Mikael Soisalo

Mikael Soisalo (born 24 April 1998) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-winger for Latvian club Riga FC. He has also represented the Finland national under-21 football team.[2] Soisalo was born in Helsinki, Finland. He began his senior club career on league level playing for Ilves, before signing with Zulte Waregem at age 20 in 2018.[3]

Mikael Soisalo
Personal information
Full name Mikael Soisalo[1]
Date of birth (1998-04-24) 24 April 1998
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Right-winger
Club information
Current team
 Riga FC
Number 11
Youth career
2002–2012 Honka
2012–2015 HJK
2017–2018 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Klubi 04 4 (0)
2016–2017 Ilves 31 (7)
2018–2020 Zulte Waregem 32 (1)
2021 → Varzim (loan) 2 (0)
2021– Riga FC 21 (8)
National team‡
2013–2014 Finland U16 8 (1)
2014–2015 Finland U17 13 (2)
2016 Finland U18 10 (3)
2016–2017 Finland U19 6 (2)
2017–2020 Finland U21 20 (2)
Honours
Klubi 04
Kakkonen Eastern Group2015
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:37, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Klubi 04

He started his career playing for in the lower leagues of Finnish football in HJKs reserve team.[4] He has also played for the junior teams of Finland national football team.

Ilves

On 14.12.2015 it was announced he had joined Ilves a team from Tampere had sign him with a 3 years’ contract.[5]

He stated that his goal for the 2016 Veikkausliiga (Finnish 1 tier) season would be to get a start in the starting line-up.[6] He played an active role in the team's success, they finished fourth in the league and at times they even fought for the championship.[7]

Middlesbrough

On 5 January 2017, Soisalo joined Middlesbrough on a three-year deal.[8]

On 13 March 2017, he scored a hat-trick for the Middlesbrough reserves against Blackburn reserves. The manager praised him for his performance and how he has integrated into the team.[9]

Zulte Waregem

On 18 June 2018, Middlesbrough announced that Soisalo was to join Belgian side Zulte Waregem after just one full season with Middlesbrough's U-23 side.[10]

Soisalo was loaned out to Portuguese club Varzim S.C. on 29 January 2020 for the rest of the season with a purchase option.[11] However, he only played two games for the club and returned to Zulte in the summer 2020.

Riga FC

For the 2021 season, Soisalo moved to Riga FC on a 2-year contract. He made his debut on 13 March, playing the first 65 minutes of a 0–2 win at Ventspils.[12] He had an impressive start and had scored seven goals in 15 games in July 2021. [13]

International career

He has been an integral part of the various youth national teams starting from the U-15. During 2016, he took part in Finland's qualifying campaign for the UEFA under 19 Championship. He played well against Kazakhstan, scoring once and assisting three goals.[14] He scored his first goal for Finland U21 on 9 October 2020 in a UEFA European U21 Championship qualification match in Ballymena Showgrounds, Ballymena against Northern Ireland U21.[15]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 26 August 2021[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic Cups Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2015 Kakkonen 4 0 0 0 — — 4 0
Ilves 2016 Veikkausliiga 31 7 5 4 — — 36 11
Zulte Waregem 2018–19 Belgian First Division A 20 1 0 0 — 8[lower-alpha 1] 0 28 1
2019–20 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
2020–21 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 24 1 0 0 0 0 8 0 32 1
Varzim (loan) 2019–20 LigaPro 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Riga FC 2021 Latvian Higher League 15 7 2 0 8[lower-alpha 2] 1 — 25 8
Career total 76157481809920
  1. Appearances in the Belgian Europa League play-offs
  2. Includes two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and six appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Club

Klubi 04

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 23. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. "Mikael Soisalo" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  3. "Ilveksessä loistanut Mikael Soisalo hehkuttaa siirtoaan Belgian liigaan: "Seuraava tavoitteeni on miesten maajoukkue"" [Mikael Soisalo, who had great performance in Ilves, celebrates his move to the Belgian league: "My next goal is the men's national team"] (in Finnish). Aamulehti. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  4. https://www.aamulehti.fi/urheilu/ilves-tahti-soisalo-aikoo-kaataa-tanaan-vanhan-seuransa-jos-saan-kunnon-syottoja-teen-maalin-24003811/
  5. "Ilves nappasi HJK-lupauksen – "Poikkeuksellinen pelaaja"". 14 December 2015.
  6. "Ilves nappasi HJK-lupauksen – "Poikkeuksellinen pelaaja"". 14 December 2015.
  7. https://www.aamulehti.fi/urheilu/ilves-tahti-soisalo-aikoo-kaataa-tanaan-vanhan-seuransa-jos-saan-kunnon-syottoja-teen-maalin-24003811/
  8. "Finnish Forward Joins Middlesbrough Academy". Middlesbrough F.C. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. Jonathan Taylor (14 March 2017). "Introducing Mikael Soisalo: Middlesbrough Academy's hot prospect from a cold country". Teesside Gazette. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  10. "Mikael Soisalo Set To Join Zulte Waregem". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  11. Soisalo é reforço do Varzim, varzim.pt, 29 January 2020
  12. "FK Ventspils vs Riga FC: Live score, updates and head-to-head results 03/13/2021". tribuna.com. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  13. "Finland - M. Soisalo - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  14. https://www.aamulehti.fi/urheilu/ilves-tahti-soisalo-aikoo-kaataa-tanaan-vanhan-seuransa-jos-saan-kunnon-syottoja-teen-maalin-24003811/
  15. "Pikkuhuuhkajat hienoon voittoon Pohjois-Irlannissa" [Little Eagle Owls win a great victory in Northern Ireland] (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  16. "M. SOISALO". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
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