Ville Koski
_69_(cropped).jpg) Koski with Finland U21 in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ville Aleksi Jukanpoika Koski | ||
| Date of birth | 27 January 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Tuusula, Finland[1] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Alavés | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| TuPS[2] | |||
| –2018 | PKKU | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | PKKU | 13 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Honka II | 27 | (2) |
| 2020–2023 | Honka | 67 | (4) |
| 2024–2026 | Istra 1961 | 64 | (0) |
| 2026 | → Alavés (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2026– | Alavés | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | Finland U17 | 7 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021–2025 | Finland U21 | 31 | (1) |
| 2023– | Finland | 11 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 August 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 June 2026 | |||
Ville Aleksi Jukanpoika Koski (born 27 January 2002) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for La Liga club Deportivo Alavés and the Finland national team.
Club career
PK Keski-Uusimaa
Born in Tuusula, Koski started playing football in the youth teams of local clubs Tuusulan Palloseura (TuPS) and PK Keski-Uusimaa. He made his senior debut with PK Keski-Uusimaa first team on 13 May 2018 at the age of 16, playing in the 1–1 draw against Jippo, in the third-tier league Kakkonen.[3]
Honka
In 2019, he joined the FC Honka organisation in Espoo. He played with the club's reserve team Honka II in Kakkonen for two seasons, before he made his debut in the premier division Veikkausliiga on 12 September 2020, aged 18, with Honka first team, when he came in from the bench for the final minutes, in 1–3 away victory against Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS).[4] Despite his young age, in the next season Koski quickly established his place in the starting line-up and became an integral part of the team's defense.[5][6][7][8][9]
Koski scored his first goal in the league on 13 August 2022, in a 4–0 away win against Ilves.[10]
Istra 1961
In the early December 2023, it was announced that Koski had signed with Croatian premier division 1. HNL side Istra 1961 on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[11] He was already close to sign with the club in the 2023 summer transfer window but the deal got cancelled then.[12] The transfer was effective in January 2024.[13][14][15][16]
Alavés
On 31 January 2026, Koski joined Spanish club Deportivo Alavés on loan for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.[17] He made his La Liga debut on 13 March, in a 1–1 draw against Villarreal.[18] Koski started his first game in La Liga on 13 May, playing full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win over Barcelona.[19]
On 15 June 2026, Koski signed a permanent five-year contract with Alavés for a €3 million fee.[20][21]
International career
A regular Finnish youth international, Koski has represented Finland at various youth national team levels. He has also captained the Finland U21 national team.[22] Koski was integral part of the Finland U21 team helping them to qualify for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament, for the second time in the nation's history.
Koski made his full international debut for Finland senior national team on 12 January 2023, in a friendly match against Estonia.[23][24]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 28 August 2026[25]
| Club | Season | Division | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| PK Keski-Uusimaa | 2018 | Kakkonen | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Honka Akatemia | 2019 | Kakkonen | 15 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | Kakkonen | 12 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| Total | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| Honka | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| Total | 67 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 82 | 4 | ||
| Istra 1961 | 2023–24 | HNL | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | HNL | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | HNL | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 64 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 0 | ||
| Alavés (loan) | 2025–26 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Alavés | 2026–27 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 179 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 202 | 6 | ||
- ↑ Includes Suomen Cup and Croatian Football Cup
- ↑ Includes Kakkonen Cup and Finnish League Cup
- 1 2 Includes UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 5 June 2026
| National team | Year | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Finland | 2023 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 0[b] | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
- ↑ Appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
- ↑ Appearances in the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C.
- ↑ Includes two appearances in the 2026 FIFA Series.
Honours
Honka
- Finnish League Cup: 2022
- Finnish Cup runner-up: 2023
Finland
Individual
- Football Association of Finland: U21 Player of the Year 2024
References
- ↑ Ville Koski at WorldFootball.net
- ↑ Pikkuhuuhkajat nimetty marraskuun otteluihin, Finnish FA, 7 November 2023
- ↑ PKKU VS. JIPPO 1 - 1, int.soccerway.com
- ↑ "RoPS - FC Honka 1:3 (Veikkausliiga 2020, 14. Round)". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ↑ Kova luu, Ilta-Sanomat, 20 July 2023
- ↑ Kostiainen, Jari (8 May 2023). "Ville Koski oli vain 14 vuotta, kun pelaaja-agentti soitti – näin FC Honka hioo timantteja jopa 10 000 pelaajan joukosta" (in Finnish). Länsiväylä. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ↑ Kuparinen, Heikki (30 March 2022). "Vuodessa avainpelaajaksi noussut Ville Koski toivoo espoolaisten paluuta katsomoon – onhan Hongalla sarjan paras maalivahti ja kenttä: "Kunhan ympärille saisi vähän paremmat puitteet"" (in Finnish). suomifutis.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ↑ Peltola, Pasi (29 Dec 2021). "Ville Koski ponnahti Kalevan viheriöltä liigakenttien toppariksi Hongassa: "Keravan kaatosadematsin Hongan paidassa muistan hyvin"" (in Finnish). keski-uusimaa.fi. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ↑ Ville Koski suhtautuu jalkapalloon rennon itsekriittisesti: "En uppoa syviin vesiin", keski-uusimaa.fi, Miska Miettinen, 22 May 2023
- ↑ ILVES VS. HONKA 0 - 4, int.soccerway.com
- ↑ DOBRO NAM DOŠAO VILLE KOSKI, nkistra.com
- ↑ Ville Koski siirtyy Kroatiaan, suomifutis.com, Tuukka Ikkeläjärvi, 3 December 2023
- ↑ Ville Koski novi igrač Istre, ofenziva.ffa.hr
- ↑ Istra 1961 dovela finskog reprezentativca!, istarski.hr, 2 December 2023
- ↑ Finac Ville Koski novi je igrač Istre 1961, regionalexpress.hr, 2 December 2023
- ↑ Ville Koski kertoi miten Kroatian pääsarja eroaa Veikkausliigasta: ”Ei koiteta aina pelata niin täydellistä jalkapalloa”, suomifutis.com, 4 September 2024
- ↑ EL DEPORTIVO ALAVÉS REFUERZA SU ZAGA CON EL CENTRAL VILLE KOSKI, deportivoalaves.com, 31 January 2026
- ↑ Ville Koski debytoi La Ligassa, laliiga.com, 14 March 2026
- ↑ Ville Koski oli kaatamassa Barcelonaa – valmentajalta kehut, suomifutis.com, 13 May 2026
- ↑ "El Deportivo Alavés incorpora en propiedad a Ville Koski hasta 2031" [Deportivo Alavés sign Ville Koski permanently until 2031] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
- ↑ Deportivo Alavés have completed the permanent signing of Ville Koski from Istra 1961 in a record deal worth €3M, Croatian football
- ↑ Pikkuhuuhkajat otti tärkeän voiton Azerbaidzhanista, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto, 7 June 2022
- ↑ soccerway
- ↑ Ville Koski ja Agon Sadiku Huuhkajiin!, esporthonka.com, 30 December 2022
- ↑ "Ville Koski". flashscore.fi. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ↑ "Huuhkajat voitti Uuden-Seelannin FIFA Series -turnauksen". www.palloliitto.fi. 30 March 2026.
- Living people
- 2002 births
- Finnish men's footballers
- 21st-century Finnish sportsmen
- Men's association football defenders
- Finland men's youth international footballers
- Finland men's under-21 international footballers
- Finland men's international footballers
- Tuusulan Palloseura players
- Kakkonen players
- FC Honka players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Croatian Football League players
- La Liga players
- NK Istra 1961 players
- Deportivo Alavés players
- Finnish expatriate men's footballers
- Pallokerho Keski-Uusimaa players
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Croatia
- Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain