Finnish footballer (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leo Onni Artturi Väisänen (born 23 July 1997) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Austin FC in Major League Soccer[1] and the Finland national team.[2] Väisänen was born in Helsinki, Finland. He began his senior club career playing for HJK and RoPS, before signing with Den Bosch at age 21 in 2018.[3]
 Väisänen with RoPS in 2018. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leo Onni Artturi Väisänen | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Austin FC | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2015 | KäPa | ||
| 2015 | HJK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Klubi 04 | 19 | (3) |
| 2016 | HJK | 3 | (0) |
| 2016 | → PK-35 Vantaa (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | RoPS | 46 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | Den Bosch | 45 | (6) |
| 2020–2022 | Elfsborg | 76 | (3) |
| 2023– | Austin FC | 34 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Finland U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2015 | Finland U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2015 | Finland U19 | 4 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Finland U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2019– | Finland | 27 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:13, 21 September 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 June 2024 | |||
Väisänen made his international debut for Finland in June 2019, at the age of 21.
Väisänen made his Veikkausliiga debut for HJK on 14 April 2016 in a game against RoPS.[4]
In November 2016 he signed a two-year contract with RoPS.[5] He made his debut on 12 April 2017, playing the full 90 minutes of a 6–2 defeat at Inter Turku.[6]
In August 2018 Väisanen was signed by the Dutch side FC Den Bosch for an undisclosed fee.[7] Väisänen made his debut for Den Bosch on 21 September 2018, in a match against Almere; he was substituted on the 61st minute for Stefano Beltrame.[8]
On 12 January 2020 Väisänen joined Swedish club IF Elfsborg on a 3.5-year contract, for a transfer fee of €150,000.[9][10][11][12]
On 4 January 2023, it was announced Väisänen had signed with Major League Soccer (MLS) side Austin FC on a four-year deal, with an option for a further year.[13] The transfer fee was reported to be €1.8 million.[14] He scored his first goal in MLS on 7 October 2023, in a 2–4 home defeat to LAFC.[15]
He made his Finland national football team debut on 11 June 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Liechtenstein, as an 86th-minute substitute for Jukka Raitala.[16]
Väisänen was called up in the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[17] On 1 June 2021 Markku Kanerva published the national team for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament and Väisänen was named as one of the defenders.[18] On 12 June 2021 Väisänen came in as a 90th minute substitute for Jukka Raitala in a UEFA Euro 2020 match against Denmark.[19]
He is the younger brother of Sauli Väisänen.[20] Their mother Anna-Liisa Tilus-Väisänen is a television presenter for Yle and Miss World 1984 semi-finalist.
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2015 | Kakkonen | 17 | 1 | – | — | – | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2016 | Kakkonen | 2 | 2 | – | — | – | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | ||
| HJK | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| PK-35 Vantaa (loan) | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 9 | 1 | ||
| RoPS | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | – | 29 | 0 | |||
| Total | 55 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 2 | ||
| Den Bosch | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | – | 31 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | – | 18 | 3 | |||
| Total | 45 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 6 | ||
| Elfsborg | 2020 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | – | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | Allsvenskan | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 1 | – | 29 | 4 | ||
| 2022 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | ||
| Total | 76 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 4 | ||
| Austin FC | 2023 | MLS | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | – | 24 | 1 | |
| 2024 | MLS | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[e] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 232 | 15 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 267 | 15 | ||
Notes
Klubi 04
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