Matti Lähitie (born 13 February 1985) is a Finnish professional football coach and a former player. He played as a defender or defensive midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 February 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Pori, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2004 | FC Jazz | 40 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | Lahti | 10 | (0) |
| 2006 | VPS Vaasa | 6 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | JJK | 68 | (3) |
| 2010 | → PoPa (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | SJK | 60 | (4) |
| 2014–2017 | JJK | 59 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022 | Finland U-21 (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editLähitie started his football career at Finnish club FC Jazz, where he made his league debut at the age of just seventeen years old. In total he made forty appearances at FC Jazz between 2002 and 2004, scoring twice.
In 2005, he signed with FC Lahti who were playing in Veikkausliiga at the time. Lähitie saw this as a step-up in his career, with Finland internationals such as Jari Litmanen, Pekka Lagerblom and Mika Väyrynen also playing for Lahti.
In 2006 Lähitie moved to his third Finnish club, JJK playing in the Ykkönen.