Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta[1] | ||
Date of birth | 10 July 2004 | ||
Place of birth | Oulu, Finland[2] | ||
Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder[2] | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Famalicão | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2020 | Tervarit | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2021 | OLS | 18 | (3) |
2021–2023 | AC Oulu | 53 | (9) |
2023– | Famalicão | 12 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2019 | Finland U15 | 2 | (0) |
2019 | Finland U16 | 2 | (1) |
2021–2022 | Finland U18 | 6 | (1) |
2022 | Finland U19 | 6 | (1) |
2023– | Finland U21 | 11 | (6) |
Medal record | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024 |
Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta (born 10 July 2004) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Famalicão and the Finland under-21 national team.
Born in Oulu and raised in Karjasilta, Liimatta played in the youth sector of Tervarit before signing his first professional contract with AC Oulu in September 2020.[3][4][5]
He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 28 May 2021, aged 16, in a 3–1 away loss to HJK: in the process, he assisted his side's only goal.[6] During 2011, Liimatta played for the club's reserve team Oulun Luistinseura (OLS) in third-tier Kakkonen, and additionally made nine appearances in Veikkausliiga with the first team.
Liimatta scored his first goal in the league on 29 April 2022, the opener in a 3–0 home win against Haka.[7] In the summer of 2022, various Finnish media outlets reported that Liimatta had attracted interest by several high-profile European clubs.[8][9] At the end of the 2022 season, Liimatta was named the Best Young Player of the Year at the Captain's Ball awards held by the Finnish FA.[10][11][12]
On 29 July 2023, Liimatta officially joined Primeira Liga side Famalicão for an undisclosed fee,[13][14][15] signing a four-year deal with the Portuguese club.[14][16] According to the media, the fee was in six figures and is believed to be close to €600,000.[17]
He made his debut for the Fama on 11 August 2023, starting in the opening league game of the season against Braga, which ended in a 2–1 win for his team.[18][19]
Liimatta has represented Finland at various youth levels.
On 7 March 2023, at the age of 18, he got his first call-up to the Finland under-21 national team for two friendly matches against North Macedonia and Bulgaria.[20] He scored his first U21 goal in the latter match, on 28 March 2023, taking part in a 0–2 win over Bulgaria.[12][21]
Liimatta scored a hat-trick against Albania U21 on 13 October 2023 in a 2025 UEFA Euro Under-21 qualifying match, which ended in 4–1 victory for Finland.[22]
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
OLS | 2020 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 2 | — | 3 | 2 | |
2021 | Kakkonen | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 3 | |||
Total | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | ||
AC Oulu | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
2022 | Veikkausliiga | 28 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 6 | ||
2023 | Veikkausliiga | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7[c] | 1 | — | 26 | 8 | ||
Total | 53 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 14 | ||
Famalicão | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
Career total | 83 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 19 |
AC Oulu
Individual