Vayrynen: Mika

2011-2012 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Central Midfield

Born: Eskilstuna, Finland: 28-12-1981

Debut: Manchester United (h) (Substitute) (League Cup):20-09-2011

5’9” 12st 2lb (2011)

A central midfielder, Vayrynen started his career with FC Lahti making his debut in 1998-99 in the Finnish Premier League when he scored once in fifteen League games. He continued his career in 1999-2000 when he scored ten times in twenty-one games before he moved to newly founded Finnish Premier League side Helsinki-based FC Jokerit in 2000 and scored four goals in thirty games again in the Finnish Premier League in 2000-01 before leaving for Dutch club SC Heerenveen in 2001. He had made his International debut for the Finnish Under-Twenty-One side, and he was also wanted by Inter Milan, but he opted for Dutch football as the chances for regular football were greater. He soon settled in Holland and became a leading player for the Eredivisie (Dutch Premier League) team. He played seventeen League games without scoring in 2001-02, four goals in twenty-two games in 2002-03, five goals in thirty-two games in 2003-04 and eight goals in twenty-nine games in 2004-05. After scoring seventeen goals in one hundred League games and played five in the UEFA Cup he signed for PSV Eindhoven on 5th July 2005. He had played his first game for Finland on 20th March 2002 in Carthage, Spain in a 0-0 draw with South Korea, when he had started the game but had been replaced by Jarkko Wiss at the start of the second-half and since then had started to amass a good collection of caps. He had started seventeen and come off the bench once and had been substituted eight times before he joined PSV. Unfortunately, after making his debut in a 1-1 draw with Heracles on 13th August 2005, his early career with PSV was marred by an ankle injury which kept his 2005-06 appearances to a minimum as Vayrynen did not return to action until he made his comeback as a substitute on 17th December 2005 in a 4-1 win over against Willem II, and immediately scored his first goal for PSV. He finished the season with two goals in eleven League games, as well as one appearance in the European Cup, as PSV secured the Dutch title for the second year in a row.He did not manage any goals in the League in following season when he played seventeen League games, but scored once in eight Champions League games. 2007-08 was his final season at PSV and his name was linked with Rangers and Derby County, but the move to Pride Park was stopped because of a calf injury. He only made one League appearance in the 2007-08 season but he did play in two UEFA Cup games. Once more his name was linked with Rangers and Derby County, as well as Belgian side Bruges, but after scoring twice in twenty-nine League games and once in eleven European games he left PSV on 31st August 2008 and returned to SC Heerenveen. He signed a three-year contract with an option for a further year. He had now accumulated thirty seven full caps for Finland and started thirty and come off the bench seven and had been substituted thirteen times and scored two goals before he joined PSV. Once more injuries were not kind to him and he picked up a knee injury in the game with Ajax in January 2009 which sidelined him for a year. He scored once in seventeen games in the League, played three games in the Cup and scored once in six games in the UEFA Cup. In 2009-10 he scored once in ten League games, made one appearance in the Cup and scored once in three games in the European Champions League. In his third and final season in his second spell with SC Heerenveen he scored eight goals in thirty League games and scored once in his only game in the Cup to bring his totals to ten goals in fifty-seven League games, one goal in five Cup games and two goals in nine European Cup games. He had also brought his Finnish caps to fifty-four having started forty-two and come off the bench twelve times and had been substituted seventeen times and scored five goals before he joined Leeds United, and while there he gained his fifty-fifth and fifty-sixth caps. Number fifty-five came on 7th October 2011 in a 1-2 loss to Sweden in Helsinki when he came on as a seventy-first minute substitute and the final one came four days later in Budapest as Finland played out a 0-0 draw with Hungary in which Vayrynen played a full game. Leeds had signed Vayrynen on a free transfer from SC Heerenveen on a one year contract on 13th September 2011, with an option for a further year. He joined his Finnish teammate Mikael Forssell at Elland Road and both came on as fifty-first minute substitutes in place of Luciano Becchio and Andy Keogh in the Carling Cup game with Manchester United at Elland Road on 20th September 2011. Three days later he was an eightieth minute substitute in making his League debut against Brighton and Hove Albion. He was a seventy-eighth minute substitute on 1st October 2011 when he and Forssell came on in a double substitution for Robert Snodgrass and Ross McCormack in a 1-0 home win against Portsmouth. He had five minutes on the pitch in a 3-0 away win at Doncaster Rovers on 14th October 2011 after he replaced Adam Clayton as Leeds wound the game down. There was ten minutes in the 1-1 home draw with Coventry City on 18th October when he came on for Robert Snodgrass, before he replaced the injured Robert Snodgrass for his run-on debut against Peterborough United on 22nd October 2011, but he took a knock in the first half and Lloyd Sam was sent on to replace him four minutes into the second half. He made way for the return of Robert Snodgrass for the St Andrew's clash with Birmingham City on 26th October 2011, but he was brought on in the seventy-seventh minute to replace Adam Clayton and went close in the dying minutes as United fought to equalise before going down 1-0. He was an unused substitute in Leeds' next game with Cardiff City on 30th October in a 1-1 draw at Elland Road. Three days later he was a seventy-first minute substitute for Adam Clayton as Leeds were humiliated 0-5 at home by Blackpool. Vayrynen was then unavailable for a few weeks when he had groin surgery but he returned as a substitute for the fixture with Watford at Vicarage Road on 10th December 2011. He substitute against Leeds against Watford on 10 December, and he replaced Lloyd Sam in the sixty-third minute and in the ninety-sixth minute he was brought down in the penalty box by Nyron Nosworthy and the referee pointed to the spot. Robert Snodgrass stepped up to the mark to drill the ball confidently into the net and with the last kick of the game saved a point for United. He replaced Michael Brown after sixty-five minutes in the next fixture, when Leeds were beaten 0-1 at home by Reading on 17th December 2011. He was an unused substitute at Pride Park for the game with Derby County on Boxing Day, but five days later he got his second start for Leeds as he replaced Adam Clayton in the starting line-up at Oakwell but Barnsley won easily by 2-5, but he was replaced by Clayton after fifty-four minutes. He was left out of the squad for the 2nd January 2012 home clash with Burnley, in a much changed Leeds team which went on to win 2-1. He was recalled to the starting eleven for the F.A. Cup tie with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in which Leeds did well and limited the hosts to a single late Thierry Henry goal, but he gave way to Michael Brown after an hour. That was Vayrynen's last involvement with the Leeds squad and his contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 16th April 2012. After leaving Leeds he trained with HJK Helsinki and on 10th July 2012 he signed a three month contact with that club, and later signed a two year extension to that contract on 1st February 2013. He made his debut for HJK on 18th July 2012, scoring from the penalty spot after just twenty minutes as his new team had a resounding 7-0 home victory over KR Reykjavik in Champions League qualifiers, before giving way to Antti Okkonen in the sixty-second minute. He went on to score three goals in the Veikkausliiga from ten starts and two more from the substitutes bench as HJK finished Champions. He also made three starts in the Suomen Cup, scored once in three starts in the UEFA Champions League and started once in the UEFA Europa League. His second season was just as successful for the club as they once again won the Veikkausliiga championship, but the midfielder played little part as he made only one start and two substitute appearances for the season. He took a larger part in his final season with the club as they once more were Veikkausliiga champions, scoring twice in making twenty-one starts and four games from the bench and sitting unused on six more. He also scored once in five starts and one game from the bench in the UEFA Europa League and also started two and was a substitute twice in the UEFA Champions League and started one Friendly game without scoring, while he started twice and came off the bench once as HJK won the Suomen Cup. In February 2015 he had trials with US Major League side, LA Galaxy, and signed for them on 6th March 2015. He made his LA debut on 15th March 2015 at Portland Timbers, coming on as a substitute in the sixty-second minute in place of Baggio Husidic in a 2–2 draw. By mid-October 2015 he had started ten and had come off the bench seven times and also sat unused on sixteen further occasions in the MLS, while he scored his first goal in the fifth minute of a 5-0 home win over CSD Comunicaciones in the CONCACAF Champions League, in which he made three starts, and had also come on as a substitute in the ICC Cup. He had accumulated fifty-six caps and scored five international goals before he left Leeds. He added five more to that tally. The first came on 9th November 2012 at the Na Stinadlech Stadium in Teplice, Czech Republic, when he started but was replaced at half-time by Daniel Sjolund in a 0-1 defeat. This was followed by two caps in quick succession at the 700th Anniversary Stadium, Chiang Mai, Thailand, firstly a full game in a 3-1 win over the host nation on 23rd January 2013 and then three days later he started in a 0-3 defeat by Sweden at the same venue when he was replaced after thirty-two minutes by Sebastien Mannstrom. There was a llong break before he gained his sixtieth cap in a 2-2 draw at the Olympicstadion, Helsinki, as a seventy-first minute substitute in place of Joel Pohjanpolo in a 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic. His sixty-first cap also came as a late substitute at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emiratesin a 1-0 win over Sweden on 19th January 2015 as a seventy-sixth minute substitute for Petteri Forsell. He had started forty-seven times, playing twenty-seven full games, come on as a substitute fourteen times and been substituted on twenty occasions and scored five times for Finland in full internationals.