga season against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored just a minute after being substituted on, but it was not enough to prevent Leverkusen from losing 2–1. Pohjanpalo came off the bench in Leverkusen's second game of the season and scored a hat-trick, helping his side achieve a 3–1 win over Hamburger SV. After these two appearances, Pohjanpalo had scored four goals in just thirty minutes of play during the first two matches of the season.

His time with Leverkusen was plagued by multiple severe injuries, which caused him to miss around 70 league games, and almost ended his career prematurely.

2020: Hamburger SV (loan)

On 24 January 2020, Pohjanpalo joined Hamburger SV on loan for the rest of the 2019–20 season. In a half season, Pohjanpalo scored nine goals in 14 matches for the club in 2. Bundesliga.

2020–21: Union Berlin (loan)

On 30 September 2020, Pohjanpalo joined Bundesliga side Union Berlin on loan for the 2020–21 season. On 24 April 2021, Pohjanpalo scored a hat-trick in 17 minutes, in a 3–1 win against Werder Bremen.

2021–22: Caykur Rizespor (loan)

Pohjanpalo was loaned out to Turkish Süper Lig side Caykur Rizespor for the 2021–22 season. On 18 March 2022, Pohjanpalo made a hat-trick after coming in from the bench as a 55th minute substitute, in a 3–2 win against Trabzonspor, scoring all three goals from penalties.

Venezia

2022–23 season

On 19 August 2022, Pohjanpalo signed a three-year contract with Venezia in Italy, with an option to extend for two more years. The transfer fee was reported to be €3.2 million including add-ons.

On 1 May 2023, Pohjanpalo scored four goals as Venezia defeated Modena 5–0 at home. During his first season in Venezia, Pohjanpalo scored 19 goals and provided seven assists, making him the second best goalscorer of the 2022–23 Serie B season, after Gianluca Lapadula. He was also named the Serie B Player of the Month twice, consecutively in April and in May 2023.

2023–24 season

Despite the speculations and transfer rumours, on 13 September 2023 on his 29th birthday, Pohjanpalo renewed his contract with Venezia, signing a new deal until 30 June 2027. He is one of the captains of his team. On 14 January 2024, Pohjanpalo scored a hat-trick in a 5–3 home win against Sampdoria. Pohjanpalo was named the Serie B Player of the Month also in February and March 2024.

International career

Youth

Pohjanpalo made his debut for the Finland U21 side at the age of 17 on 5 June 2012 against Slovenia.

Senior

Pohjanpalo made his senior national team debut on 14 November 2012 in a 3−0 victory against Cyprus when he replaced Teemu Pukki as a substitute on the 70th minute. He was close to scoring in a friendly against Slovenia when his shot hit the post and was then finished by Hämäläinen. In the next friendly game against Hungary he finished his first international goal entering the field as a substitute and equalising the game. He made his UEFA European Championship qualification match debut on 7 September 2014 in a match against Faroe Islands when he entered as an 89th-minute substitute for Teemu Pukki. He scored his first goal in a competitive match on 4 September 2015 in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match in Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus against Greece.

On 12 June 2021, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Denmark in the UEFA Euro 2020, to grant his country their first goal and win in a major competition.