Height: 6'1"
Weight: 185 lbs
Position: Midfielder/defender
Born: 3/19/1984
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland
Previous Club: Malmö FF
Citizenship: Finland
Signed on Jan. 12, 2015
D.C. United today announced that the club has signed Finnish international and Malmö FF midfielder/defender Markus Halsti. Per club and League policy, exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. Halsti will be officially added to the roster following receipt of his International Transfer Certificate, P-1 and full medical clearance.
Halsti, 30, has spent the last seven seasons with Malmö FF in the Allsvenskan, the top Swedish division, appearing in 115 games and scoring six goals. He helped Malmö to three league championships in the last five seasons, the first 2010 before consecutive titles in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, he was named to the Allsvenskan Team of the Year. Halsti began his professional career in 2003 with Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (HJK) of Veikkausliiga, the premier division of Finnish football, where he appeared in 77 games and recorded three goals over five seasons. In total, the Finnish international has appeared in 20 Champion’s League games during his club career.
"We are pleased to be adding a player with solid European playing experience at the Club, Champions League, and National Team levels,” said D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper. “Markus can play as both a central midfielder and central defender, and this was quite attractive to us. He is a tough competitor and another very good character piece for our club. We look forward to having him join our family.”
Internationally, Halsti has represented the Finland national team 20 times since his debut in 2008. He also has experience as a member of Finland's U21 National Team, appearing in 15 games.
