BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — Jussi Jaaskelainen made 530 appearances with the Bolton Wanderers from 1997 through 2012, and later had a Premier League stop with West Ham United during a two-decade professional goalkeeping career in England.
He also played 56 international matches representing his native Finland.
Son
Emil Jaaskelainen was born in 2001, in the midst of his father's pro career, and ultimately himself ended up in the Wanderers' academy as a 9-year-old, before moving on to Blackpool as a teenager.
Fast forward and Emil — now 21 years old — has 11 goals as a striker for the LIU men's soccer team, one shy of NCAA leader MD Myers of Rutgers. And Emil's father will finally get to see him play in college in person for the first time in a few weeks, when he travels to New York coinciding with the opening round of the NEC Tournament.
The younger Jaaskelainen enjoyed an eight-game goal-scoring streak from Sept. 10 through Oct. 9, during a stretch when the Sharks boasted an eight-match unbeaten streak (7-0-1). He was named to the MAC Hermann Award Watch List back on Aug. 25. And on Wednesday, he was the No. 31 player in Top Drawer Soccer's midseason national collegiate rankings.
"For me it was normal," said Emil, referring to growing up with his father playing in the Premier League. "I was very young at the start, so I didn't really understand it fully. I was just going and enjoying playing football every day. As you grow up, you start to realize it was a pretty cool thing. And when I was 16, I left Bolton and I went to Blackpool. It was a different club and interesting to leave home."
Emil has dual Finnish and English citizenship, although he mostly has known Bolton, England, as home. The family annually spent time in the summer in their native Finland during Emil's youth, and recently relocated year-round.
Although his father was a goalkeeper and he is a striker, Emil's career partly has been shaped by advice from his father.
"He'd always give me tips," he said. "He's a goalkeeper, so he knows what a striker should do to score. After every game, he'd give me his opinion. Sometimes I'd disagree. But I knew he had to be right sometimes, too. I'd take his advice. I think it's helped me over the years.
"He tells me, 'Just pass it in.' That's the one thing that stuck with me. I'd always just try to pass it into the corners. It sounds pretty basic, but that's the one thing he tells me: Pass it in."
Emil opted to pursue a collegiate career in the United States as COVID shut down leagues in England. One of his brother William's ex-teammates worked for a company that facilitated English soccer players finding a home at American colleges. William currently plays in EFL League Two with AFC Wimbledon.
"I was interested straight away," Emil said about the U.S. college route. "I didn't have much time to do the process, so it had to be a quick decision. I was like, 'Why not?'"
LIU has proven a great match. The Sharks won the conference title and knocked off host Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago, with Jaaskelainen leading the conference and ranking second in the NCAA with 15 goals.
"I had a few options, but I saw LIU was in the conference finals and lost on penalties two years in a row," Emil said. "And the coach seemed really nice. And it was Long Island, right by New York. All things added up and I decided to come here. When you're in England, the main places you hear in America are New York, California and Florida. And New York is the one everyone always says 'wow' about."
Emil intends to have a professional career after college, although there's still work to be done for the junior striker and his teammates this season and beyond. The Sharks (9-4-1, 3-2-1 NEC) return to action Sunday against St. Francis U at LIU Soccer Park.
"I just need to keep focusing on scoring goals," he said, "and hopefully things will pan out and we'll see."
