Roope Riski
Finnish footballer (born 1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roope Vilhelmi Riski (born 16 August 1991) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Veikkausliiga club Ilves.
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Riski with St. Pölten in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roope Vilhelmi Riski | ||
| Date of birth | 16 August 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Askainen, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ilves | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| MaPS | |||
| TPS | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | TPS | 18 | (12) |
| 2010 | → Viikingit (loan) | 6 | (5) |
| 2010 | → ÅIFK (loan) | 9 | (12) |
| 2011–2014 | Cesena | 1 | (0) |
| 2011 | → TPS (loan) | 11 | (4) |
| 2012 | → Hønefoss (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | → TPS (loan) | 35 | (8) |
| 2014–2015 | Hønefoss | 23 | (12) |
| 2015–2016 | Haugesund | 10 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → SJK (loan) | 13 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | SJK | 33 | (17) |
| 2017 | → SC Paderborn (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | St. Pölten | 33 | (5) |
| 2018–2019 | → PAE Chania (loan) | 22 | (7) |
| 2020–2023 | HJK | 54 | (22) |
| 2024– | Ilves | 57 | (24) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2012 | Finland U21 | 11 | (6) |
| 2015– | Finland | 8 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 December 2021 | |||
He is known as a clinical, well-positioned forward who can get into the right place at the right time. In the middle of the 2010 season, Riski was selected to the opening squad for the first time of his career. Since then he has enjoyed a phenomenal season, starting 12 games and scoring 11 goals.[peacock prose] He has the best game/goal ratio in the Veikkausliiga.[1]
Club career
TPS
Riski started football in the youth sector of Maskun Palloseura, and later joined Turun Palloseura. He made his senior debut with TPS in Veikkausliiga in the 2010 season. On 22 September 2010, Riski scored a hat-trick for TPS against AC Oulu. By doing this, he became the first ever player in Finland to score a hat-trick in all the highest three levels of Finnish football system during one season,[2] as he had loan stints with Viikingit in Ykkönen and Åbo IFK in Kakkonen during 2020.
Cesena and loans
On 27 January 2011, he was announced as the Cesena player in Italian Serie A. [3] The transfer fee was reported to be €750.000.[4] He made his Serie A debut on 19 March 2011 against Lazio on Stadio Olimpico (1−0 away loss) as a 69th-minute substitute for Fabio Caserta, he has had loan spell in Finland for TPS Turku in 2012 and Hønefoss BK in Norway. In August 2012, Riski joined English side Derby County on trial ahead of their pre-season against Chesterfield, where he started in a 3–1 loss,[5] he scored in a reserve friendly against Matlock Town.[6]
SJK Seinäjoki
On 8 February 2016, SJK announced the signing of Riski on a two-year contract.[7] Riski was the top goal scorer in Veikkausliiga in 2016.
On 10 January 2017, he was loaned to SC Paderborn in German 3. Liga.[8]
St. Pölten
In June 2017, Riski left SJK when he signed with Austrian Bundesliga club St. Pölten for an undisclosed fee.[9]
On 28 August 2018, Riski was loaned out to Greek club AO Chania − Kissamikos.[10]
HJK Helsinki
On 21 November 2019, HJK Helsinki confirmed the signing of Riski on a contract until the end of 2021 with an option for one further year.[11] He was crowned the Veikkausliiga top goal scorer again in 2020. During the 2022 and 2023 season, he suffered from knee injuries and missed several months.
Ilves
On 6 November 2023, it was announced that Riski had signed with Veikkausliiga club Ilves on a two-year deal, starting in 2024.[12] During his first season with Ilves, Riski scored 11 goals in 26 Veikkausliiga appearances.
International career
On 19 January 2015, Riski made his senior debut for the Finland national team in a 1–0 friendly against Sweden, where he scored the only goal of the match.[13]
He was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[14]
Personal life
He is the younger brother of former Finnish international footballer Riku Riski.
Since 2019, Riski has abstained from drinking alcohol.[15] He has also revealed his devotion for poetry.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 9 May 2025[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| TPS | 2010 | Veikkausliiga | 18 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 4[c] | 1 | 29 | 16 |
| Viikingit (loan) | 2010 | Ykkönen | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 5 | ||
| Åbo IFK (loan) | 2010 | Kakkonen | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 12 | ||
| Cesena | 2010–11 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| TPS (loan) | 2011 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 5 | |
| Hønefoss (loan) | 2012 | Tippeligaen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| TPS (loan) | 2012 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2[c] | 1 | 35 | 10 | |
| Total | 34 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 11 | ||
| Hønefoss | 2014 | 1. divisjon | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 12 | ||
| Haugesund | 2015 | Tippeligaen | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | ||
| SJK Seinäjoki | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 8 | |
| 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2[d] | 1 | 44 | 25 | |
| 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57 | 33 | ||
| SC Paderborn (loan) | 2016–17 | 3. Liga | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 1 | ||
| SC Paderborn II (loan) | 2016–17 | Oberliga Westfalen | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| St. Pölten | 2017–18 | Austrian Bundesliga | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 26 | 6 | ||
| 2018–19 | Austrian Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Austrian Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 33 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 6 | ||
| Chania (loan) | 2018–19 | Football League Greece | 22 | 7 | 5 | 3 | – | – | 27 | 10 | ||
| HJK | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 16 | 9 | 3 | – | – | 29 | 19 | ||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 6 | 6 | 5 | – | 14[e] | 9 | 42 | 20 | ||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | |
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[f] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 22 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 9 | 92 | 44 | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2023 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Ilves | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4[g] | 3 | 35 | 15 |
| 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | |
| Total | 32 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 47 | 18 | ||
| Career total | 316 | 129 | 33 | 16 | 30 | 14 | 29 | 15 | 408 | 174 | ||
- Includes Finnish Cup, Austrian Cup and Greek Cup
- Includes Finnish League Cup and Westphalian Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Four appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League and six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League and one appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 12 October 2021[18]
| Finland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
| 2015 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 1 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Riski goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 January 2015 | Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |  Sweden | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | [13] |
Honours
SJK
HJK
Ilves
Individual
- Finnish League Cup Top goalscorer: 2016
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Month:August 2010,[21] June 2016,[22] October 2020[23]
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Year: 2020[24]
- Veikkausliiga Striker of the Year: 2020
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016, 2020[25]
- Veikkausliiga Top score: 2016,[26] 2020[27]
