Pyry Kärkkäinen

Pyry Kärkkäinen
Personal information
Date of birth	10 November 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Kiuruvesi, Finland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	PPJ
Number	6
Youth career
	Kiuruveden Palloilijat
Senior career*
Years	Team
2003	PK-37
2004–2006	KuPS
2007–2008	Lahti
2009–2010	HJK Helsinki
2011–2012	KuPS
2013–2017	Lahti
2021–	PPJ
International career
2006–2009	Finland U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 March 2022

Pyry Kärkkäinen (born 10 November 1986) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Kakkonen club PPJ.

Club career

Kärkkäinen started his career with Kiuruveden Palloilijat where he played, until joining PK-37 for the season 2003. In 2003, he went on trial at Molde FK. For the season 2004, he moved to Kuopio and KuPS. He signed for three years. KuPS was relegated in 2006 and Kärkkäinen left the club and signed with FC Lahti. At that time he was already a regular in the Finnish under-19 national team. FC Honka had Kärkkäinen at trial in 2006, but chose not to offer a contract and FC Lahti's coach Antti Muurinen signed him for the first time.

In November 2008, Kärkkäinen signed a two-year contract with the capital city club HJK. Also in this time Muurinen wanted to have the talented centre-back. He made his first appearance for HJK in the 5–1 home win against his former club KuPS on 18 April 2009. He also scored his first goal for HJK in the same match.

After having played for Lahti between 2013 and 2017, Kärkkäinen took a career break. He returned to football in 2021, signing with recently promoted third-tier Kakkonen club PPJ.^[1]

International career

He was a part of the Finland U21s, that qualified for the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in 2009. He has also played for U17's and U19's.