COACHING PROFILE
Mika Lönnström is a Finnish football coach who holds a UEFA
Pro-License
Mika is the leading force behind MnM Coaching. His passionate, flexible and professional approach to football coaching has taken him to different clubs all over the world.
He started his coaching career in Porvoo, Finland, at the age of 16. He spent several years as a coach at different Finnish clubs such as FC Futura and Riihimäen Palloseura (RiPs) before completing his UEFA A Licence (Welsh FA) qualification in 1999.
In 2005 he joined Finnish top-flight side Myllykosken Pallo (MYPA) as Technical and Academy Director.
After six years at MYPA he moved to IF Gnistan to become Executive Director and Head of Operations.
Mika favours an Attacking Football Philosophy
Mika’s first stint abroad came in 2012 when he was appointed Assistant Manager and Academy Director at Thai Regional Division (third tier) side Roi Et United.
The following year he took charge of the first team and helped them gain promotion to the Thai First Division in his debut season. In April 2014 Mika left Roi Et to join Thai Premier League side Police United. During his nine matches in charge they picked up 16 points, rising from 17th to mid-table.
Mika moved to the Maldives in August that year to become head coach of New Radiant Sports Club. Under his guidance the club won the Dhiraagu Dhivehi League title and the President's Cup without losing a single match.
This earned them a place in the AFC Cup where Mika became the first-ever Nordic coach to manage in the competition. In April 2015 Mika returned to the Thai Premier League for a short spell at Gulf Saraburi FC.
He then joined Tanzanian Premier League side Maji Maji FC in July that year. Before his departure in December, the club had gained 11 points from ten matches and were sitting comfortably in mid-table.
After leaving east Africa, Mika focussed on future projects with his MnM Coaching team for a year before joining FC ŠTK Fluminense Šamorín in January 2017. After taking charge of Šamorín during the midseason break, Mika guided them to ten wins in 16 league matches to finish fourth in the Promotion Group.
Mika left Šamorín in February 2018 before joining Finnish First Division (Ykkönen) club HIFK Fotboll as Director of Sport.