Leo Väisänen
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 BK Häcken in Allsvenskan[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 | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | BK Häcken | ||
| 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) |
| 2023–2025 | Austin FC | 34 | (1) |
| 2025– | Häcken | 1 | (0) |
| 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 | 28 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 March 2025 | |||
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 Dutch side FC Den Bosch for an undisclosed fee.[7] He made his debut for the club on 21 September 2018, in an Eerste Divisie match against Almere; he was substituted on in 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 (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]
BK Häcken
On 24 March 2025, Väisänen signed for BK Häcken until the summer of 2028.[16] On 2 April, he suffered a knee injury in his first match with Häcken and was estimated to miss several months.[17]
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.[18]
Väisänen was called up in the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[19] 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.[20] On 12 June 2021 Väisänen came in as a 90th minute substitute for Jukka Raitala in a UEFA Euro 2020 match against Denmark.[21]
Personal life
He is the younger brother of Sauli Väisänen.[22] Their mother Anna-Liisa Tilus-Väisänen is a television presenter for Yle and Miss World 1984 semi-finalist.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 24 April 2025[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | 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 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | ||
| HJK | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| PK-35 Vantaa (loan) | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 1 | – | – | — | – | 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 | 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 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 6 | ||
| Elfsborg | 2020 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | – | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Allsvenskan | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 6[b] | 1 | – | 29 | 4 | |||
| 2022 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 1[b] | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | |||
| Total | 76 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 4 | ||
| Austin FC | 2023 | MLS | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 1[c] | 0 | – | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | MLS | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1[d] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Häcken | 2025 | Allsvenskan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 233 | 15 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 268 | 15 | ||
- Notes
- Includes Suomen Cup, KNVB Beker, Svenska Cupen and U.S. Open Cup
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
- Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup
International
- As of match played on 24 March 2025.[24]
Notes
- Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
- Appearances in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.
- Six appearances in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, one appearance in UEFA Euro 2020.
- Appearances in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.
- Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.
- Appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Honours
Club
Klubi 04
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2018
- Elfsborg Player of the Year: 2021[25]
