Leo Väisänen

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]

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

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.[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.[9]

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.[10] The transfer fee was reported to be €1.8 million.[11] He scored his first goal in MLS on 7 October 2023, in a 2–4 home defeat to LAFC.[12]

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.[13]

Väisänen was called up in the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[14] 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.[15] On 12 June 2021 Väisänen came in as a 90th minute substitute for Jukka Raitala in a UEFA Euro 2020 match against Denmark.[16]

Personal life

He is the younger brother of Sauli Väisänen.[17] 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[18]
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. Appearance(s) in Finnish Cup
  2. Appearance(s) in KNVB Cup
  3. 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.[19]
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. "Austin FC Signs Finnish International Defender Leo Väisänen | Austin FC". austinfc.
  11. "Austin FC signs Finnish defender Leo Vaisanen". capitalcitysoccer.
  12. "Match Report: Austin FC vs. LAFC - October 7, 2023". www.AustinFC.com. Austin FC. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  13. "Liechstenstein v Finland game report". UEFA. 11 June 2019.
  14. "Näillä pelaajilla Huuhkajat lähtevät kohti EM-kisoja – kaksi nimeä kiinnostivat yli muiden" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  15. "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.
  16. "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.
  17. "Leo Väisänen: "The goal of a breakthrough in Veikkausliiga"" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 25 February 2017.
  18. "L. VÄISÄNEN". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  19. "Leo Väisänen". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  20. "Elfsborgsgalan 2021 – vilken succé!" [Elfsborgsgalan 2021 – what a success!] (in Swedish). IF Elfsborg. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
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