Roni Hudd

Roni Hudd
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-01-20) 20 January 2005 (age 19)
Place of birth Vaasa, Finland
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, striker
Team information
Current team
 HJK
Number 20
Youth career
0000–2022 VPS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 VPS II 27 (15)
2022–2024 VPS 50 (6)
2024– HJK 1 (0)
2024– Klubi 04 4 (1)
International career‡
2019 Finland U15 2 (0)
2021–2022 Finland U17 6 (1)
2022– Finland U18 9 (2)
2023– Finland U19 3 (0)
2023– Finland U21 2 (1)
Medal record
VPS
Third place Veikkausliiga 2023
Finland U18
First place Baltic Cup 2023[1]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2023

Roni Hudd (born 20 January 2005) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Veikkausliiga club HJK Helsinki and the Finland under-21 national team.

Club career

VPS

Hudd started playing football in his hometown club Vaasan Palloseura (VPS) youth sector in Vaasa. He was promoted to train with the first team at the age of 15 in 2020, when VPS played in Ykkönen, the second tier in Finland. In 2020, Hudd also made his senior debut with VPS reserve team in the fourth-tier league Kolmonen. After the season, Hudd signed a professional contract with the club.

Hudd scored his first goal in his debut in the premier division Veikkausliiga on 18 June 2022, in a 5–1 away victory against HIFK.[2]

On 25 April 2023, Hudd extended his contract with VPS until the end of 2024.[3][4][5] In the end of the 2023 season, Hudd won the bronze medal with VPS, as the club finished in 3rd place in the league.

Early in the 2024 pre-season, Hudd suffered an injury which kept him out of the line-up until July.

HJK

On 27 August 2024, HJK Helsinki announced the signing of Hudd on a deal until the end of the 2026 season with a one-year option, for an undisclosed fee.[6][7][8]

International career

Hudd is a regular in the youth national teams of Finland.[9][10]

In September 2021, Hudd was named in the Finland U17 squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification tournament, against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Switzerland and Gibraltar, scoring one goal and providing an assist in three games. Finland finished 2nd in the group and advanced to the Elite round.[11]

Hudd was part of the Finland U18 squad winning the friendly tournament Baltic Cup in June 2023,[12] scoring one goal in three games.

On 24 August 2023, Hudd got his first call-up to Finland under-21 national team, for a friendly match against Iceland.[13][14] On 7 September 2023, he debuted in that game as a substitute, and scored a goal, as Finland were defeated 2–3 by Iceland.[15][16]

In October 2023, Hudd was the captain of the Finland U19 squad in the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification tournament, and played in all three games, against Romania, Czech Republic and San Marino.[17][18]

Personal life

Hudd comes from a sporting family: his older sister Emma plays pesäpallo, Finnish baseball, for Lapuan Virkiä. His father Nicklas is an ice hockey coach in Norway, and his mother played volleyball at youth national team level.[19][20][21][22]

In January 2023, Hudd's profile in Transfermarkt was momentarily among the most popular profiles in the website.[23]

Career statistics

As of 19 October 2024.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
VPS Akatemia 2020 Kolmonen 6 1 — — — 6 1
2021 Kolmonen 3 0 — — — 3 0
2022 Kolmonen 12 8 — — — 12 8
2023 Kolmonen 0 0 — — — 0 0
2024 Kolmonen 6 6 — — — 6 6
Total 27 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 15
VPS 2022 Veikkausliiga 18 2 1 0 1 0 — 20 2
2023 Veikkausliiga 24 4 3 0 3 0 — 30 4
2024 Veikkausliiga 8 0 0 0 3 0 1[c] 0 12 0
Total 50 6 4 0 7 0 1 0 62 6
HJK Helsinki 2024 Veikkausliiga 1 0 – – 0 0 1 0
Klubi 04 2024 Ykkönen 4 1 — — — 4 1
Career total 82 22 4 0 7 0 1 0 94 22
  1. ^ Includes Suomen Cup
  2. ^ Includes Finnish League Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in UEFA Conference League

Honours

Vaasan Palloseura

References

  1. ^ Baltic Cup, Finnish FA
  2. ^ Vehviläinen, Mikko (6 August 2023). "Keskellä yötä debytoinut Roni Hudd, 18, pelaa nyt läpimurtokautta – "Jalkani on ollut aika hyvä"" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Roni Hudd jatkaa kasvattajaseurassaan Vepsussa!" (in Finnish). VPS. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  4. ^ Oma kasvatti jatkoi sopimustaan - Roni Hudd VPS:ssa ainakin kauden 2024 loppuun asti, Veikkausliiga, 25 April 2023
  5. ^ Roni Hudd päätti VPS:n piinan, Kymen Sanomat, 5 May 2023
  6. ^ Roni Hudd Vaasasta Klubiin, hjk.fi, 27 August 2024
  7. ^ MTV Urheilun tiedot: HJK nappasi 19-vuotiaan Veikkausliiga-lupauksen, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 26 August 2024
  8. ^ HJK hankki 19-vuotiaan lupauksen Vaasasta, Helsingin Sanomat, 27 August 2024
  9. ^ "Roni Hudd: "Suomi-paidassa on aina siistiä tehdä maali"". Palloliitto (Finnish FA). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  10. ^ VPS:n Roni Hudd: ”Olen tottunut liigavauhtiin paremmin”, Veikkausliiga, 15 June 2023
  11. ^ Roni Hudd U17-maajoukkueen mukana EM-karsintaturnaukseen, vpsjuniorit.fi, 21 September 2021
  12. ^ U18-pojat nimetty kesäkuun Baltic Cupiin, Football Association of Finland, 30 May 2023
  13. ^ Pikkuhuuhkajat nimetty Islanti- ja Sveitsi-otteluihin, Veikkausliiga, 24 August 2023
  14. ^ VPS:n Roni Hudd valittiin nuorten maajoukkueeseen – "Hän pelaa vahvaa läpimurtokautta", Ilkka-Pohjalainen, 24 August 2023
  15. ^ Suomi - Islanti, Palloliitto (Finnish FA)
  16. ^ Roni Hudd: "Voin luvata, että saadaan hieno ja viihdyttävä ottelu", Finnish FA/Palloliitto, 6 September 2023
  17. ^ U19-pojat nimetty lokakuun EM-karsintaturnaukseen, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto, 25 September 2023
  18. ^ Roni Hudd on valittu U19-UEFA karsintaturnaukseen!, VPS, 27 September 2023
  19. ^ Kankaanpää, Timo (14 May 2023). "Kaveri taputti Roni Huddia, 18, olalle kesken tunnin - jättisivustolta paljastui hullu näky: "En tiedä miten nimeni löytyi sieltä"" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  20. ^ Vehviläinen, Mikko (6 August 2023). "Keskellä yötä debytoinut Roni Hudd, 18, pelaa nyt läpimurtokautta – "Jalkani on ollut aika hyvä"" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  21. ^ Vaasalaisperheestä urheilulahjakkuudet kahteen eri lajiin – nuoret Huddit kertovat, millaista kaupungissa on ollut harrastaa, Ilkka-Pohjalainen, 7 July 2021
  22. ^ Nicklas Hudd, eliteprospects
  23. ^ Suomalainen Roni, 17, nousi Transfermarktin katsotuimpien joukkoon jopa Ronaldon ohi – agentti paljastaa neuvottelut jättisiirrosta, MTV Oy, Ville-Veikko Valta, 11 January 2023