PLAYER PROFILE

Jussi Jaaskelainen

Position: Goal

Height: 6'3

Weight: 12st 10lbs

Date of Birth: 1975-04-19 Mikkeli, Finland

Jussi Jaaskelainen

Jaaskelainen joined Bolton Wanderers in November 1997 from VPS Vaasa for a fee of £100,000 and has turned out to be a real bargain.

The Finland international soon made himself the number one between the sticks, but a cruciate ligament injury suffered during the Trotters promotion season in 2000/01 ruled him out for some time.

But, as the club embarked on another Premiership season, Jaaskelainen was back to his best. In October 2001, he made one of the best saves ever seen in the Premiership, defying Andy Cole from point blank range at Old Trafford, to secure Bolton a memorable 2-1 win against their Lancashire rivals. He put in a number of fine performances that saw him voted the top flight's best goalkeeper by Barclaycard in 2002/03, and his form continued throughout the following campaign.

Jaaskelainen was ever present in the side throughout the 2003/04 season, something only continued in the 2004/05 campaign which saw him play an integral part in Bolton qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

Such form continued in the 05/06 and 06/07 seasons and he is now as good as the first name on the Bolton team-sheet.