# Pekka Lagerblom

Pekka Sakari Lagerblom (born 19 October 1982) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Notably, he won the German double of Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal with Werder Bremen in 2004.

## Club career
### FC Lahti

Born in Lahti, Lagerblom started his career at home-town club FC Lahti in Finland's Veikkausliiga. During seasons 2003 and 2004 he represented the team in 55 matches and scored 13 goals.

### Germany

In January 2004, Lagerblom moved to Werder Bremen, and won the Bundesliga and German Cup double with the club the same spring. However, he made only 14 appearances in Bremen's first team and was not able to find a regular spot. He spent the spring of 2005 on loan at 1. FC Nürnberg.
In the summer of 2006, he decided to move to 1. FC Köln in search of more first team football. He gained 27 appearances in the team and scored one goal.
In summer 2007, he went to Alemannia Aachen. Between years 2007 and 2009 he represented the team in 40 matches.
In June 2009, Lagerblom left Aachen and signed a one-year contract with FSV Frankfurt. He played in 13 matches during the season.
In July 2010, Lagerblom moved to VfB Stuttgart II where he made 30 appearances in season 2010–11.
One year later he signed for RB Leipzig. He left the team after making only seven caps for the team.

### Later years

On 20 February 2013, it was announced that Lagerblom would be joining Veikkausliiga team IFK Mariehamn.
On 21 December 2013, it was announced that Lagerblom would be joining Norwegian side Hamarkameratene signing a three-year contract. In July 2014, it was announced that he would leave the team.
In July 2014, it was announced that Lagerblom joined Swedish side division 4 club Ånge IF. He was injured in his debut versus Hudiksvalls FF.
In January 2015, FC Lahti announced the signing of Lagerblom for the 2015 Veikkausliiga season.
In July 2018, he joined Ykkönen side FC Haka.
In early 2019, he joined hometown club FC Lahti for the third time in his career.
In September 2019, Lagerblom announced his retirement as a player.

## International career

Lagerblom made his debut for the Finland national team on 16 November 2003 against Honduras. Lagerblom is not a regular member, he is often a substitute member of the Finland squad.

## Later career

After ending his professional playing career, Lagerblom has worked as a youth talent coach for FC Espoo and in the Southern District of Finnish FA. He is also studying sport journalism at the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, and works as a Veikkausliiga football studio expert in Ruutu+ broadcasts for Nelonen Media.

## Personal life

Lagerblom married Anna-Maria (née Lewe), the younger sister of German pop singer Sarah Connor, in January 2005. The couple separated in 2009, while she had a new relationship with footballer Mesut Özil.
His older brother Lasse is also a former footballer.
Lagerblom is currently married with personal trainer and rugby player Oona Tolppanen, with whom he has two children.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 19 June 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Lahti | 2001 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Lahti | 2002 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 25 | 6 |
| Lahti | 2003 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 7 |
| Lahti | Total | Total | 53 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 13 |
| Werder Bremen | 2003–04 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen | 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen | Total | Total | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen II | 2004–05 | Regionalliga Nord | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen II | 2005–06 | Regionalliga Nord | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen II | Total | Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| 1. FC Köln | 2006–07 | 2. Bundesliga | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 1 |
| Alemannia Aachen | 2007–08 | 2. Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 21 | 1 |
| Alemannia Aachen | 2008–09 | 2. Bundesliga | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 23 | 0 |
| Alemannia Aachen | Total | Total | 40 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 |
| Alemannia Aachen II | 2007–08 | Oberliga Nordrhein | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| FSV Frankfurt | 2009–10 | 2. Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 0 |
| FSV Frankfurt II | 2009–10 | Hessenliga | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 |
| VfB Stuttgart II | 2010–11 | 3. Liga | 30 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 30 | 0 |
| RB Leipzig | 2011–12 | Regionalliga Nord | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| RB Leipzig II | 2011–12 | Sachsenliga | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| IFK Mariehamn | 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| HamKam | 2014 | 1. divisjon | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| Ånge | 2014 | Division 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Lahti | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| Jacksonville Armada | 2016 | NASL | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| Åtvidaberg | 2017 | Superettan | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 3 |
| Haka | 2018 | Ykkönen | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| SexyPöxyt | 2018 | Kolmonen | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| Lahti | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 18 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 321 | 20 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 354 | 23 |
* ↑ Includes Suomen Cup, DFB-Pokal, Norwegian Cup, Svenska Cupen
* ↑ Includes UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Includes DFL-Ligapokal
* 1 2 Includes UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Includes Finnish League Cup

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Finland | 2003 | 2 | 0 |
| Finland | 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| Finland | 2005 | 4 | 0 |
| Finland | 2006 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 12 | 0 |

## Honours

Werder Bremen
* Bundesliga: 2003–04
* DFB-Pokal: 2003–04
* Bundesliga runner-up: 2005–06