Mikael Soisalo
Mikael Soisalo (born 24 April 1998) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-winger for Latvian club Riga FC. He has also represented the Finland national under-21 football team. Soisalo was born in Helsinki, Finland. He began his senior club career on league level playing for Ilves, before signing with Zulte Waregem at age 20 in 2018. Club career. Klubi 04. He started his career playing for in the lower leagues of Finnish football in HJKs reserve team. He has also played for the junior teams of Finland national football team. Ilves. On 14.12.2015 it  was announced he had joined Ilves a team from Tampere had sign him with a 3 years’ contract. He stated that his goal for the 2016 Veikkausliiga (Finnish 1 tier) season would be to get a start in the starting line-up. He played an active role in the team's success, they finished fourth in the league and at times they even fought for the championship. Middlesbrough. On 5 January 2017, Soisalo joined Middlesbrough on a three-year deal. On 13 March 2017, he scored a hat-trick for the Middlesbrough reserves against Blackburn reserves. The manager praised him  for his performance and how he has integrated into the team. Zulte Waregem. On 18 June 2018, Middlesbrough announced that Soisalo was to join Belgian side Zulte Waregem after just one full season with Middlesbrough's U-23 side. Soisalo was loaned out to Portuguese club Varzim S.C. on 29 January 2020 for the rest of the season with a purchase option. However, he only played two games for the club and returned to Zulte in the summer 2020. Riga FC. For the 2021 season, Soisalo moved to Riga FC on a 2-year contract. He made his debut on 13  March, playing the first 65 minutes of a 0–2 win at Ventspils. He had an impressive start and had scored seven goals in 15 games in July 2021. International career. He has been an integral part of the various youth national teams starting from the U-15. During 2016, he took part in Finland's qualifying campaign for the UEFA under 19 Championship. He played well against Kazakhstan, scoring once and assisting three goals. He scored his first goal for Finland U21 on 9 October 2020 in a UEFA European U21 Championship qualification match in Ballymena Showgrounds, Ballymena against Northern Ireland  U21. In March 2022, Soisalo received a first call up for the Finland senior squad for the first time, coming into the squad after the withdrawal of Lassi Lappalainen and Onni Valakari for matches against Iceland and Slovakia. Honours. Club. Klubi 04