Where is Antti Niemi now?
One of the few Finnish footballers to grace England’s Premier League, Antti Niemi retired in 2008 due to a wrist injury. He did actually sign for Portsmouth later that year but never made an appearance for the club and reportedly earned £450,000 for this troubles.
Playing for 21 years he represented 10 different clubs in England, Scotland as well as his native Finland and made over 400 first-team appearances. He was also the first choice goalkeeper for the Finland national side representing them on 67 occasions between 1992 and 2005.
It was during his time playing in Scotland for Hearts that a caller famously phoned radio station talkSPORT saying that he wanted Niemi in the Scottish squad owing to his fantastic performances.
On being told the keeper was Finnish, the caller replied: ‘He’s no finished! He’s only 28!’
In retirement Niemi went into coaching and in 2010 joined up with the Finnish national team as their goalkeeping coach. In 2013 he was appointed goalkeeping coach at his former club in HJK combining these duties alongside his work with the national team.
A year later he joined former Finland team-mate Sami Hyppia at Brighton and Hove Albion as goalkeeping coach but left the club once the season was over in May 2015 to return back to his native Finland to be with his family again.
After spending time working with the Finnish FA he made a return to coaching in 2020 when he joined Finnish Premier League side HIFK in his current role as the club’s goalkeeping coach.
Back to Fulham / Southampton
Antti Niemi: Premier League Statistics
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Position | Goalkeeper |
| Appearances | 143 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Yellow Cards | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
| Premier League Teams Played for | Fulham, Southampton |
Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com
Last Updated on 1 April 2021 by Admin