Tomi Petrescu

Tomi Petrescu (born 24 June 1986), is a Finnish professional football winger and attacking midfielder who plays for Finnish club Jyväskylä Blackbird and has represented Finland national under-21 football team. Petrescu was born in Jyväskylä, Finland where he played for the local JJK youth team before moving to Leicester City F.C.

Tomi Petrescu
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-06-24) 24 June 1986 (age 38)
Place of birthJyväskylä, Finland
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)Winger / Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Jyväskylä Blackbird
Number10
Youth career
1995–2001JJK
2001–2004Leicester City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2003–2005Leicester City1(0)
2005–2006Inter Turku44(10)
2007–2010Tampere United76(15)
2009Ascoli2(0)
2011Panthrakikos1(0)
2011–2012FC Honka32(2)
2013FC Haka15(6)
2013Politehnica Iași5(0)
2014–2016Ilves52(9)
2016–2018JJK40(7)
2019–Jyväskylä Blackbird0(0)
International career
2001–2003Finland U-1725(2)
2004–2008Finland U-217(2)
Medal record
Tampere United
WinnerFinnish Cup2007
WinnerVeikkausliiga2007
WinnerFinnish League Cup2009
Runner-upFinnish Cup2009
Honka
WinnerFinnish League Cup2011
WinnerFinnish Cup2012
Ilves
Third placeFinnish 1st Division2014
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 November 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2014

Club career

Early career

Petrescu's career began in the junior organisation of JJK Jyväskylä. In 2001, he moved to Leicester's youth academy. In Leicester he represented the academy team and the reserves. He made one appearance in the first team on 4 May 2003 in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. When he failed to make a break through he terminated his contract in the end of 2004.

Inter Turku

For season 2005 Petrescu joined Veikkausliiga team Inter Turku.[1] where he quickly established his place in the midfield and scored seven goals during the season. During season 2006 he gained 20 caps and scored three goals.

Tampere United

In December 2006 Petrescu signed a two-year contract with Tampere United. He stated that his main reason to join Tampere United was coach Ari Hjelm. Season 2007 was a true break through for Petrescu to the elite of Veikkausliiga. He was one of the key players that led the team two a second consecutive championship. During the second qualifying round of the 2007/2008 Champions League edition, Petrescu scored a goal to help Tampere secure a prestigious 1:0 win against Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia in their home game. Tampere repeated the feat in the away game and became the first Finnish side to eliminate a Bulgarian club from the high-profile competition. However, the Finns were unable to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, as they were eliminated by Norwegian side Rosenborg BK in the third qualifying round.

In 2007, he was selected as the best footballer of Pirkanmaa.

He was loaned to Italian Ascoli for the spring of 2009.[2] In Ascoli he made his first appearance on 7 March in a match against Grosseto.[3]

Panthrakikos

In January 2011 Petrescu joined Greek side Panthrakikos on a 1,5 years contract.[4] He made just one appearance in the first team.

Honka

Petrescu represented seasons 2011-12 FC Honka in the Veikkausliiga. He gained 32 caps and scored two goals.

Haka

Petrescu transferred to FC Haka for the season 2013. During the fall of 2013 he made a short spell in Romanian first division side CSM Studențesc Iași.

Ilves

After season 2013 he moved on to Ilves on a three-year contract.[5]

JJK

On 23 June 2016, he returned to JJK on a three-year contract.[6]

International career

Petrescu became well known after playing in the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, which were held in Finland where he scored two of three goals of Finland. He scored a goal in the opening game against China in the tournament. He was nominated as candidate by head coach Markku Kanerva for the Finland U-21 team for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals but he suffered an injury one month prior to the tournament and was forced to withdraw.[7]

Personal life

Petrescu's father is Romanian and he has got an older brother, Ștefan Petrescu, who also plays football.

Honours

Club

Tampere United
Honka

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 April 2015[8]
ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueDomestic CupsEuropeTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Inter Turku
2005Veikkausliiga2470000247
2006Veikkausliiga2030000203
Inter Turku Total441000004410
Tampere United
2007Veikkausliiga2460062308
2008Veikkausliiga1940020214
Ascoli
2008–09Serie B20000020
Ascoli Total20000020
Tampere United
2009Veikkausliiga1330000133
2010Veikkausliiga2025000252
Tampere United Total761550828917
Panthrakikos
2010–11Football League10000010
Panthrakikos Total10000010
Honka
2011Veikkausliiga1120000247
2012Veikkausliiga2107000210
Honka Total3227000392
Haka
2012Ykkönen1022100123
Haka Total1022100123
Politehnica Iași
2013–14Liga II50000050
CSM Iași Total50000050
Ilves
2014Ykkönen2140000214
2015Veikkausliiga00220022
Ilves Total2142200236
Career Total191331438221338

References