Tim Sparv

Tim Sparv (born 20 February 1987) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for AEL [1] in the Greek Super League and is the captain of Finland's national football team. Sparv was born in Oravais, and started his football career in Norrvalla FF youth team before moving to Southampton's junior organisation. He began his senior club career playing for Halmstad, before signing with Groningen in 2010.[2]

Tim Sparv
Sparv in 2013
Personal information
Full name Tim Sparv
Date of birth (1987-02-20) 20 February 1987
Place of birth Oravais, Finland
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 AEL
Number 6
Youth career
1993–2003 Norrvalla FF
2003–2006 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Southampton 0 (0)
2007–2009 Halmstad 51 (1)
2008 → VPS (loan) 8 (0)
2010–2013 FC Groningen 98 (4)
2013–2014 Greuther Fürth 28 (1)
2014–2020 FC Midtjylland 143 (3)
2020– AEL 17 (1)
National team‡
2002 Finland U15 6 (1)
2003 Finland U16 10 (1)
2003–2004 Finland U17 12 (0)
2004–2005 Finland U18 14 (0)
2004–2006 Finland U19 5 (0)
2006–2009 Finland U21 19 (6)
2009– Finland 79 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:30, 26 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2020

Sparv made his international debut for Finland in February 2009, at the age of 21 and has since had over 70 caps, including appearing in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications. His family is a member of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.[3]

Club career

Southampton

Born in Oravais,[4] Ostrobothnia, Sparv spent three years in the youth academy of Southampton.[5] He was a member of Southampton's youth team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2005,[6] where he played alongside Theo Walcott,[7] losing on aggregate to Ipswich Town.[8] He was named in the first team squad for 2006–07 season[9] and made numerous reserve team appearances but, as Southampton had a plethora of midfielders from which to choose, he was unable to break through into the first team itself.

Halmstad

On 7 January 2007, he moved to Halmstads BK to play in Allsvenskan, on the advice of both his father and former Halmstads BK player Michael Svensson.[10] He made his Allsvenskan debut on 9 April 2007 in a match against Helsingborg when he replaced Andreas Johansson as a substitute for the second period.[11] On 1 May 2008, he was loaned out to Vaasan Palloseura after suffering illness as well as a lack of playing time with Halmstads.[12]

Groningen

In August 2009, he was close to a move to Groningen, but Halmstad refused to let him go at that point.[13] On 14 August, FC Groningen announced that Sparv would join them as of 1 January 2010.[14] He made his Eredivisie debut on 7 March 2010 in a 1–0 victory over VVV-Venlo, coming on for Fredrik Stenman in the 78th minute.[15] He scored his first goal for Groningen in the opening match of the 2010–11 season, a 1–1 draw against AZ. His goal came in the 76th minute.[16]

Greuther Fürth

In May 2013 Sparv signed a three-year contract with Fürth.[17] He made his 2. Bundesliga debut on 21 July 2013 in a match against Arminia Bielefeld.[18] He scored his first and only league goal for the club on 30 September 2013 in a 4–0 victory over Dynamo Dresden. The goal was the last of the game and came in the 86th minute.[19]

FC Midtjylland

On 3 July 2014, Tim Sparv signed a four-year contract with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.[20] On 20 August 2015, he scored against former club Southampton in the 2015–16 Europa League play-off first leg, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He also started the second leg in Denmark which Midtjylland won, to secure the Danish club a place in the group stage and send Southampton out of the competition.[21]

AEL FC

On 26 August 2020, Sparv signed a two-year contract with Greek Super League club AEL.

International career

Finland youth teams

Sparv was the second youngest player in the squad for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship played at home but did not make an appearance in the tournament. He made his Finland U21 debut on 7 October 2006 and played a big part in the successful 2009 European Championship qualifying campaign, playing in 9 out of 10 games and scoring three goals. He was made team captain during the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and scored a penalty in a 2–1 defeat by England on 15 June 2009.[22]

Finland first team

On 4 February 2009, Sparv made his debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Japan, which ended in a 5–1 defeat.[23] He played his first FIFA World Cup qualification game on 10 October 2009 when Stuart Baxter chose him to the starting line up against Wales in Helsinki Olympic Stadium.[24] He was named captain of the national team for the first time for a match against Greece on 4 September 2015.[25]

Personal life

Sparv is a Swedish-speaking Finn.[26]

Sparv is in a relationship with Jitka Nováčková, a Czech model and winner of the Czech Miss 2011 beauty pageant.[27] Their daughter was born in January 2021.

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 September 2019[28][29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cups Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Halmstad 2007 Allsvenskan 12000—120
2008 13000—130
2009 26110—271
Total 5111000521
VPS (loan) 2008 Veikkausliiga 8000—80
Groningen 2009–10 Eredivisie 11000—110
2010–11 34230—372
2011–12 30010—310
2012–13 23210—242
Total 98450001034
Greuther Fürth 2013–14 2. Bundesliga 28140—321
Midtjylland 2014–15 Superliga 290201[lower-alpha 1]0310
2015–16 3100014[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 1]1451
2016–17 50001[lower-alpha 1]060
2017–18 311208[lower-alpha 1]0411
2018–19 212404[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 1]0292
2019–20 50002[lower-alpha 1]070
Total 1223803011604
Career total 307918030135510
  1. Appearances in the Europa League
  2. Appearances in the Champions League

International
As of 15 November 2020.[30]
National teamYearCompetitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 200920 3 0 5 0
201030 4 0 7 0
201120 4 0 6 0
201220 7 1 9 1
201340 3 0 7 0
201440 5 0 9 0
201560 1 0 7 0
201600 4 0 4 0
201730 0 0 3 0
201840 4 0 8 0
201970 2 0 9 0
202050 0 0 5 0
Total 42 0 37 1 79 1

International goals
#DateLocationOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 August 2012Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland1–23–3Friendly

Honours

Club

FC Midtjylland

International

Finland

Individual

References
  1. "Tim Sparv transfer in AEL" (in Greek). AEL official. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  2. "Hollantiin siirtyvä Sparv jännää jo Groningenin otteita" [Moving to Holland, Sparv is already excited about Groningen] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  3. Jensen, Kenneth (3 December 2017). "3. december: Tim Sparv, "Teddy Bear" og Miss Tjekkiet". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Tipsbladet ApS. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  4. "Tim Sparv aloittaa Pohjalaisen kolumnistina" (in Finnish). POHJALAINEN.fi. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  5. "England out to start the party right". The Independent. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  6. "Town starlets win Youth Cup". Ipswich Star. 23 April 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  7. "Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal: Theo Walcott must learn from Gareth Bale's ascent". The Telegraph. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  8. "GALLERY: Ipswich Town lift 2005 Youth Cup with win over Southampton". greenun24.co.uk. 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. "Southampton squad 2006/07". footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  10. "Finländsk U21-landslagsman klar för HBK" (in Swedish). Svenskafans.com. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  11. "Halmstad vände hemma mot Helsingborg" [Halmstad turned the match at home against Helsingborg] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  12. "HBK lånar ut Sparv till Vaasa" (in Swedish). Hallandsposten.se. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  13. "Groningen fail in Sparv bid". skysports.com. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  14. "Sparv per 2010 naar FC Groningen" (in Dutch). fcgroningen.nl. 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  15. "Groningen vs. VVV – 7 March 2010 – Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  16. "AZ vs. Groningen – 14 August 2010 – Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  17. "Maajoukkuefutaaja Tim Sparv siirtyy Saksaan" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  18. "Greuther Fürth vs. Arminia Bielefeld – 21 July 2013 – Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  19. "Greuther Fürth vs. Dynamo Dresden – 30 September 2013 – Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  20. "Finsk landsholdsspiller på plads i FC Midtjylland" (in Danish). fcm.dk. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  21. "Midtjylland vs. Southampton – 27 August 2015 – Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  22. Fletcher, Paul (15 June 2009). "England U21s 2–1 Finland U21s". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  23. "Sparv debuterade" (in Swedish). HBK.se. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  24. "Suomi löi Walesin ja varmisti kolmospaikan" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  25. "Tim Sparv: Tuntui uskomattoman hyvältä olla kapteeni tänään" [Tim Sparv: It felt incredibly good to be a captain today] (in Finnish). Yle. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  26. "Tim Sparv valitsi Halmstadin Southamptonin jälkeen". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). 15 July 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2019. ... hänen äidinkielensä on ruotsi.
  27. Koski, Sami (15 November 2019). "Huuhkajien kapteeni seurustelee Miss Tšekin kanssa – Jitka, 27, on tyrmäävä kaunotar". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 15 November 2019. ... Sparv on seurustellut jo reilun parin vuoden ajan vuoden 2011 Miss Tšekin Jitka Novackovan kanssa ... elokuussa 2017, tšekkilehdistö uutisoi, kuinka nainen oli vihdoin julkistanut seurustelun kohteensa.
  28. "Tim Sparv". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  29. Tim Sparv at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  30. "Tim Sparv" (in Finnish). palloliitto.fi. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  31. "Guldfest i Herning: FC Midtjylland er dansk mester". dr.dk. Danmarks Radio. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  32. "Kauden 2007 parhaat" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  33. "Korpela ja Sparv Vuoden pelaajat" (in Finnish). Palloliitto. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015.
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