The Finnish floorball legend Mika Kohonen has decided to end his career as a player. Kohonen has represented Finland in all the Men’s World Floorball Championships since 1998 and he has been elected the World’s best player five times.
Mika Kohonen, 43, played his last Men’s World Floorball Championships in Prague in 2018 and he ends his playing career as the reigning World Champion. A year ago, he joined the coaching staff of Storvreta IBK and began his position as the Assistant Coach. Kohonen has been recovering from an injury since December 7th 2019, when he broke his Achilles tendon in the Finnish league (current F-liiga) match between Happee and ÅIF.
– I got a strong feeling that ending the games was the only right solution. Finally, I had to be honest with myself, Kohonen says in the Finnish Floorball Federation’s press release.
– Loving sport never ends. Floorball has meant everything to me. Long ago, I could have not imagined that I play 23 years in the Finnish national team.
Remarkable floorball career
The floorball career of Kohonen is definitely remarkable. He has played in 11 World Floorball Championships, being the player with most WFC tournaments. With the Finnish national team, Kohonen has won four WFC gold medals, five silver medals and two bronze medals. He has played the most WFC matches, a total of 60 and he has been elected to the WFC All Star Team five times. In the overall scoring leader statistics Kohonen is third with 78 points (28 goals, 50 assists) and he shares the record of most assists with the Swiss Emanuel Antener. Kohonen also has bronze medal from The World Games 2017.
Kohonen has been elected the World’s best player five times, first time in 2005. He has also won the IFF Champions Cup once in 2012. In the Finnish national team Kohonen has the most matches, a total of 194 and most national team points (86+169=255). Kohonen has won the Swedish championship four times and he is the all time point scorer in SSL with 1 053 points. In Sweden Kohonen has got a nickname, “Kungen” and he has represented Balrog IK, Storvreta IBK and FC Helsingborg. In Finland, Kohonen has played in Happee and SPV.
Kohonen also sends greetings to all players who are heading to the top:
– Dare to dream and set the bar high or even higher. Don’t belittle yourself or your talents. Have competitive drive. Watch matches, learn from those and ask. Finally, work hard for your goals and break your limits. And remember to enjoy every moment!
Watch the tribute for Mika Kohonen:
