Leo Väisänen
Väisänen with RoPS in 2018.
Personal information
Full name Leo Onni Artturi Väisänen
Date of birth (1997-07-23) 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
0000–2015 KäPa
2015 HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Klubi 04 19 (3)
2016 HJK 3 (0)
2016 → PK-35 (loan) 9 (1)
2017–2018 RoPS 46 (1)
2018–2020 Den Bosch 45 (6)
2020–2022 IF Elfsborg 76 (3)
2023– Austin FC 21 (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 26 (0)
Medal record
Klubi 04
First placeKakkonen Eastern Group2015
HJK Helsinki
Second placeVeikkausliiga2016
Second placeFinnish Cup2016
RoPS
Second placeVeikkausliiga2018
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2023

Leo 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 made his international debut for Finland in June 2019, at the age of 21.

Club career

HJK

Väisänen made his Veikkausliiga debut for HJK on 14 April 2016 in a game against RoPS.[4]

RoPS

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]

Den Bosch

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]

Elfsborg

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]

Austin FC

On 4 January 2023, it was announced Väisänen had signed with Major League Soccer 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]

International career

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]

Personal life

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.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 October 2023[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic Cups Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2015 Kakkonen 17100—171
2016 2200—22
Total 19300—193
HJK 2015 Veikkausliiga 001[lower-alpha 1]00010
2016 302[lower-alpha 1]10051
Total 30310061
PK-35 (loan) 2016 Veikkausliiga 9100—91
RoPS 2017 Veikkausliiga 22100—221
2018 2405[lower-alpha 1]0—290
Total 5525000602
Den Bosch 2018–19 Eerste Divisie 2833[lower-alpha 2]0—313
2019–20 1731[lower-alpha 2]0—183
Total 4564000496
Elfsborg 2020 Allsvenskan 26050—310
2021 233006[lower-alpha 3]1294
2022 2706[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 3]0340
Total 76311071944
Austin FC 2023 MLS 2112[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]0241
Career total 219152518125215
  1. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Finnish Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in KNVB Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ↑ Appearance(s) in Svenska Cupen
  5. ↑ Appearance(s) in U.S. Open Cup
  6. ↑ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League

International

As of match played on 14 October 2023.[22]
National teamYearCompetitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 20192[lower-alpha 1]0 0 0 2 0
20202[lower-alpha 2]0 2 0 4 0
20217[lower-alpha 3]0 2 0 9 0
20225[lower-alpha 4]0 3 0 8 0
20233[lower-alpha 5]0 0 0 3 0
Total 19 0 7 0 26 0

Notes

  1. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
  2. ↑ Appearances in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.
  3. ↑ Six appearances in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, one appearance in UEFA Euro 2020.
  4. ↑ Appearances in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.
  5. ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.

Honours

Club

Klubi 04

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Leo Väisänen at WorldFootball.net
  2. ↑ "Leo Väisänen" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Puolustaja Leo Väisänen siirtyy Alankomaihin - Väisäsen uusi seura on FC Den Bosch" [Defender Leo Väisänen moves to the Netherlands - Väisänen's new club is FC Den Bosch] (in Finnish). RoPS. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 14 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Leo Väisänen ja RoPS sopimukseen" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "RoPS:lle kylmää kyytiä Turussa – Inter-hyökkääjältä myrskyvaroitus!" [Cold ride for RoPS in Turku - storm warning from Inter attacker!] (in Finnish). suomifutis.com. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Leo Väisänen siirtyy Alankomaihin - RoPS-puolustajan uusi seura on FC Den Bosch" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "FC Den Bosch 1:4 Almere City FC". worldfootball.net. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  9. ↑ TERVETULOA LEO VÄISÄNEN, elfsborg.se, 12 January 2020
  10. ↑ Maajoukkuetoppari Leo Väisäsellä onnistunut kauden alku Ruotsissa – vastustajan törkeä temppu puhutti: "En edes tajunnut", Yle, 14 June 2020
  11. ↑ Ruotsalaislähde: Leo Väisänen on siirtymässä Elfsborgiin, suomifutis.com, 11 January 2020
  12. ↑ Huuhkajien pakit yhä tutumpi näky Keravalla – Leo Väisänenkin viihtyy valkosipulikaupungissa: "Nyt on hyvä ottaa vähän happea", keski-uusimaa.fi, 20 December 2020
  13. ↑ "Austin FC Signs Finnish International Defender Leo Väisänen | Austin FC". austinfc.
  14. ↑ "Austin FC signs Finnish defender Leo Vaisanen". capitalcitysoccer.
  15. ↑ "Match Report: Austin FC vs. LAFC - October 7, 2023". www.AustinFC.com. Austin FC. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Liechstenstein v Finland game report". UEFA. 11 June 2019.
  17. ↑ "Näillä pelaajilla Huuhkajat lähtevät kohti EM-kisoja – kaksi nimeä kiinnostivat yli muiden" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. ↑ "Tässä on Huuhkajien EM-joukkue – putoajissa yllätys" [Here is the Eagle Owls team - a surprise in players that were left out] (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "Joel Pohjanpalo puski Suomelle sensaatiomaisen voiton EM-avauksessa, Lukas Hradecký torjui Tanskan rankkarin" [Joel Pohjanpalo´s header gave Finland a sensational victory in European Championship opening match, Lukas Hradecký caught a penalty kick] (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  20. ↑ "Leo Väisänen: "The goal of a breakthrough in Veikkausliiga"" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 25 February 2017.
  21. ↑ "L. VÄISÄNEN". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "Leo Väisänen". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  23. ↑ "Elfsborgsgalan 2021 – vilken succé!" [Elfsborgsgalan 2021 – what a success!] (in Swedish). IF Elfsborg. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
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