Saku Heiskanen
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 September 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Espoo, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | KuPS | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Masalan Kisa | |||
| –2017 | Honka | ||
| 2017–2019 | TSG Hoffenheim | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023 | UCF Knights[1] | 16 | (5) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017 | Honka | 0 | (0) |
| 2017 | Honka II | 5 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | TSG Hoffenheim | 0 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Klubi 04 (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Honka (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Honka II (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Klubi 04 | 46 | (11) |
| 2022–2023 | Honka | 10 | (0) |
| 2022 | Honka II | 5 | (1) |
| 2024–2026 | Gnistan | 57 | (7) |
| 2026– | KuPS | 13 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Finland U16 | 3 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Finland U17 | 9 | (0) |
| 2021 | Finland U20 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 July 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 February 2024 | |||
Saku Heiskanen (born 29 September 2001) is a Finnish professional football player who plays as a right back for Veikkausliiga side KuPS.
Career
On 10 August 2017, Heiskanen signed with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, and was registered as a youth player.[2]
During the 2022 Veikkausliiga season when playing for Honka, Heiskanen suffered a long-lasting pain in his hip, which required a surgery. The surgery was not covered by the insurance and Honka was not willing to cover the expenses, so Heiskanen was forced to pay over €10,000 himself to be able to continue football.[3]
Heiskanen moved to the United States and joined the University of Central Florida team UCF Knights in June 2023.[4]
In January 2024, Heiskanen returned to Finland and signed with a newly promoted Veikkausliiga club Gnistan.[5][6] He was named in the Veikkausliiga Team of the Year in 2024, by the Finnish sports journalists. On 1 October, his deal was extended for the 2025.[7]
Career statistics
- As of 20 March 2026[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Honka | 2017 | Ykkönen | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Honka Akatemia | 2017 | Kolmonen | 5 | 0 | – | – | 1[b] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| TSG Hoffenheim | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Klubi 04 (loan) | 2018 | Ykkönen | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| Honka (loan) | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Honka Akatemia (loan) | 2019 | Kakkonen | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| Klubi 04 | 2019 | Kakkonen | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | Kakkonen | 16 | 9 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 9 | |||
| 2021 | Ykkönen | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 2 | |||
| Total | 46 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 11 | ||
| Honka | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 16 | 1 | |
| Honka Akatemia | 2022 | Kakkonen | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | |||
| Gnistan | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 36 | 6 | |
| 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 36 | 2 | ||
| Total | 57 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 8 | ||
| KuPS | 2026 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 132 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 161 | 21 | ||
- ↑ Includes Suomen Cup
- ↑ Includes UEFA Regions' Cup
Honours
Honka
- Finnish League Cup: 2022
Klubi 04
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2024[9]
- Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year: 2023[10]
- Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year: 2023
References
- ↑ SAKU HEISKANEN, ucfknights.com
- ↑ 15-vuotias suomalainen futislupaus Bundesliigaseuraan – juuret Kirkkonummella, Länsiväylä, 10 August 2017
- ↑ Vailla turvaa, Yle, 1 May 2025
- ↑ Saku Heiskanen siirtyy FC Hongasta University of Central Floridaan, veikkausliiga.com, 27 June 2023
- ↑ SAKU HEISKANEN GNISTANIIN, gnistan.fi, 17 January 2024
- ↑ SAKU HEISKANEN SIGNS WITH GNISTAN IF, ucfknights.com, 30 January 2024
- ↑ IF GNISTAN KÄYTTÄÄ SAKU HEISKASEN SOPIMUKSESSA OLEVAN OPTION – JATKAA SEURASSA KAUDELLA 2025, gnistan.fi, 1 October 2024
- ↑ Saku Heiskanen stats, Football Association of Finland
- ↑ Koplajoukkue 2024 nimetty - jalkapallotoimittajien valinnat vuoden parhaiksi palkitaan lauantaina, veikkausliiga.com, 19 October 2024
- ↑ 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Awards and All-Conference Teams Announced, sunbeltsports.org, 11 March 2023
External links
- Saku Heiskanen at Soccerway
- Saku Heiskanen at WorldFootball.net
- Living people
- 2001 births
- Footballers from Espoo
- Finnish men's footballers
- 21st-century Finnish sportsmen
- Men's association football midfielders
- Kolmonen players
- Kakkonen players
- Ykkönen players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Pallohonka players
- FC Honka players
- TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players
- Klubi 04 players
- IF Gnistan players
- Kuopion Palloseura players
- Finland men's youth international footballers
- Finnish expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- UCF Knights men's soccer players
- Masalan Kisa players