Santeri Väänänen
Personal information
Full name Santeri Leevi Oliver Väänänen[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Rosenborg
Number 6
Youth career
PPV[2]
HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Klubi 04 22 (1)
2018–2022 HJK 41 (1)
2023– Rosenborg 23 (0)
International career‡
2019 Finland U17 6 (0)
2019 Finland U19 2 (0)
2021– Finland U21 14 (0)
2023– Finland 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023

Santeri Väänänen (born 1 January 2002) is a Finnish professional football player who plays as a midfielder for Eliteserien club Rosenborg, and captains the Finland under-21 national team.[3]

Club career

HJK Helsinki

Väänänen started to play football with Pajamäen Pallo-Veikot in Pajamäki, Helsinki. Later he joined the youth sector of HJK at the age of 7, and played with the club's district youth team in Munkkiniemi along with Matti Peltola.

In 2018, Väänänen made his senior debut with the club's reserve team Klubi 04 in the second-tier league Ykkönen. Later in the same year he debuted with the first team in Veikkausliiga, aged 16.[4]

On 17 June 2019, Väänänen renewed his contract with HJK, on a deal until the end of 2021.[5][6] During the next seasons, he played occasionally in the starting line-up in the league, but his major breakthrough was delayed until the 2022 season due to injuries.

Väänänen also represented HJK in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League and in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stages.[7]

Rosenborg BK

On 7 December 2022, Norwegian Eliteserien side Rosenborg announced the signing of Väänänen on a four-year deal, on a free transfer. The transfer was effective starting in January 2023.[8][9] He made his debut with Rosenborg on 12 March 2023, as a substitute in a 2–0 Norwegian Cup defeat against Viking.[10]

International career

Väänänen has represented Finland at various youth levels.[11] He captains the Finland under-21 national team in the 2025 UEFA Euro U21 Championship qualifiers.[12]

He made his international debut with the Finland senior national team in January 2023, in the friendly matches against Sweden and Estonia.

Career statistics

As of 3 December 2023[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cups [lower-alpha 1] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2018 Ykkönen 16020—180
2019 Kakkonen 5100—51
2021 Ykkönen 1000—10
Total 2212000241
HJK 2018 Veikkausliiga 1000—10
2019 90103[lower-alpha 2]0130
2020 8020—100
2021 100417[lower-alpha 3]0211
2022 1312013[lower-alpha 4]0281
Total 41191230732
Rosenborg 2023 Eliteserien 230203[lower-alpha 5]0280
Career total 8621312601253
  1. ↑ Includes Suomen Cup, Finnish League Cup and NM Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

References

  1. ↑ Santeri Väänänen at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  2. ↑ Pikkuhuuhkajat nimetty marraskuun otteluihin, Finnish FA, 7 November 2023
  3. ↑ Santeri Väänänen at Soccerway
  4. ↑ S.Väänänen, hjk.fi
  5. ↑ Santeri Väänänen uusi sopimuksensa, hjk.fi, 17 June 2019
  6. ↑ 17-vuotias lahjakkuus säväytti Stadin derbyssä – ”Haluan koko ajan lisää ja lisää”, Iltalehti, 4 July 2019
  7. ↑ "HJK:n nuori keskikenttämies urakoi jälleen täydet minuutit: "Huomaa seuraavana päivänä, että on taas oltu Eurooppa-liigassa"" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Väänänen klar for Rosenborg" [Väänänen to Rosenborg] (in Norwegian). RBK.no. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Santeri Väänänen, 20, siirtyy Norjan suurseuraan – Suomen mestarin kassaan kilahtaa "kelpo korvaus"" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  10. ↑ VIKING VS. ROSENBORG 2 - 0, int.soccerway.com
  11. ↑ "Santeri Väänänen: "Onhan se aina ollut unelma"" (in Finnish). Finnish FA. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  12. ↑ Pikkuhuuhkajat kaatoi Albanian Turussa, 13 October 2023, Finnish FA
  13. ↑ "Santeri Väänänen". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 7 May 2023.


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