Urho Nissilä
Urho Nissilä (born 4 April 1996) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia.
|
Nissilä with Kuopion Palloseura in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 April 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Kuopio, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Puskás Akadémia | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2015 | KuPS | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | KuPS | 89 | (14) |
| 2018–2020 | Zulte Waregem | 3 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | → MVV Maastricht (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2020 | → KuPS (loan) | 21 | (5) |
| 2021 | KuPS | 25 | (8) |
| 2022–2023 | Suwon FC | 22 | (2) |
| 2023 | KuPS | 15 | (6) |
| 2024– | Puskás Akadémia | 13 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | Finland U15 | 1 | (0) |
| 2015 | Finland U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Finland U21 | 4 | (1) |
| 2021– | Finland | 13 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 June 2024 | |||
Early life
Nissilä was born in Kuopio to a Conservative Laestadian family. Nissilä and his six siblings were raised by their single-parent mother. In Laestadianism, competitive club sports are prohibited, and Nissilä only played football with his brother and friends until aged 10, when his mother reluctantly allowed him to join a youth team of KuPS for the first time.[2]
He later resigned from the Laestadian movement.[2]
Club career
Nissilä played football with his brother and friends until aged 10, when he joined the youth team of KuPS.[2]
He signed with Zulte Waregem in 2018.[3] According to media, the transfer fee was the highest in the history of KuPS at the time.[4] He made his debut on 10 November, playing the first 58 minutes of a 2–0 win against Lokeren.[5]
He returned to KuPS on loan in February 2020,[6][7] and subsequently signed a permanent contract for the 2021 season. At the end of the season, Nissilä was named the Veikkausliiga Player of the Year.[8]
Nissilä joined K League 1 side Suwon FC in January 2022.[9][10]
In the early 2023 he returned to KuPS again on a short contract,[11] and left the club in July.[12]
On 29 January 2024, Nissilä signed with Puskás Akadémia in Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I (NB I), on a deal until the end of the 2024–25 season.[13][14] On 20 April 2024, Nissilä scored his first goal in NB I, in a 5–0 home win over Paksi.[15]
International career
He has represented the Finland national under-21 football team.[16]
He made his debut for the Finland national football team on 1 September 2021 in a friendly against Wales. He substituted Jasin-Amin Assehnoun at half-time of a 0–0 home draw.[17] Three days later he gained his first cap in FIFA World Cup qualifications when he replaced Onni Valakari as a substitute on 78th minute in Helsinki Olympic Stadium in a match against Kazakhstan.[18]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 18 May 2024[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| KuPS | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 29 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 9 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 9 | |||
| 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 4 | ||
| Total | 89 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 114 | 19 | ||
| Zulte Waregem | 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Maastricht (loan) | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| KuPS (loan) | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 27 | 6 | |
| KuPS | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 7[lower-alpha 5] | 2 | — | 38 | 11 | |
| Suwon FC | 2022 | K League 1 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 2 | ||
| KuPS | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 |
| Puskás Akadémia | 2023–24 | NB I | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 195 | 39 | 33 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 246 | 48 | ||
- Includes Suomen Cup, KNVB Beker and Korean FA Cup
- Includes Finnish League Cup
- Appearances in the Belgian Europa League play-offs
- Includes one appearance in the UEFA Champions League, and three appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours
KuPS
- Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2017, 2021, 2023[1]
- Finnish Cup: 2021[1]
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Year: 2021[21]
- Veikkausliiga Midfielder of the Year: 2021[21]
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2021[22]
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: August 2021[23]
References
- Urho Nissilä at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- Vapaa säännöistä, Helsingin Sanomat, Ari Virtanen, 13 November 2021
- "KuPS-kasvatti Urho Nissilä siirtyy Belgian pääsarjaan" [KuPS bred Urho Nissilä joins the Belgian League] (in Finnish). KuPS. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- SS: KuPSin Urho Nissilä siirtyy Belgian pääsarjaan, Yle, 15 June 2018
- "Zulte Waregem is verlost van laatste plaats dankzij twee late goals van De Pauw in degradatietopper tegen Lokeren" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- "OFFICIEEL: Zulte Waregem haalt nieuwe spelmaker in huis" (in Dutch). Voetbalnieuws.be. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- "Tähtipelaaja Urho Nissilä palaa Kuopion Palloseuran riveihin". www.kups.fi.
- Urho Nissilästä vuoden 2021 Veikkausliigapelaaja, Veikkausliiga, 2 December 2021
- "수원FC, 핀란드 국가대표 MF 우르호 니실라 영입" (in Korean). Sportivo Media. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- Kommentti: Jotain muuta kuin Squid Game – tämän takia Veikkausliigan paras pelaaja siirtyy Etelä-Koreaan, eikä Euroopan huippusarjoihin, Yle, 18 January 2022
- "Urho Nissilä palaa Kuopion Palloseuraan". www.kups.fi.
- Minne hävisi KuPSin tähtipelaaja? Kukaan ei tunnu tietävän, Savon Sanomat, 11 October 2023
- FINN KÖZÉPPÁLYÁS ÉRKEZETT, puskasakademia.hu, 29 January 2024
- Huuhkajien pelaaja siirtyi Viktor Orbánin lempilapseen, Helsingin Sanomat, 29 January 2024
- Hungary » NB I 2023/2024 » 29. Round » Puskás FC - Paksi SE 5:0, worldfootball
- "Keskikenttämaestro Urho Nissilä valittiin U21-maajoukkueeseen" [Midfielder Urho Nissilä was selected for the U21 national team] (in Finnish). KuPS. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- "Finland v Wales game report". ESPN. 1 September 2021.
- "Huuhkajat voittoon Kazakstanista – MM-karsintalohkon kakkoseksi" [Eagle Owls win Kazakhstan - Now on second position in group] (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- "U. NISSILÄ". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- "Urho Nissilä". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- Liimatta, Ville (3 December 2021). "Tässä suomalaisen jalkapallon vuoden 2021 parhaat - katso kaikki Captain's Ball -gaalassa palkitut". SuomiFutis (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- "Perinteinen Koplajoukkue nimetty Veikkausliigakauden 2021 osalta". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- Urho Nissilä Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 5 September 2021
External links
- MVV Maastricht official profile
- Urho Nissilä – SPL competition record