Mika Lehkosuo

Mika Lehkosuo, nicknamed "Bana", (born 8 January 1970) is a Finnish football manager and former player who works as the head coach for the Finland U21 national team.

Playing career A midfielder, Lehkosuo played most of his career at HJK Helsinki. He was not a very prominent youth player and made his top division debut in 1993 after spending three years with lower division club Vantaan Pallo. He did not make his breakthrough into the HJK senior squad until 1995, when he made 24 league appearances and scored one goal. In the previous season he had even played one league match for FF Jaro.

In the following seasons Lehkosuo received more and more responsibilities and became one of the best midfielders in the Veikkausliiga. In the end of the 1990s he formed the successful midfield trio with Aki Riihilahti and Jarkko Wiss with whom he won the league title in 1997 and worked their way to the group stage of UEFA Champions League in the next season.

A sponsorship deal with a local radio station meant that Lehkuosuo wore the unusual shirt number 96.2 for a period at HJK Helsinki. This deal ended when he was forbidden to wear the number in UEFA Champions League matches. Lehkuosuo captained HJK in the group stage of the Champions League that season, helping HJK become the first ever Finnish team to earn that distinction.

In the winter of 1998 Lehkosuo was signed on loan by Italian Serie A side Perugia.

Lehkosuo was appointed head coach of Norwegian 1. divisjon club Kongsvinger in December 2019. He was dismissed in September 2020 after Kongsvinger picked up only 13 points from 18 games. However, he continued with the club as a scout and the development director until the end of 2022.

In January 2023, Lehkosuo started as a head coach of the Finland under-21 national team. He led the team to qualify for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament, for the second time in the nation's history, after finishing 2nd in the Group E and defeating Norway in the play-offs 6–3 on aggregate.

Personal life Lehkosuo graduated as a Master of Science in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology in 2003.

Career statistics Club

International

International goals As of match played 18 August 1999. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lehkosuo goal.

Managerial statistics

Honours As a player HJK Veikkausliiga: 1997, 2002 Finnish Cup: 1996, 1998, 2000 Finnish League Cup: 1996, 1997, 1998

Individual HJK Hall of Fame Inductee May 2013, June 2013, May 2014, September 2014, May 2016, April 2017, June 2017

Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year: 2014, 2017