Norwich City's Teemu Pukki named Finnish Athlete of the Year
Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki has been named the Finnish Athlete of the Year at a special ceremony in Helsinki.
The 29-year-old enjoyed an incredible 2019 for club and country, helping the Canaries win the Championship title and Finland reach the European Championships for the very first time.
Pukki saw off competition from 26 other nominees to land the award, including Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký and Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas.
The 2018/19 season was undoubtedly the best campaign of Pukki's career as he scored 29 goals for Norwich to finish as the Championship's top scorer.
He becomes only the third footballer to win the prestigious award, following in the footsteps of former Liverpool players Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypiä.
“I’m really honoured. It’s been a crazily good year; we did some amazing things with Norwich and of course with Finland as well," Pukki said.
“It’s nice that the people in Finland have recognised what I’ve been doing. Qualifying for the EUROs meant a lot to Finnish people.
“Many things have happened to me recently that I never thought would happen but now I’m in the Premier League and going to the EUROs. Everything will happen if you work hard.”
Pukki also won the “Moment of the Year” prize for his two goals in Finland's win over Liechtenstein in November, as well as the "Team of the Year award."