Satu Kunnas

Finnish footballer (born 1977)

Satu Kunnas
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-09-03) 3 September 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
HJK Helsinki
Asker
–2005 Fløya
2005– FC United
International career‡
1996–2005 Finland 46 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:40, 6 March 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:35, 5 March 2021 (UTC)

Satu Kunnas (born 3 September 1977) is a Finnish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. She made 46 appearances for the Finland women's national football team between 1996 and 2005. She played club football for multiple teams in Finland and Norway.

Personal life

Kunnas was born on 3 September 1977 in Helsinki, Finland. In 2006, she started training to become a police officer.[1]

Career

At club level, Kunnas played for HJK Helsinki, where she won the 1995 Kansallinen Liiga. She later played for Norwegian teams Asker and Fløya.[1] In 2005, Kunnas returned to Finland to play for FC United.[1][2] She played in the 2005–06 UEFA Women's Cup for FC United.[1] In a UEFA Cup match against Røa IL, Kunnas sustained a knee injury which sidelined her for six months.[3]

Kunnas made her international debut for Finland in a 1996 Algarve Cup match against Sweden.[1] After making one appearance per year in 1996, 1997 and 1998, she became Finland's main goalkeeper after Johanna Lindell retired in 2004.[2] That year, she was part of the first Finland team to qualify for the UEFA Women's Championship.[1] Kunnas represented Finland at UEFA Women's Euro 2005,[4] where they finished joint third,[4] after losing their semi-final 4–1 to Germany.[5] She was praised by teammate Laura Kalmari for her performance in Finland's group stage match against Denmark, a match they won 2–1.[1] She retired from international football after UEFA Euro 2005.[6] In total, Kunnas made 46 appearances for Finland.[6]

Awards

In 2005, she was awarded the Finland Women's Player of the Year award.[7] She was also shortlisted for FIFA World Player of the Year in the same year.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Satu Kunnas: Die selbstbewußte Torfrau" (in German). Fan Soccer. 3 December 2005. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Satu Kunnas on toista kautta naisten ykkösmaalivahti". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 3 June 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Satu Kunnas pitkään sivussa". Kaleva (in Finnish). 18 August 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b Malolepszy, Tomasz (2013). European Soccer Championship Results. Scarecrow Press. pp. 110–111. ISBN 9780810887800. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Germany 4 – 1 Finland". The Guardian. 15 June 2005. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Finnish greats issue EURO rallying cry". UEFA. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Finland – Women Player of the Year Awards". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Thirty men and 24 women in contention". FIFA. 13 October 2005. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.