# Ville Väisänen

Ville Väisänen (born 19 April 1977) is a Finnish former footballer who last played as defender in Finnish second division team FC OPA. Väisänen has also tried his hands at managing - his latest spell being with Oulu Nice Soccer for seasons 2011 and 2012.

## Career

Väisänen started his career in 1996 in his home country with his hometown team OTP which played in Finland third tier Kakkonen scoring four goals in the first few games. Soon after he moved to south to city of Pori to play for league side FC Jazz, eventually making his debut the following year. He moved to the Netherlands, where he played for two seasons for De Graafschap in Doetinchem before he returned to Finland, with first TPV then FC Lahti.
In 1999, he moved to Norway for one season, before his career took him to Greece, with Ethnikos Asteras. In 2001, he again returned to Finland, spending two seasons, then moved across Scandinavia, with Norwegian-side Bryne FK then Swedish Ljungskile SK. In 2005, Väisänen moved to Finland to play two seasons with FF Jaro. In August 2006, he moved to England to play with Darlington, after being signed by manager David Hodgson. He played five times but suffered a knee injury, and when Hodgson was replaced by new manager Dave Penney, Väisänen was released in December. Väisänen then moved back to Finland to play for his hometown team Oulun Palloseura playing in Kakkonen. He played as a midfielder and was a captain of the team. He left the team at the end of season to continue his studies in England and to find a new team.
Väisänen eventually returned to Oulu to play for another hometown team, FC OPA for five games. His brother Kalle Väisänen also played for the team. After a short spell at OPA, Ville Väisänen head back to England to finish his studies and played for a Northern League Division One side Spennymoor Town for the 2008–09 season.
He also earned five caps for the Finland national side. He managed JS Hercules for a period of time in 2007. In October 2008, he became a gym instructor at Headlam Hall hotel in Headlam, County Durham, England. While studying he also managed junior side FC Marton in Middlesbrough.
Väisänen has signed for FC OPA for the season 2009. He is did assistant managing for Tervarit U17 team in Oulu for the season 2009. In the season 2010 Väisänen took a bigger role in FC OPA. He signed a player-manager contract which kept him at FC OPA for another year.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | Division | League | League | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| OTP | 1996 | Kakkonen | 18 | 4 | – | – | 18 | 4 |
| Jazz | 1997 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 2 | – | – | 10 | 2 |
| De Graafschap | 1997–98 | Eredivisie | 10 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 |
| De Graafschap | 1998–99 | Eredivisie | 4 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 1 |
| De Graafschap | 1999–00 | Eredivisie | 16 | 1 | – | – | 16 | 1 |
| De Graafschap | Total | Total | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| TPV (loan) | 1999 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 1 | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| Lahti (loan) | 1999 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Ethnikos Asteras | 2000–01 | Super League Greece | 5 | 2 | – | – | 5 | 2 |
| Haka | 2001 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 5 |
| Haka | 2002 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| Haka | Total | Total | 45 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 53 | 9 |
| Bryne | 2003 | Tippeligaen | 21 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 |
| Ljungskile | 2004 | Swedish Division 2 | 16 | 3 | – | – | 16 | 3 |
| Jaro | 2005 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 |
| Jaro | 2006 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 2 | – | – | 14 | 2 |
| Jaro | Total | Total | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| Darlington | 2006–07 | League Two | 5 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| OPS | 2007 | Kakkonen | 18 | 2 | – | – | 18 | 2 |
| FC OPA | 2008 | Kakkonen | 4 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 1 |
| Spennymoor Town | 2008–09 | Northern League Division One | 14 | 2 | – | – | 14 | 2 |
| FC OPA | 2009 | Kakkonen | 25 | 1 | – | – | 25 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 263 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 271 | 31 |
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Finland |
| Finland | 2001 | 3 | 1 |
| Finland | 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| Finland | 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 5 | 1 |

### International goals

    Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Väisänen goal.
List of international goals scored by Ville Väisänen :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 20 February 2001 | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman | Oman | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |