Mikael Forssell

Born in Steinfurt, Germany, and considered one of the most talented Finnish footballers of all time, Forssell made his Veikkausliiga debut for HJK at the age of just 16.

Chelsea

His goal-scoring form for Finland's youth teams made him a target for a host of Europe's top clubs, and in 1998, the 17-year-old striker was snapped up by Chelsea who at the time were managed by Gianluca Vialli. He made his debut as a substitute in a league game against Arsenal in January 1999 and then three days later, Forssell made his first start for the club when he scored two goals against Oxford United in the FA Cup. His first league goal came three weeks later, when he scored against Nottingham Forest. However, when Chelsea signed Chris Sutton for £10 million, Forssell was loaned out twice to Crystal Palace of the then First Division, scoring 16 league goals in just over 50 appearances. Forssell found it hard to find a place in the Chelsea first team with Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Tore Andre Flo and Eiður Guðjohnsen, who were all ahead of him in the pecking order. After initially impressing new manager Claudio Ranieri, scoring in four consecutive games, he was sent out on loan again and had spells at Borussia Mönchengladbach of the German Bundesliga and twice to Birmingham City of the Premier League. Forssell scored seven Bundesliga goals for Mönchengladbach in the spring of 2003 and then 17 Premier League goals for Birmingham in the 2003–04 season (more league goals…

Forssell was a regular for the Finnish national team for most of the 2000s. He played his first match for Finland on 9 June 1999 against Moldova, and scored his first goal on 28 February 2001 against Luxembourg. He often partnered Jari Litmanen. Forssell also played for Finland in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. Forssell scored twice against Germany in a 2002 World Cup qualifier; the match ended 2–2. Forssell scored two hat-tricks for Finland. On 7 September 2005, in Tampere, he scored three goals against Macedonia in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. On 17 November 2010, Forssell scored three of Finland's eight goals against San Marino in the Euro 2012 qualifying.

After his playing career, Forssell has coached HJK's U19 youth team. On 6 June 2024, he was appointed an assistant coach of HJK first team.

Forssell's older sister, Christina Forssell, was also a footballer who played for HJK and Finland. His parents are Ansa and Bengt Forssell. Bengt has also played football on a high level in Finland. On 23 August 2013, Forssell got engaged to Metti Lukkarila, and they married on 9 August 2014. The couple have two children – Lilia, born in May 2014, and Lucas Mikael, born in August 2016.