Otso Liimatta
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta[1] | ||
Date of birth | 10 July 2004 | ||
Place of birth | Oulu, Finland[2] | ||
Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder[2] | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Famalicão | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2020 | Tervarit | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2021 | OLS | 18 | (3) |
2021–2023 | AC Oulu | 53 | (9) |
2023– | Famalicão | 16 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2019 | Finland U15 | 2 | (0) |
2019 | Finland U16 | 2 | (1) |
2021–2022 | Finland U18 | 6 | (1) |
2022 | Finland U19 | 6 | (1) |
2023– | Finland U21 | 17 | (8) |
Medal record | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024 |
Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta (born 10 July 2004) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Famalicão and the Finland under-21 national team.
Club career
[edit]AC Oulu
[edit]Born in Oulu and raised in Karjasilta, Liimatta played in the youth sector of Tervarit before signing his first professional contract with AC Oulu in September 2020.[3][4][5]
He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 28 May 2021, aged 16, in a 3–1 away loss to HJK: in the process, he assisted his side's only goal.[6] During 2011, Liimatta played for the club's reserve team Oulun Luistinseura (OLS) in third-tier Kakkonen, and additionally made nine appearances in Veikkausliiga with the first team.
Liimatta scored his first goal in the league on 29 April 2022, the opener in a 3–0 home win against Haka.[7] In the summer of 2022, various Finnish media outlets reported that Liimatta had attracted interest by several high-profile European clubs.[8][9] At the end of the 2022 season, Liimatta was named the Best Young Player of the Year at the Captain's Ball awards held by the Finnish FA.[10][11][12]
F.C. Famalicão
[edit]On 29 July 2023, Liimatta officially joined Primeira Liga side Famalicão for an undisclosed fee,[13][14][15] signing a four-year deal with the Portuguese club.[14][16] According to the media, the fee was in six figures and is believed to be close to €600,000.[17]
He made his debut for the Fama on 11 August 2023, starting in the opening league game of the season against Braga, which ended in a 2–1 win for his team.[18][19]
International career
[edit]Youth
[edit]Liimatta has represented Finland at various youth levels.
On 7 March 2023, at the age of 18, he got his first call-up to the Finland under-21 national team for two friendly matches against North Macedonia and Bulgaria.[20] He scored his first U21 goal in the latter match, on 28 March 2023, taking part in a 0–2 win over Bulgaria.[12][21]
Liimatta scored a hat-trick against Albania U21 on 13 October 2023 in a 2025 UEFA U21 Euro qualifying match, which ended in 4–1 victory for Finland.[22] Liimatta finished the qualification campaign scoring seven goals, making him the joint-second-best goalscorer of the whole qualification, and helped Finland to qualify for the final tournament, for the second time in the nation's history.
Career statistics
[edit]- As of 24 November 2024[23]
Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
OLS | 2020 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 3 | 2 | ||
2021 | Kakkonen | 17 | 3 | — | — | — | 17 | 3 | ||||
Total | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | ||
AC Oulu | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
2022 | Veikkausliiga | 28 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 6 | ||
2023 | Veikkausliiga | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | 26 | 8 | ||
Total | 53 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 14 | ||
Famalicão | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
Total | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
Career total | 87 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 19 |
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup and Taça de Portugal
- ^ Includes Kakkonen Cup and Finnish League Cup
Honours
[edit]AC Oulu
- Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2023[24]
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022[25]
- Finnish FA: Best Young Player of the Year 2022[10]
- Finnish FA: U21 Player of the Year 2023[26]
- Finnish FA, Northern Finland: Player of the Year 2022,[27] 2023[28]
References
[edit]- ^ Player profile, playmakerstats.com
- ^ a b Otso Liimatta at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Suomen jalkapallotulevaisuuden suurin toivo on futaaja, ei jalkapalloilija – Mitä se tarkoittaa sinivalkoiselle juniorivalmennukselle?, Apu, 14 May 2024
- ^ Nevala, Kai (22 November 2021). "17-vuotias oululainen Otso Liimata on hionut taitonsa kotipihallaan Kar-jasillalla - Juniori murtautui syksyllä AC Oulun liigajoukkueeseen" (in Finnish). Kaleva. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ Nevala, Kai (18 September 2022). "Otso Liimata, 18, on noussut raketin lailla yhdeksi AC Oulun tärkeimmistä pelaajista – Miksi kevytrakenteinen juniori on pystynyt pelaamaan erinomaisen liigakauden?" (in Finnish). Kaleva. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "HJK Helsinki - AC Oulu 3:1 (Veikkausliiga 2021, 2. Round)". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "OULU VS. HAKA 3 - 0)". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Veikkausliigan timantti herättää kiinnostusta ulkomaalaisseuroissa - italialaisjätti mukana kuvioissa" (in Finnish). MTV Uutiset. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ Teksti, Joel Perovuo (10 August 2022). "Huippulupaus Otso Liimatta kasvaa korkeaa korkoa portugalilaisen kultasormen tehtaassa" (in Finnish). elmotv.com. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Captain's Ball 2022 palkitut" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Henkilökuvassa viime kauden nuori sensaatio Otso Liimatta" (in Finnish). pallotv.fi. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Otso Liimatta: Olen asettanut tulevalle kaudelle entistä kovemmat tavoitteet" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "AC Oulun Otso Liimatta Portugaliin" (in Finnish). AC Oulu. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Otso Liimatta assina por quatro temporadas" (in European Portuguese). FC Famalicão. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ Halonen, Mika (29 July 2023). "Jalkapallon suomalainen superlupaus Otso Liimatta, 19, Portugalin pääsarjaan – AC Oulu "tyytyväinen" siirtokorvaukseen". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Oficial: Contratada promessa do futebol finlandês (Famalicão)". A Bola (in European Portuguese). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Suomalaislupaus teki harvinaisen valinnan - ratkaisu syntyi Googlen avulla" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ Savonen, Ilari (11 August 2023). "Huippulupaus Otso Liimatta, 19, heti avauksessa Portugalin liigassa". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Sp. Braga x Famalicão - Record Jogos em Direto". Record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Pikkuhuuhkajat nimetty maaliskuun maaotteluihin" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Tulospalvelu" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ Finland vs Albania, 13 October 2023, UEFA
- ^ "Otso Liimatta". flashscore.
- ^ HJK AC Oulu, Veikkausliiga
- ^ "Perinteinen Koplajoukkue nimetty - jalkapallotoimittajien valinnat kauden parhaiksi". Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). 1 January 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ Captain's Ball 2023 Kaj Natrille – Katso kaikki palkitut, Veikkausliiga, 1 December 2023
- ^ Vuoden pelaaja Otso Liimatta AC Oulu, acoulu.fi, 15 February 2023
- ^ AC OULULAISIA PALKITTIIN PALLOLIITON POHJOISEN ALUEEN GAALASSA, acoulu.fi, 22 February 2024
External links
[edit]- F.C. Famalicão official profile
- Finnish Football Federation profile
- Otso Liimatta at BDFutbol
- Otso Liimatta at BeSoccer
- Otso Liimatta at Soccerway
- Otso Liimatta at WorldFootball.net
- Living people
- 2004 births
- Finnish men's footballers
- 21st-century Finnish sportsmen
- Men's association football midfielders
- Finland men's youth international footballers
- Finland men's under-21 international footballers
- Kakkonen players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Oulun Luistinseura players
- AC Oulu players
- Primeira Liga players
- F.C. Famalicão players
- Finnish expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
- Tervarit players
- Footballers from Oulu