Leo Väisänen

Leo Onni Artturi Väisänen (born 23 July 1997) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for BK Häcken in Allsvenskan and the Finland national team. 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.

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.

RoPS

In November 2016 he signed a two-year contract with RoPS. He made his debut on 12 April 2017, playing the full 90 minutes of a 6–2 defeat at Inter Turku.

Den Bosch

In August 2018 Väisanen was signed by the Dutch side FC Den Bosch for an undisclosed fee. 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.

Elfsborg On 12 January 2020 Väisänen joined Swedish club IF Elfsborg on a 3.5-year contract, for a transfer fee of €150,000.

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

BK Häcken On 24 March 2025, Väisänen signed for BK Häcken until the summer of 2028. On 2 April, he suffered a knee injury in his first match with Häcken and was estimated to miss several months.

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.

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

Personal life He is the younger brother of Sauli Väisänen. Their mother Anna-Liisa Tilus-Väisänen is a television presenter for Yle and Miss World 1984 semi-finalist.

Career statistics Club