Joel Mero
Joel Mero (born 7 February 1995), is a Finnish former professional football defender. He has represented the Finland national under-21 football team.[4] Mero was born in Turku, Finland. Mero began his senior club career playing for FC Lahti, before signing with Borussia Mönchengladbach at age 18 in 2013.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 February 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Turku, Finland[2] | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2011 | Reipas Lahti | ||
| 2013–2014 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Lahti | 26 | (2) |
| 2013–2017 | Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 11 | (0) |
| 2015 | → KTP (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | SJK | 48 | (2) |
| 2020 | HIFK | 12 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Finland U16 | 13 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Finland U17 | 6 | (0) |
| 2012 | Finland U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 2013 | Finland U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2014 | Finland U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2015 | Finland U21 | 6 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
FC Lahti
Mero made his Veikkausliiga debut in June 2012 in a match against Haka. During seasons 2012 and 2013 he made 26 appearances for FC Lahti and scored two goals.
Borussia Monchengladbach II
On 22 April 2013, it was announced that Borussia Mönchengladbach had signed Mero on a four-year contract, with the young Finn joining the club during the summer 2013.[5]
SJK Seinäjoki
SJK Seinäjoki published on 3 July 2017 that it had signed Mero.[6]
International career
Mero was a regular in the Finland national under-21 football team and has a total of 32 caps in international junior matches.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 31 December 2016[7]
| Club | Season | Division | League | Domestic Cups | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| FC Lahti | 2012 | Veikkausliiga | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 2013-14 | Regionalliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | Regionalliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015-16 | Regionalliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2016-17 | Regionalliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| KTP (loan) | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| SJK | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 12 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 48 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 2 | ||
| SJK Akatemia | 2019 | Kakkonen | 5 | 1 | – | – | 5 | 1 | ||
| HIFK | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 106 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 5 | ||
Honours and achievements
References
- "Joel Mero Defender". soccerbase.com. SOCCERBASE. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- Veikkausliiga - Hall Of Fame Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
- "Joel Mero profil". tablesleague.com. TablesLeague. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- "Mero Joel" (in Finnish). Palloliitto. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- "Joel Mero siirtyy Borussia Mönchengladbachiin" [Mero signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach] (in Finnish). fclahti.fi. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- "SJK teki kolme uutta pelaajasopimusta – Joel Mero palaa Suomeen Bundesliigasta" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "Joel Mero". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 December 2016.