'Streets Won't Forget' Baller Retires From International Duty

'Streets Won't Forget' Baller Retires From International Duty

Hands up if you remember Teemu Pukki? All of you?! I thought so … it was only six years ago that the lethal Norwich striker was putting the ‘finish’ in ‘Finnish international’.

Now, aged 35, Pukki will hang up his boots for the Finnish National Team at the end of this international break, going out as a national hero. He is the country's record scorer with 42 international goals, and only Jari Litmanen has more caps than the forward's 132.

🚨🇫🇮 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Teemu Pukki (35) is retiring from international football. 👋

He is in the Finland squad for the very last time, with matches upcoming against Malta and Andorra.

Pukki is Finland's all-time top goalscorer with 42 goals. 🥇 pic.twitter.com/v2osAfrKEQ

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) November 5, 2025

A journeyman for much of his career, it appeared for a time that Pukki would go on to be just another Finnish talent tipped for big things but never to break into the mainstream. However, the current HJK man had other ideas.

A False Start

Starting out at FC KooTeePee, the youth team for Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP), Pukki quickly found the radar of some big European clubs, with Sevilla picking him in 2008. Signing with the future in mind, Pukki developed his game on the Spanish south coast for two years, but his efforts only mustered one appearance. However, his sparse showings for the Sevilla second team showed the Finnish FA enough to hand him his first international cap.

Little did they know how important that decision would be, but at the time, the Finnish football scene was not awash with talent, and Pukki was considered the best of a bad bunch.

Finnish giants HJK Helsinki picked up their talented countryman in a bid to revitalise his career, and in his one season with the club from August 2010 to August 2011, Pukki showed the first signs of the lethal striker he would become, netting 19 in 38 games as HJK walked to successive titles.

His form in his homeland garnered the attention of Schalke 04, who at the time were still one of the biggest clubs in the Bundesliga, and were fresh off the back of just the fourth DFB Pokal success in their history.

Teemu Pukki (€1.8M) - HJK Helsinki to Schalke 04 (2011) pic.twitter.com/ENlpPLWeai

— Transfersthathappened (@actualtransfers) February 15, 2025

In his two seasons there, Pukki would play regularly, but his impact was negligible - he would score just eight in 47 games. Eventually, the German club lost patience, and he was shipped off to Scotland to join Celtic.

Here it was a familiar story - Pukki would get regular minutes, but in the 37 games he played in the 2013/14 season, he would score just nine goals, which for a starting striker in Scotland’s best side were poor numbers.

Tired of failing to live up to expectations, Pukki returned once again to Scandinavia, but this time to the Danish Superligaen to join perpetual title contenders Brondby. It was here that the flying Finn showed what he was all about.

The Flying Finn

In his four-year stint at Brondby, Pukki’s trophy cabinet would start to take shape: Although he couldn’t get his hands on the league title, the club would win a DBU Pokalen (the Danish Cup) in his final season, and the striker would pick up the Golden Boot in 2017 with 15 goals in 26 games.

In all, Pukki would muster 70 goals in 161 games for the club, showing himself to be one of Scandinavia’s finest marksmen. Naturally, European clubs were once again interested, and six months before his contract in Denmark was due to expire, Championship club Norwich City decided to bring him on as a free agent for the start of the 2018/19 season.

Pukki arrived in the English second tier like a force five hurricane; the man could not miss. He played every one of Norwich’s 46 league games that season, and bagged an astonishing 30 goals in every manner you can imagine, while also notching nine assists.

Has there been a better signing this season than Teemu Pukki to Norwich City?

✅ 29 goals
✅ Free signing from Brondby
✅ Championship Top Goalscorer
✅ Norwich Player of the Season pic.twitter.com/hmVxc8o3Oe

— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) May 8, 2019

He comfortably took home the golden boot, and his goals fired Norwich to the title, five points clear of nearest competitors Sheffield United. Pukki had gone from a Finnish unknown to THE key player in a Premier League promotion-winning team, and his contract was given a significant boost in order to reflect his importance.

Premier League fans were buzzing to get their eye on this little-known Finnish striker, and they weren’t disappointed - despite coming dead last at the bottom of the table, Pukki stood out in a distinctly average Norwich side, netting 11 times.

This included a hat trick against Newcastle in their second game of the season and a dramatic winner against a Man City side that, until recent times, seemed to have been impervious to upsets.

That same season, Pukki would have his best year in a Finland shirt, bagging 12 goals across friendly games and European Championship qualifiers as he helped his nation qualify for the first major tournament (Euro 2020) in their history.

Although they would go out in the group stage, and Pukki would fail to score, they were heralded back home as heroes, finally bringing some attention to the Finnish FA, and thus improving youth recruitment and development down the line.

Despite relegation, Pukki opted to stay at the club despite interest from elsewhere, and soon enough was back to his very best form, netting 26 goals on his return to the Championship as Norwich bounced straight back up to the top flight, once again easing to the title.

Confirmed for next season 😎

Norwich ⬆️ to Premier League

Sheffield United ⬇️ to Championship

Aba Man Utd nti muzakumbura Sheffield ra? 😜

Teemu Pukki is back 🤗 pic.twitter.com/ef2U32vaUF

— Rigoga Ruth (@rigogaruth) April 18, 2021

Back in the Premier League, and with a reinforced squad, Norwich were expected to give survival a much better go than two years previously. However, things did not pan out that way - the Canaries only mustered one more point (22) than their 2020 tally and, once again, finished rock bottom of the league.

Once again though, Pukki underlined his top-flight credentials, notching a further 11 goals in the competitions as he looked to single-handedly save his side's season. Though this would prove impossible, Pukki had once again illustrated why he was one of the greatest strikers the Championship has ever seen.

In the Twilight Zone

However, it was clear from the start of the 2022/23 season that Pukki was slowing down. In the last year of his contract, and well into his 30s, his pace and sharpness were fading, highlighted by the fact he only netted 10 goals in 43 games as Norwich fell to a mid-table finish.

The time had come for Pukki and the Canaries to part ways. The club that gave the Finn the opportunity and platform to play at the highest level of the game, it was an emotional farewell, and no doubt both parties remember each other with exceptional fondness.

However, while it was the end of his time in England, it was not the end of Pukki’s career; Minnesota United picked him up on a free transfer, and soon enough Pukki was back to banging in the goals, albeit in a slightly easier league.

Teemu Pukki's first start and first goal in MLS 💪

(via @MLS)pic.twitter.com/9VjRmND8qV

— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 13, 2023

In his first 19 games in the MLS, Pukki would net 10 times - however, the following season, it was clear he was almost at the end of the road, as, across 24 appearances, he would only convert four times.

That brings us to the present day. Picked up by HJK, the club where Pukki first tasted goalscoring success, the Finn has had a fine run into full-time retirement, scoring 21 times and assisting 10 more in all competitions.

Although his performances have not been enough to take them to the top, with HJK currently sitting fifth, it has been a season to remember for Pukki.

His regular goalscoring exploits have ensured that when he does go out, he will be going out on his own terms in a country that adores him, at a club which gave him the launchpad for a superb career.

Though he may have officially retired after a 12-minute cameo against Malta on Friday, club football still beckons for Pukki, who could realistically continue for another couple of years before hanging up his boots for good.

🇫🇮🐐 Teemu Pukki retires from international football.

The Pukki Party may be over, but the #FPL memories are forever.
The original budget GOAT who delivered green arrows on demand.

Kiitos, King Teemu. 👑⚽️💙 pic.twitter.com/CV3lPaBW2X

— NotTheFplExpert (@NotTheFplExpert) November 15, 2025

The Finnish national team will look hollow and empty with his name in the lineup, and he will long be remembered as arguably the finest striker the nation has ever produced. So, when you head out on Saturday night, raise a drink to Teemu Pukki, Finland’s finest, and one of the definitive “Streets won’t forget” ballers.