Toni Mikael Koskela (born 16 February 1983) is a Finnish football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Allsvenskan club Kalmar FF.
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, he won three Finnish championship titles.
Playing career After starting his career in Finland, Koskela was snapped up by Championship side Cardiff City but he failed to impress at the club making just three appearances in all competitions, including an FA Cup game against Arsenal."Flop Koskela finished at Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved 14 November 2007 In November 2005 he was close of signing a contract with Bristol City 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.
He has also played for FC Jokerit, FC Hämeenlinna,FC Hämeenlinna vuokrasi Toni Koskelan, Kaleva, 9 July 2003 FC KooTeePee and JJK JyväskyläToni Koskela vahvistaa JJK:ta kesäkuun loppuun, Ilta-Sanomat, 14 April 2009 in the Finnish Veikkausliiga, and Norwegian club Molde FK.
International career A former Finnish youth international, Koskela also represented Finland under-21 youth national team in 2004.Toni Koskela » U21 EURO Qualifiers 2004/2005, worldfootball In April 2005, Koskela and Njazi Kuqi were both temporarily suspended from the international duties by the Finnish FA, due to leaving the U21 team's hotel in Prague without permission from the head coach Markku Kanerva.Kuqi ja Koskela väliaikaiseen pelikieltoon, Kaleva, 7 April 2005
Managerial career Koskela started coaching in youth teams of PK-35 and HJK.Polvivamma pakotti Toni Koskelan katsomon puolelle, veikkausliiga.com, 11 March 2013 In 2013, he started as an assistant coach of HJK first team, and since 2015 managed the club's reserve team Klubi 04 in third-tier Kakkonen.Toni Koskela aloittaa Klubi 04:n päävalmentajana, hjk.fi, 15 September 2014 Koskela led Klubi 04 to win the Kakkonen Southern Group, but the team eventually lost in the promotion play-offs to GrIFK.Klubi 04-GrIFK 0-3 (0-2) yht. 1-8, hjk.fi, 17 October 2015 At the end of the 2017 season, Koskela led Klubi 04 to win a promotion to second-tier Ykkönen.Klubi 04:n nousun arkkitehti Toni Koskela siirtyy RoPSin päävalmentajaksi, Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, 10 November 2017
RoPS Koskela was named the head coach of Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS) ahead of the 2018 Veikkausliiga 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.HS: Toni Koskela sopi RoPS:n profiiliin täydellisesti - ”Rajamäet ja muut vapaat nimet on jo nähty”, suomifutis.com 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 following the sacking of Mika Lehkosuo. 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.HJK maksoin hurjan summan RoPSin luotsista, MTV Oy, 25 July 2019 During his first three full seasons as the head coach of HJK, Koskela led the club to three straight Veikkausliiga 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 and for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League. He was named the Manager of the Year in the 2022 Veikkausliiga 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 in the UEFA Champions League 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 in Cypriot First Division.Kyproslaisseura tiedotti palkanneensa Toni Koskelan - valmentaja kommentoi uutista Yle Urheilulle: ”Sopimus on viimeistelyä vaille valmis”, Yle, 15 October 2023 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.Ανακοίνωση, ael-fc.com, 22 January 2024 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.Toni Koskela sai potkut – teki MTV Urheilulle karun paljastuksen seuran kulisseista, mtvuutiset.fi, 22 January 2024
Kalmar FF On 20 December 2024, Koskela was named the manager of Swedish side Kalmar on a three-year contract until the end of 2027.VÄLKOMMEN TILL KALMAR FF, TONI KOSKELA!, kalmarff.se, 20 December 2024 Koskela was selected the Superettan 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 At the end of his first season with Kalmar, they won the promotion back to Allsvenskan.
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, handball and rinkball.Fjalar Åsten on poissa, Ilta-Sanomat, 26 January 2016
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsJokerit II2000Ykkönen70––70Jokerit2001Veikkausliiga24200102522002Ykkönen1000–102003Veikkausliiga9100–91Total3430010353Hämeenlinna (loan)2003Veikkausliiga90––90KooTeePee2004Veikkausliiga25400–254Cardiff City2004–05Championship2000–202005–06Championship0010–10Total2010––30Ilisiakos2005–06Football League Greece20––20KooTeePee2006Veikkausliiga112––112Molde20071. divisjon283––2832008Tippeligaen24110–251Total52410––534JJK2009Veikkausliiga170––170Career total15913201016213
Managerial
TeamNatFromToRecordPWDLW%Klubi 041 January 201531 December 2017RoPS1 January 201822 May 2019HJK Helsinki23 May 201913 July 2023AEL Limassol15 October 202322 January 2024Kalmar20 December 2024presentTotal
Managerial honours Kalmar FF Superettan runner-up: 2025
HJK Veikkausliiga: 2020, 2021, 2022 Finnish Cup: 2020 Finnish Cup runner-up: 2021 Finnish League Cup: 2015, 2023
RoPS Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2018
Individual Finnish Football Manager of the Year: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year: 2018, 2022 Superettan Manager of the Month: April 2025.
References
Guardian Football
External links