Finland's Teemu Tainio calls time on playing career
Saturday, February 14, 2015
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Former AJ Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur FC and New York Red Bulls midfielder Teemu Tainio, who won his 64th cap for Finland in October, has hung up his boots aged 35.
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Teemu Tainio, who won his 64th cap for Finland in October, has announced his retirement aged 35.
The former AJ Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Sunderland AFC and New York Red Bulls midfielder made his international debut in 1998 and has been in and around the squad ever since bar a two-year hiatus while he was in the United States. Injuries, too, denied him a greater haul of caps.
He returned to the Finland set-up after coming back to Europe in 2013, helping HJK Helsinki claim back-to-back championships. He won his last cap in October, coming on as a late substitute in the 1-1 UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying draw at home to Greece. Finland are fourth in the six-team Group F.
"It was quite an easy decision to call it a day now," he told the Football Association of Finland website. "I have met many great people during my career and made a lot of friends. That is one of the greatest things in football."
