The LA Galaxy announced Friday that the club has signed midfielder Mika Vayrynen. The Finnish international will join the Galaxy pending the acquisition of a P-1 Visa and ITC and will occupy an International roster spot. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Mika is a player that brings additional experience to our midfield,” said Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena in a statement. “We saw his abilities during preseason and are confident he can contribute to our team this season. We are happy he will be a part of our group going forward.”
Vayrynen’s professional career began in 1999 when he joined FC Lahti in Finland. After scoring 15 goals in the next two seasons in Finland with Lahti and FC Jokerit, the midfielder signed a contract with SC Heerenveen in Dutch’s top-flight league, the Eredivisie. From 2001-2005, he made over 100 appearances while scoring 17 goals for Heerenveen. His play earned him a contract with PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch league, where he helped lead the club to Eredivisie to titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07 before returning to Heerenveen again in 2008. After a brief spell with Leeds United in England, he joined Finnish side HJK Helsinki, where he made 40 appearances while scoring five goals since 2012.
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The 33-year-old spent the preseason with the Galaxy, and scored the winning goal in their 1-0 friendly win over Ireland's Shamrock Rovers (above).
Internationally, Vayrynen made his Finland debut in 2002 in a match against South Korea. Since then, he has amassed 59 international appearances while notching five goals and playing in various UEFA Euro Qualifying matches and FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches.
