# Oliver Antman

Oliver Antman (born 15 August 2001) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles, and the Finland national team.

## Youth career

Antman started football in his hometown Vantaa in a youth team of Korson Palloseura in Korso neighbourhood. When Antman was a child, he and his siblings were also coached by their mother. He was an attractive young talent as in 2009 it was reported that 8-year-old Antman was scouted by FC Barcelona. He played in the youth sector of HJK Helsinki in 2011–2013, where he was also coached by Miika Takkula. In 2012, he was invited for a trial to Barcelona. He was supposed to return to the club later for a youth tournament, but the plan got cancelled by FIFA after they banned the transfers of underaged players to Barcelona. However, in 2014 he moved to Spain with his mother and played football in the youth teams of Cornellà and CF Damm for a year. After they moved back to Finland, Antman returned to HJK. Later he played in youth teams of Vantaa-based clubs Legirus Inter and Tikkurilan Palloseura (TiPS). In TiPS, he was coached by Roberto Nuccio, whom he later followed to Gnistan.

## Club career
### Gnistan

Antman joined IF Gnistan from Tikkurilan Palloseura in the winter 2018. He played 7 games for the club in third-tier Kakkonen and scored one goal on 20 June 2018, in a 1–1 draw against FC Vaajakoski.

### Nordsjælland

On 27 September 2018 IF Gnistan announced, that they had sold Antman to FC Nordsjælland for an initial fee of €50,000 that could increase further. The deal was completed on the last day of the summer transfer market. Antman was the first player from Gnistan to be sold to a foreign club. Antman had earlier already been on a trial at the club and did actually also play an hour for the reserve team of Nordsjælland in May 2018, where he also scored a goal. The reserve team won the game 4-2 and won the reserve team league with that victory.
Antman's first senior experience was on 16 February 2019, where he sat on the bench for the whole game against Hobro IK in the Danish Superliga. He got his official debut for FC Nordsjælland on 30 March 2019 in the first game of newly appointed manager Flemming Pedersen. Antman started on the bench and came on the pitch replacing Mohammed Kudus with three minutes left, in a 0-0 draw against FC Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga.
In February 2019, first team manager Kasper Hjulmand revealed, that many big clubs was chasing Antman before he chose to join FC Nordsjælland. On 20 August 2019, Antman extended his contract with Nordsjælland until June 2024. Two years later, on 6 September 2022, Antman once again signed a new deal, this time until June 2025.

#### Groningen (loan)

On transfer deadline day, 31 January 2023, Antman joined Eredivisie side FC Groningen until the end of the season with an option to buy (if not relegated). On 5 February 2023, Antman scored in his debut for Groningen, after coming off the bench in the 65th minute of a match against FC Twente, replacing Joey Pelupessy. Antman scored Groningen's only goal, four minutes after coming on, in a match that ended 1–1. After Groningen got relegated to Eerste Divisie in the end of the season, Antman returned to Denmark.

#### Return to Nordsjælland

After returning to Nordsjælland, Antman was a regular part of the Danish squad and played a number of minutes at the start of the 2023–24 season. Antman was injured in an international match between Finland and Denmark in early September 2023 and was ruled out indefinitely. In mid-February 2024, Nordsjælland announced that Antman was back in training after 5 months out with an injury. He returned to the line-up after the winter break on 18 February 2024, making his first appearance in Superliga since the start of September 2023, as a late substitute in a 3–2 win over Lyngby.

### Go Ahead Eagles

On 13 August 2024, Antman joined Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles on a three-year deal with a one-year option, for a reported transfer fee of €1.5 million, making him one of the most expensive signings in his new club's history. He became the fifth Finnish player to have signed with the Eagles, after Mikko Rahkamaa, Marco Parnela, Kari Arkivuo and Niklas Tarvajärvi.
On 25 November, he was selected in the Team of the Week by the VI football magazine for the first time. On 15 December, he scored his first goal for Go Ahead Eagles in Eredivisie, in a 3–3 away draw against Utrecht, providing also an assist for his team's third goal. After having totalled a goal and eight assists in nine consecutive games, Antman was named in the Eredivisie Team of the Week in January 2025 by the Dutch newspaper AD for the first time. Antman scored his second goal of the season on 18 January, in a 2–1 win against his previous club Groningen. On 26 February, Antman provided the assist for the Victor Edvardsen's winning goal in a semi-final of the KNVB Cup against PSV, helping Eagles to reach for the final of the competition for the first time in 60 years since the 1964–65 edition. On 1 March, Antman scored a brace in an Eredivisie match against PSV, including a winning goal in a 3–2 home win. On 5 March, Antman was included in the Team of the Week by the EA Sports FC 25. On 9 March, he contributed to all three goals for his club, scoring a goal and providing two assists in a 3–2 away win against NEC Nijmegen. Next day Antman was named the Eredivisie Player of the Week by the ESPN Netherlands.

## International career

Antman has played matches in Finnish U18, U19 and U21 teams. On 26 September 2022, 21-year old Antman got his debut for the Finnish national team in a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B game against Montenegro. Antman both scored the 1-0 goal and made the assist to the goal for 2–0.
In the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, Antman scored three goals in five games, including the winning goal in a 1–0 away victory against Kazakhstan. He missed the four last qualifying games due to an injury suffered in a match against Denmark. His groin was operated by surgeon Lasse Lempainen in Turku, Finland in September 2023.

## Career statistics

    As of 16 March 2025

### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| TiPS | 2017 | Kolmonen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Gnistan | 2018 | Kakkonen | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 1 |
| Nordsjælland | 2018–19 | Danish Superliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Nordsjælland | 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 |
| Nordsjælland | 2020–21 | Danish Superliga | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 2 |
| Nordsjælland | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 6 |
| Nordsjælland | 2022–23 | Danish Superliga | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 19 | 3 |
| Nordsjælland | 2023–24 | Danish Superliga | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 3 |
| Nordsjælland | 2024–25 | Danish Superliga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Nordsjælland | Total | Total | 96 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 110 | 16 |
| Groningen (loan) | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 2 |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 25 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 5 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 142 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 159 | 24 |
* ↑ Includes Danish Cup and KNVB Cup
* ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League

### International

    As of match played 17 November 2024
| National team | Year | Competitive | Competitive | Friendly | Friendly | Total | Total |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Finland | 2022 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Finland | 2023 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Finland | 2024 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 13 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 6 |
* ↑ Appearances in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League
* 1 2 Appearances in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

### International goals

    As of match played 7 June 2024
    Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Antman goal.
List of international goals scored by Oliver Amtman :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 27 September 2022 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro | 1 | Montenegro | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B |
| 2 | 17 November 2022 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 2 | North Macedonia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 23 March 2023 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark | 4 | Denmark | 1–1 | 1–3 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 4 | 16 June 2023 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 5 | Slovenia | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 5 | 7 September 2023 | Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan | 7 | Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 6 | 7 June 2024 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 12 | Scotland | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |

## Honours

Individual
* Football Association of Finland: U21 Player of the Year 2021