Matti Peltola
Matti Peltola (born 3 July 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as midfielder and defender for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Finland national team.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 July 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Espoo, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder, Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | D.C. United | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Keimolan Kaiku | |||
| 2012–2018 | HJK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2022 | Klubi 04 | 29 | (2) |
| 2019–2023 | HJK | 53 | (2) |
| 2024– | D.C. United | 18 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Finland U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U17 | 8 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021– | Finland U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 2023– | Finland | 9 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 June 2024 | |||
Early life
Born in Espoo, Peltola started playing football in Belgium, where his family lived for a couple of years due to father's work. After returning to Finland, Peltola joined Keimolan Kaiku youth team in Vantaa.[3]
Club career
HJK Helsinki
Peltola played in the youth team of HJK in Munkkiniemi along with Santeri Väänänen since the age of ten, before making his debut in the first team in Veikkausliiga on 19 October 2019 against Ilves.[4]
On 21 August 2020, Peltola signed a professional contract with the club, on a two-year deal with an option for an additional year.[5]
On 23 August 2022, HJK announced that they had exercised their option to keep Peltola in Helsinki for the 2023 season.[6][7] He scored his first goal in the league on 9 May 2023 in away game against KTP.[8]
D.C. United
On February 2, 2024, Peltola signed with Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United on a four-year contract, with the option to extend,[9] as a Young Designated Player. D.C. United had earlier acquired Peltola’s MLS Discovery Priority rights from Minnesota United for $75,000.[10] He debuted in MLS with his new team on 25 February 2024 in the 2024 season opening game, after being named in the starting line-up in a 3–1 home win against an old rival club New England Revolution.[11][12]
International career
Peltola represented Finland at various youth national teams, from under-16 to under-21 levels.
Peltola made his Finland senior national team debut on 12 January 2023, in a friendly match against Estonia.[13] On 26 March 2023, he made his competitive international debut in a 1–0 away win against Northern Ireland. He was capped four times in total for Finland in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification campaign in 2023.[14]
Personal life
Peltola is a fluent French-speaker and has attended the French–Finnish school of Helsinki. Growing up, he also played ice hockey, before choosing football over it, thanks to his mother's advice.[15]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 23 June 2024[16]
| Club | Season | League | Cup [lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2018 | Ykkönen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Kakkonen | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | Kakkonen | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | Ykkönen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | Kakkonen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| HJK | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| Total | 53 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 96 | 3 | ||
| D.C. United | 2024 | MLS | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Career total | 100 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 146 | 5 | ||
- Includes Finnish Cup
- Includes Kakkonen Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
- Appearance(s) in Finnish League Cup
International
- As of match played on 7 June 2024.
| National team | Year | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Finland | 2023 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
- Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification.
- Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification.
Honours
References
- "Tulospalvelu".
- Player profile, HJK
- "Matti, olet tähti" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat.
- Soccerway, Ilves – HJK
- Matti Peltola jatkaa Klubissa, HJK, 21 August 2020
- HJK käytti neljän pelaajansa optiot, HJK 23 August 2022
- "Matti Peltola, 20, nousi sydänoperaation kautta huipulle" (in Finnish). Yle.
- KTP VS. HJK 3–3, soccerway
- D.C. United Sign Finland National Team Midfielder Matti Peltola, dcunited.com, 2 February 2024
- Huuhkajien komeetta siirtyy jättisopimuksella – avaa nyt puhuttanutta ratkaisuaan: "Valehtelisin, jos sanoisin", mtvuutiset.fi, 2 February 2024
- UNITED - NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION LINE-UP, Eurosport
- Matti Peltola vakuutti MLS-debyytissään, fanit protestoivat katsomossa, Helsingin Sanomat, 25 February 2024
- FINLAND VS. ESTONIA 0–1, soccerway
- M. PELTOLA, soccerway
- "Matti, olet tähti" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat.
- "Flashscore: Matti Peltola".
- Toimittajat äänestivät: Tässä on Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue, Iltalehti, 21 October 2023
External links
- Matti Peltola at Soccerway
- Matti Peltola at WorldFootball.net