Jussi Niska
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 August 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rovaniemi, Finland | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Inter Turku | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| FC Santa Claus | ||||||||||||||||||||
| –2019 | RoPS | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | RoPS II | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | RoPS | 36 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Inter Turku | 67 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Finland U16 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Finland U17 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Finland U21 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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
[edit]RoPS
[edit]Born in Rovaniemi, Niska played for the youth teams of FC Lynx, who later became part of FC Santa Claus,[2] 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.[3]
After RoPS got relegated in 2020, Niska stayed with the club in Ykkönen in the 2021 season,[2] finishing 2nd in the division, but eventually falling short to AC Oulu in the promotion play-offs.[4][5]
FC Inter Turku
[edit]Niska signed a three-year deal with Inter Turku in Veikkausliiga on 23 December 2021,[6] 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.[7][8] On 8 October 2024, his contract was extended for the 2025 with an option for 2026.[9]
International career
[edit]A regular Finnish youth international, Niska has represented Finland in various age brackets.[10]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of 23 October 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| RoPS II | 2019 | Kakkonen | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | Kakkonen | 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 | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | 31 | 3 |
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| Total | 67 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 93 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 110 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 145 | 3 | ||
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup
- ^ Includes Finnish League Cup
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours
[edit]RoPS
- Ykkönen runner-up: 2021
Inter Turku
- Finnish Cup runner-up: 2022, 2024
- Finnish League Cup: 2024
- Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2022
References
[edit]- ^ "Tehoja saisi tulla enemmän" - Jussi Niska noussut isoon rooliin Interissä, Veikkausliiga, 14 May 2022
- ^ a b Saukko, Markku (24 March 2021). "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 1 October 2023.
- ^ Inter RoPS, Veikkausliiga
- ^ REF soccerway
- ^ AC Oulu säilytti sarjapaikkansa – RoPS-hyökkääjä ei sulattanut joukkuekaverin ulosajoa: "Se oli tuomarivirhe", Yle, Hinni Hirvonen, 7 November 2021
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jussi Niska jatkaa Interin puolustuksessa, fcinter.fi, 8 October 2024
- ^ "Interin Jussi Niska innolla Pikkuhuuhkajiin. "Valinnasta saa luottamusta omaan tekemiseen"". Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-01.
External links
[edit]- Jussi Niska at Soccerway
- Jussi Niska at WorldFootball.net