Jussi Niska
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 August 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rovaniemi, Finland | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Inter Turku | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| FC Lynx | ||||||||||||||||||||
| FC Santa Claus | ||||||||||||||||||||
| –2019 | RoPS | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | RoPS II | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | RoPS | 36 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Inter Turku | 43 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Finland U16 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Finland U17 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Finland U21 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 October 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jussi Niska (born 15 August 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku and the Finland U21 national team.[1]
Club career
Rovaniemen Palloseura
Born in Rovaniemi, Niska played for the youth teams of FC Lynx, FC Santa Claus, and RoPS. He debuted in Veikkausliiga for the RoPS first team on 2 July 2020 at the age of 17, in a 3–1 away defeat against Inter Turku.[2][3]
After RoPS got relegated, Niska stayed with the club in Ykkönen in the 2021 season, finishing 2nd in the division, but ultimately falling short to AC Oulu in the promotion play-offs.[4]
FC Inter Turku
Niska signed a three-year deal with Inter Turku on 23 December 2021,[5] after RoPS faced some serious financial difficulties and were relegated to Kakkonen.
On 6 July 2022, Niska scored the winning goal as Inter Turku defeated Drita 1–0 in the 1st leg of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1st round qualifying match.[6][7]
International career
A regular Finnish youth international, Niska has represented Finland in various age brackets.[8]
Honours
Club
FC Inter Turku
- Finnish Cup: 2022 Runners-up
- Finnish League Cup: 2022 Runners-up
Career statistics
- As of 25 October 2023
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| RoPS II | 2019 | Kakkonen | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| RoPS | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | Ykkönen | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| Inter Turku | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | 31 | 3 |
| 2023 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| Total | 43 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 61 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 86 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 113 | 3 | ||
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Finnish League Cup
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
References
- ^ "Tehoja saisi tulla enemmän" - Jussi Niska noussut isoon rooliin Interissä, Veikkausliiga, 14 May 2022
- ^ Inter RoPS, Veikkausliiga
- ^ Saukko, Markku (2021-03-24). "RoPS on nuori ja yhtä rovaniemeläinen kuin 1980-luvulla - 18-vuotias johtohahmo Jussi Niska tähtää RoPSin kanssa takaisin Liigaan ja sitten Eurooppaan". Lapin Kansa (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ^ REF soccerway
- ^ JUSSI NISKA JA LUKA KUITTINEN PITKILLÄ SOPIMUKSILLA FC INTERIIN, Inter Turku
- ^ Inter Turku (FIN) 1 - 0 Drita (KOS), UEFA
- ^ Laine, Rauno (2022-07-06). "Jussi Niska ratkaisi Turun Interin voiton Europelien avauksessa". Lapin Kansa (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ^ "Interin Jussi Niska innolla Pikkuhuuhkajiin. "Valinnasta saa luottamusta omaan tekemiseen"". Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-01.
External links
- Jussi Niska at Soccerway
- Jussi Niska at WorldFootball.net