Mika Antero Kottila, nicknamed Hirvi, (born 22 September 1974) is a Finnish former professional footballer. He played as a forward and spent the vast majority of his career playing in Nordic countries.Mika "Hirvi" Kottila haluaa hoitaa isyyden kunnialla maaliin ennen kuin harkitsee valmentajapestiä – Ex-futari on ollut lasten kanssa kotona jokaisena kouluaamuna, Vantaan Sanomat, 14 November 2021Mika Kottila lopettaa uransa, Ilta-Sanomat, 10 October 2006
Club career Kottila was born in Vantaa, Finland. He joined RoPS in 1992. He had a spell on loan at Hereford United during the 1996–97 season. He made 13 league appearances, scoring 1 goal.
He then joined HJK Helsinki for the second of three spells, having previously played for the club during the 1994 season. He made 157 appearances and scored 56 goals for the club during his three spells. The top moment of his career came when he scored two goals for HJK in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 1998.
He joined a Norwegian Tippeligaen club SK Brann for a €500,000 transfer fee, where he was in the 1999 season, and then Sweden to play for Trelleborgs FF. A third spell at HJK followed between 2002 and 2004. He also featured in the 2004 UEFA Champions League playing against the likes of Linfield and Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. in the qualifying rounds.
Between 2005 and 2006 he played for FC Lahti in the Finnish Premier Division.
International career He was capped 32 times for Finland, scoring seven goals between 1998 and 2004.
Career statistics Mika Kottila stats, Finnish FAMika Kottila, National-Football-Teams + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMPS1991Kolmonen1992KolmonenTotal372100003721Ponnistus1992Kakkonen268––268HJK1994Veikkausliiga122–211431995Veikkausliiga214–32246Total3360053389RoPS1996Veikkausliiga142––142Hereford United1996–97Third Division131––131HJK1997Veikkausliiga257–202771998Veikkausliiga2611092363Total518101126310Brann1999Tippeligaen13122–153Brann 219992. divisjon10––10Trelleborg2000Allsvenskan237––2372001Allsvenskan222––222Total4590000459HJK2002Veikkausliiga2918–2031182003Veikkausliiga2311104128122004Veikkausliiga227–42269Total7436101028538Lahti2005Veikkausliiga254––2542006Veikkausliiga72––72Total3260000326Career total3399742267369106
International
FinlandYearAppsGoals199510199600199700199820199940200082200151200253200351200420Total327
International goals As of match played 29 February 2003. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kottila goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Mika KottilaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition123 February 2000Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1–0 4–2 King's Cup2 3–0315 February 2001Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait1–03–4Friendly44 January 2002Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain1–02–0Friendly510 January 2002Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain1–0 3–0 Friendly6 3–0729 January 2003Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago1–12–1Friendly
Honours HJK Veikkausliiga: 1997, 2002, 2003 Finnish Cup: 1998, 2003
Individual Veikkausliiga top scorer: 2002
References