Mikael Soisalo


Mikael Soisalo is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a right-winger for Portuguese club Varzim. He also represents 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

Career in Finland

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. 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 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.
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.

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.