Matias Siltanen (born 29 March 2007) is a Finnish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Veikkausliiga club

KuPS Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League, Veikkausliiga. KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup 4 times ...

, and captains the Finland U17 national team.

Club career

Born in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

, Siltanen started to play football in a youth team of the local club

. He made his senior debut in 2022 at the age of 15, with the club's reserve team KuPS II playing in the third tier league

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the third level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. The II divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kakkonen (Finnish for 'Number Two' ...

. On 12 January 2023, Siltanen signed his first professional contract with the club, on a two-year deal with an option for an additional year. He made his first team debut with KuPS on 11 February 2023, in a Finnish League Cup loss against Ilves. After the 2023 season, Siltanen was named The Boy Player of the Year by the

Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland ( fi, Suomen Palloliitto, abbr. SPL; sv, Finlands Bollförbund) is the governing body of football in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the men's and women's national footb ...

.Captain's Ball 2023 – Palkitut osa 1
Finnish FA, 1 December 2023 On 6 April 2024, Siltanen debuted in Veikkausliiga with KuPS first team, as a starter in the opening game of the 2024 season, in a 3–1 home win against HJK Helsinki. He scored his first goal in the league on 7 July 2024, in a 3–1 home win against

IF Gnistan IF Gnistan (''The Spark'' in English) is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Ykkönen, the second tier of the Finnish league system. IF Gnistan play their home matches at Must ...

. On 10 July, the club exercised his option for the 2025 season.

International career

Siltanen was part of the Finland U16 squad that won the friendly tournament Baltic Cup in July 2023.U16-pojat marssi Baltic Cupin mestaruuteen

/ Palloliitto, 2 July 2023 On 4 October 2023, he was named the captain of the Finland U17 squad in the

2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification The 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying competition is the men's under-17 football competition that will determine the 15 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Cyprus in the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship final ...

tournament. In the tournament Finland drew with

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

2–2 and with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

1–1, before winning

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

3–0, placing 2nd in the group and advancing to the

Elite round In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

. Siltanen played in first two games and scored a goal against Ukraine.

Personal life

His father Marko Siltanen is a former footballer who played also for KuPS.Ihmepoika Kuopiosta

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

, Ari Virtanen, 8 May 2024

Career statistics

Honours

KuPS * Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2024 Finland U16 *Baltic Cup: 2023 Individual * Finnish FA: The Boy Player of the Year, 2023

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siltanen, Matias Living people 2007 births Finnish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Kakkonen players Kuopion Palloseura players Finland men's youth international footballers