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.
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Pohjanpalo in 2022 with Bayer Leverkusen | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Joel Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1994 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Venezia | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2005 | PK-35 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | HJK | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Klubi 04 | 26 | (33) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | HJK | 50 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | → VfR Aalen (loan) | 22 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | → Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 55 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | → Fortuna Düsseldorf II (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2022 | Bayer Leverkusen | 23 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | → Hamburger SV (loan) | 14 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Union Berlin (loan) | 19 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | → Çaykur Rizespor (loan) | 33 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Venezia | 66 | (39) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Finland U15 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Finland U16 | 13 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Finland U17 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Finland U18 | 10 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Finland U19 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Finland U21 | 11 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012– | Finland | 71 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
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.