"Vielä yksi maali", or "Another Goal" is the title of Mikael Forssell's autobiography, released in the spring of 2007. The title is something he says he's been asked about a lot over the last couple of years. "It's about being able to achieve your aims when you have a lot of passion. I wanted to show how a footballer needs to think if he wants to have success."

An early starter in Finland
Forssell has collected this knowledge over a long, varied career. He made his professional debut at the age of sixteen for HJK Helsinki in the Finnish Veikkausliiga, and was soon attracting the attentions of Europe's top clubs. It was Chelsea who eventually landed the then seventeen year old. With strong competition for places at Stamford Bridge, the London club loaned Forssell out to three different clubs, including Borussia Mönchengladbach.

"My time at the Bökelberg was great", reminisces the Finn. And he is looking forward to facing his former side in a Red shirt on 14th September in the AWD-Arena, "Obviously I'll be hoping to score. But Gladbach will always have a place in my heart."

Under co-managers Hans Meyer and Ewald Lienen the charismatic striker managed seven goals in sixteen games for Gladbach. Having returned to England he was eventually sold by Chelsea to Birmingham City in 2005. There he managed 13 goals in 65 outings.

Never lost contact with Hochstätter
Having worked with Christian Hochstätter during their time at Gladbach Forssell never lost contact with 96's sporting director, which was a big factor in his decision to come to Maschsee. The Reds had in fact mooted a move during the 2007/2008 season, but with Birmingham in a relegation battle they were unwilling to sell. However, with Birmingham having gone down to the second tier of English football, a deal to bring the Scandinavian to Hannover was concluded this summer.

When asked why he chose the number 32 squad number on his arrival in Germany, the Finnish international explained, "It was my number at Chelsea and it wasn't taken here. Christian Vieri wears 32 as well, it's a good number!"

Despite playing for Finland, Forssell was actually born in Steinfurt. He tells us the story behind that, "My father was working for a Finnish company there. But it's a long time since I've been there. I only lived in Steinfurt for a year before we moved to Sweden and then Helsinki."A team with a bright futureForssell has been at Hannover since July, after having to delay his arrival to complete military service with Finland. "I'm really happy to be here. I eanted to come, and the move came off. It's great to be back in the Bundesliga." And what does he make of the competition for places with Mike Hanke, Jan Schlaudraff and Jiri Stajner? "Obviously you have to be playing well. But competition for places isn't an issue - it's a good thing to have, it makes people improve. The main thing is what's good for the team." Is he aiming for a certain number of goals this season? "No, that's never helpful. I just want to score as many as possible."Work and fun: Mikael Forssell und team-mate Arnold BrugginkIn terms of team aims, the 27 year old is a little cautious, "We have strong team for the future. Every team has ups and downs in a season. But I know that everyone at Hannover wants to play good attacking football. That's a fantastic thing to have as a striker. We're a tea, who like to get the ball down, and we make things difficult for our opponents." He reckons Dieter Hecking is, "a class manager, and you can see his attacking philosophy in his teams." So Mikael Forssell is now set to achieve his aims in Hannover, with his continuing pasion for the game and still under the maxim "Vielä yksi maali" - "Another Goal".as