Biography
Who is Joel Pohjanpalo?
Early life and youth career
Joel Pohjanpalo Julius Ilmari Pohjanpalo was born in Helsinki, Finland. He began his football path at the youth team of the local club PK-35 in 1999. He later joined the youth sector of HJK Helsinki when he was eleven years old.
Pohjanpalo emerged through the ranks of his hometown club HJK. He first appeared for their reserve team, Klubi-04, in 2011. During his time in the Finnish second division, he made 21 appearances and scored 33 league goals. This performance earned him the title of player of the season for that series.
Professional debut and HJK career
Pohjanpalo made his Veikkausliiga debut on October 26, 2011, starting a match against RoPS. Following his strong performance with the reserves, he signed a contract with HJK in December 2011 that kept him in the Finnish capital until 2015.
In April 2012, he scored a hat-trick within 162 seconds during a match against IFK Mariehamn. By the end of that season, he had scored 19 goals in 42 matches across all competitions. He received the award for rookie of the season in the Veikkausliiga.
International career
Joel made his full international debut for the Finland national football team in November 2012 when he was eighteen years old. Since then, he has accumulated over 80 appearances for his country.
He has participated in several major international competitions. These include matches during the qualification rounds for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments. Also, he played in the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament.
Time in Germany and Turkey
In 2013, Pohjanpalo moved to Germany. He spent time on loan at VfR Aalen, where he scored five goals in twenty-two appearances. He then had a loan spell at Fortuna Düsseldorf, where he was voted the 2. Bundesliga Player of the Month in October 2014.
Bayer Leverkusen permanently signed him in 2016. His time there involved several loan moves to teams such as Hamburger SV, Union Berlin, and Caykur Rizespor. During his stint at Caykur Rizespor in Turkey, he scored 16 goals in 33 appearances.
Success at Venezia and transfer to Palermo
Joel joined the Italian side Venezia in August 2022. He became a key player for the team and helped them achieve promotion to Serie A in 2024. During the 2023-24 season, he scored 22 goals and was the top goalscorer of Serie B.
He became the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of Venezia before leaving the club in February 2025. Following his successful tenure in Venice, he was acquired by the Serie B club Palermo for a reported transfer fee of approximately €5.5 million.
Birthday and age
Joel Pohjanpalo was born on September 13, 1994, which makes Joel 32 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Joel shares the date with 54 other famous people.
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