Sauli Väisänen
Finnish footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sauli Väisänen (born 5 June 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Veikkausliiga club Ilves.[2][3] He began his senior club career playing for Honka, before signing with AIK at age 20 in 2014.[4]
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Väisänen with Finland U21 in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sauli Aapo Kasperi Väisänen | ||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ilves | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2003 | Jokerit | ||
| 2004–2006 | Allianssi | ||
| 2007 | PK-35 | ||
| 2008–2009 | HJK | ||
| 2010–2013 | Honka | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Pallohonka | 35 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Honka | 17 | (2) |
| 2014–2017 | AIK | 46 | (2) |
| 2015 | → HIFK (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | SPAL | 7 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Crotone (loan) | 26 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Chievo | 21 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Cosenza | 50 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | OB | 2 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Ascoli (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2025– | Ilves | 34 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Finland U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2014–2016 | Finland U21 | 14 | (1) |
| 2016– | Finland | 25 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 July 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20 November 2022 | |||
Väisänen made his international debut for Finland in October 2016, at the age of 22. He appeared in 5 out of 10 of Finland's UEFA Euro 2020 qualification matches and helped Finland national team for the first time to reach the European Football Championship tournament's group stage.
Club career
Honka
Väisänen made his first team debut during season 2013, in a match against KuPS. He was known as a crucial part of the Honka reserve team Pallohonka.
AIK
In summer 2014 Väisänen joined AIK.[5] He spent 4 seasons in the club. During season 2015 he was loaned to HIFK.[6]
SPAL and loan to Crotone
Väisänen made his Seria A debut on 20 August 2017 in a match against Lazio.[7] He was loaned to Crotone for season 2018–19.[8]
Chievo
On 24 August 2019, Väisänen signed a deal with Serie B club Chievo.[9] He made his debut in Chievo in a 1–1 home tie with Empoli on 30 August 2019.[10]
Cosenza
On 16 August 2021, he joined Cosenza.[11] He made his debut on 22 August 2021 playing full 90 minutes in a match against Ascoli.[12]
Odense Boldklub
On 20 June 2023, Väisänen joined Danish Superliga club OB, signing a deal until June 2026.[13]
Ascoli (loan)
On 18 January 2024, Väisänen returned to Italy when he was loaned out to Serie B side Ascoli.[14]
On August 29, 2024, after his loan spell in Ascoli, OB confirmed that they had terminated Väisänen's contract by mutual agreement, despite the fact that he originally had a contract until June 2026.[15]
Ilves
In late December 2024, Väisänen returned to Finland and signed a two-year deal with Veikkausliiga club Ilves.[16]
International career
Finland youth teams
Väisänen made his debut in international football on 5 March 2014 at the age of 19 when he was called to represent Finland U21 in a match against San Marino U21.[17] During the years 2014-2016 Väisänen was a part of the Finnish national youth squad, which he also captained on occasion.[18]
Finland first team
Väisänen made his FIFA World Cup qualification match debut on 6 October 2016 on Laugardalsvöllur when Hans Backe chose him to the starting eleven for a match against Iceland.[19]
Väisänen was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[20] He was nominated to the Finland national team for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament but had to withdraw due to an injury and was replaced by Niko Hämäläinen.[21]
Personal life
Väisänen's mother Anna-Liisa Tilus-Väisänen is a prominent television presenter for Yle TV1 and Miss World 1984 semi-finalist. His younger brother Leo Väisänen is also a footballer.[22]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 11 March 2025[23]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pallohonka | 2012 | Kakkonen | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2013 | Kakkonen | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 4 | |||
| Total | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 5 | ||||
| Honka | 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2014 | Veikkausliiga | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| Total | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 4 | ||
| AIK | 2014 | Allsvenskan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Allsvenskan | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2016 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2017 | Allsvenskan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 4 | ||
| HIFK (loan) | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | |
| S.P.A.L. | 2017–18 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Crotone (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie B | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| Chievo | 2019–20 | Serie B | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Cosenza | 2021–22 | Serie B | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie B | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| Total | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 1 | ||||
| OB | 2023–24 | Danish Superliga | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| Ascoli (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie B | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Ilves | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 223 | 12 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 258 | 16 | ||
- Includes Suomen Cup, Svenska Cupen, Coppa Italia and Danish Cup
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 20 November 2022[24]
Notes
- Appearances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.
- Appearances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.
- Appearances in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.
- Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
- Appearances in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.
