Aleksi Paananen (born 25 January 1993) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu. He is often labeled as Thiago Alcantara or Diego Maradona of Finnish football, of which the latter he got the nickname ”Diego”.[2]

Aleksi Paananen
Paananen with Lahti in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-01-25) 25 January 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Siilinjärvi, Finland[1]
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+12 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
AC Oulu
Number 19
Youth career
KuPS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 KuPS 110 (9)
2011PK-37 (loan) 3 (2)
2015–2018 Lahti 118 (4)
2019–2022 Inter Turku 83 (9)
2023 HJK 14 (1)
2024– AC Oulu 15 (0)
International career
Finland U16 4 (1)
2009–2010 Finland U17 15 (3)
2010–2011 Finland U18 4 (2)
2011 Finland U19 4 (0)
2013 Finland U20 2 (1)
2012–2013 Finland U21 13 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2024

Career

edit

FC Inter Turku

edit

On 1 November 2018, Inter Turku announced the signing of Paananen for the 2019 season.[3] He signed a 2-year deal.

On 2 November 2022, Paananen signed a contract with HJK for the 2023 season, with an option for 2024.[4]

On 5 November 2023, it was announced that Paananen will leave HJK after the season.[2]

AC Oulu

edit

In November 2023, it was announced that Paananen had signed with fellow Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu on a two-year deal with an option for an additional year, starting in 2024.[5]

Career statistics

edit
As of 19 October 2024[6]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
KuPS 2010 Veikkausliiga 1 0 0 0 1 0
2011 Veikkausliiga 20 2 0 0 1[a] 0 21 2
2012 Veikkausliiga 23 2 5 0 4 0 5[a] 3 37 5
2013 Veikkausliiga 33 3 4 1 7 5 44 9
2014 Veikkausliiga 33 2 3 2 4 1 40 5
Total 110 9 12 3 15 6 6 3 143 21
PK-37 (loan) 2011 Kakkonen 3 2 3 2
Lahti 2015 Veikkausliiga 27 0 2 0 4 0 2[a] 0 36 0
2016 Veikkausliiga 33 2 4 1 6 0 43 3
2017 Veikkausliiga 29 0 4 0 33 0
2018 Veikkausliiga 29 2 5 0 2[a] 0 36 2
Total 118 4 15 1 10 0 4 0 147 3
Inter Turku 2019 Veikkausliiga 20 1 7 0 2[a] 0 29 1
2020 Veikkausliiga 21 3 7 1 1[a] 0 29 4
2021 Veikkausliiga 23 2 4 1 1[b] 0 28 3
2022 Veikkausliiga 20 3 4 1 6 0 30 4
Total 84 9 22 2 6 0 4 0 116 11
HJK 2023 Veikkausliiga 14 1 0 0 4 0 2[b] 0 20 1
AC Oulu 2024 Veikkausliiga 15 0 2 0 2 0 17 0
Career total 344 25 51 6 37 6 16 3 448 36

Honours

edit

KuPS

Lahti

Inter Turku

  • Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2019, 2020
  • Finnish Cup runner-up: 2020, 2022
  • Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2022

HJK

  • Veikkausliiga: 2023
  • Finnish League Cup: 2023

References

edit
  1. ^ Veikkausliiga - Hall Of Fame Archived 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b Kiitos, Diego! , hjk.fi
  3. ^ Aleksi Paananen siirtyy FC Interiin Archived 21 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, fcinter.fi, 1 November 2018
  4. ^ "Aleksi Paananen vahvistamaan HJK:n keskikenttää" [Aleksi Paananen to strengthen HJK's midfield] (in Finnish). HJK. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  5. ^ ALEKSI PAANANEN SIIRTYY LAIVASTONSINISIIN, acoulu.fi, 5 November 2023
  6. ^ Aleksi Paananen, Finnish FA
edit