# Otso Liimatta

Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta (born 10 July 2004) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Famalicão and the Finland under-21 national team.

## Club career
### AC Oulu

Born in Oulu and raised in Karjasilta, Liimatta played in the youth sector of Tervarit before signing his first professional contract with AC Oulu in September 2020.
He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 28 May 2021, aged 16, in a 3–1 away loss to HJK: in the process, he assisted his side's only goal. During 2011, Liimatta played for the club's reserve team Oulun Luistinseura (OLS) in third-tier Kakkonen, and additionally made nine appearances in Veikkausliiga with the first team.
Liimatta scored his first goal in the league on 29 April 2022, the opener in a 3–0 home win against Haka. In the summer of 2022, various Finnish media outlets reported that Liimatta had attracted interest by several high-profile European clubs. At the end of the 2022 season, Liimatta was named the Best Young Player of the Year at the Captain's Ball awards held by the Finnish FA.

### F.C. Famalicão

On 29 July 2023, Liimatta officially joined Primeira Liga side Famalicão for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year deal with the Portuguese club. According to the media, the fee was in six figures and is believed to be close to €600,000.
He made his debut for the Fama on 11 August 2023, starting in the opening league game of the season against Braga, which ended in a 2–1 win for his team.

## International career
### Youth

Liimatta has represented Finland at various youth levels.
On 7 March 2023, at the age of 18, he got his first call-up to the Finland under-21 national team for two friendly matches against North Macedonia and Bulgaria. He scored his first U21 goal in the latter match, on 28 March 2023, taking part in a 0–2 win over Bulgaria.
Liimatta scored a hat-trick against Albania U21 on 13 October 2023 in a 2025 UEFA U21 Euro qualifying match, which ended in 4–1 victory for Finland. Liimatta finished the qualification campaign scoring seven goals, making him the joint-second-best goalscorer of the whole qualification, and helped Finland to qualify for the final tournament, for the second time in the nation's history.

## Career statistics

    As of 30 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| OLS | 2020 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | 3 | 2 |
| OLS | 2021 | Kakkonen | 17 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 3 |
| OLS | Total | Total | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
| AC Oulu | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| AC Oulu | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 28 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 6 |
| AC Oulu | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 8 |
| AC Oulu | Total | Total | 53 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 14 |
| Famalicão | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| Famalicão | 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Famalicão | Total | Total | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 88 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 19 |
* ↑ Includes Suomen Cup and Taça de Portugal
* ↑ Includes Kakkonen Cup and Finnish League Cup

## Honours

AC Oulu
* Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2023
Individual
* Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022
* Finnish FA: Best Young Player of the Year 2022
* Finnish FA: U21 Player of the Year 2023
* Finnish FA, Northern Finland: Player of the Year 2022, 2023