Walter Viitala

Walter Viitala
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-01-09) 9 January 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
PPJ Eira
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2015 Honka 52 (0)
2011 → HIFK (loan) 17 (0)
2012 → Pallohonka 2 (0)
2015–2016 IFK Mariehamn 41 (0)
2017–2018 Viborg FF 20 (0)
2018 Malmö FF 2 (0)
2019 Sandefjord 13 (0)
2020–2021 SJK 8 (0)
2022–2023 Inter Turku 20 (0)
International career‡
2008 Finland U-16 6 (0)
2009 Finland U-17 10 (0)
2011 Finland U-19 17 (0)
2012 Finland U-20 7 (0)
2013 Finland U-21 10 (0)
2017–2019 Finland 3 (0)
Medal record
Honka
Winner Finnish Cup 2012
IFK Mariehamn
Winner Veikkausliiga 2016
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 January 2019

Walter Viitala (born 9 January 1992) is a Finnish former professional footballer who last played as goalkeeper for Inter Turku.[1][2]

Club career

After winning the Finnish championship title with IFK Mariehamn, on 15 December 2016, Viitala signed a 2.5-year contract with Viborg FF on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 1–0 victory against AaB on 8 April 2017.

On 11 August 2018 Viitala signed for Swedish champions Malmö FF. He signed a short-term contract for the rest of the year to replace injured back-up goalkeeper Fredrik Andersson.[3][4] He made his first appearance for Malmö FF on 23 September 2018, when he replaced an injured Johan Dahlin at halftime in a 4–0 victory over Kalmar FF.[5] He made his first start a week later in a 0–0 draw against GIF Sundsvall.

On 2 December 2021, he joined Inter Turku on a two-year contract.[6] He retired after the 2023 season.

International career

In November 2016, Viitala received his first call-up to the senior Finland squad for the match against Ukraine.[7] He made a debut on 9 January 2017 in a 1–0 win against Morocco in Al Ain.[8]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, on 24 October 2023, it was announced that Viitala starts as a goalkeeping coach in his former youth club PPJ.[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of 31 December 2023.[10][11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Honka 2011 Veikkausliiga 0 0 0 0 2 0 — — 2 0
2012 Veikkausliiga 10 0 0 0 2 0 — — 12 0
2013 Veikkausliiga 27 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 — 30 0
2014 Veikkausliiga 15 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 — 18 0
Total 52 0 1 0 9 0 3 0 0 0 65 0
HIFK (loan) 2011 Ykkönen 17 0 0 0 0 0 — — 17 0
Pallohonka 2012 Kakkonen 2 0 0 0 0 0 — — 2 0
IFK Mariehamn 2015 Veikkausliiga 8 0 3 0 2 0 — — 13 0
2016 Veikkausliiga 33 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 — 39 0
Total 41 0 4 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 52 0
Viborg FF 2016–17 Danish Superliga 5 0 0 0 — — 6[c] 0 11 0
2017–18 Danish 1st Division 13 0 0 0 — — — 13 0
2018–19 Danish 1st Division 2 0 0 0 — — — 2 0
Total 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 26 0
Malmö FF 2018 Allsvenskan 2 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 2 0
Sandefjord 2019 1. divisjon 13 0 0 0 — — — 13 0
Sandefjord 2 2019 4. divisjon 1 0 — — — — 1 0
SJK 2020 Veikkausliiga 8 0 0 0 — — — 8 0
2021 Veikkausliiga 0 0 3 0 — — — 3 0
Total 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
SJK Akatemia 2021 Kakkonen 1 0 — — — — 1 0
Inter Turku 2022 Veikkausliiga 20 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 21 0
2023 Veikkausliiga 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 20 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 21 0
Career total 177 0 8 0 15 0 5 0 6 0 211 0
  1. ^ Includes Suomen Cup
  2. ^ Includes Finnish League Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in the Danish Superliga relegation play-offs

International

As of match played 11 January 2019
Finland
Year Apps Goals
2017 2 0
2018 0 0
2019 1 0
Total 3 0

Honours

IFK Mariehamn

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Walter Viitala siirtyy SJK:n riveihin Norjasta". sjk.fi. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Toivotamme menestystä uraansa muualla jatkaville pelaajille". 4 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Välkommen till Malmö FF, Walter Viitala!". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ^ Wiman, Max (11 August 2018). "Landslagsmålvakt till MFF – Fredrik Andersson ska opereras". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ Åkesson, Richard (23 September 2018). "Viitaladebut tack vare lagläkaren: "Ett perfekt läge"". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. ^ "WALTER VIITALA KAKSIVUOTISELLA SOPIMUKSELLA FC INTERIIN" (in Finnish). Inter Turku. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Viitala korvaa Mäenpään Huuhkajissa" [Viitala replaces Mäenpää in "Huuhkajat"]. palloliitto.fi. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Huuhkajat voitti vihdoin – Juhani Ojalan puskumaali yllätti Marokon". yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  9. ^ PPJ PANOSTAA MAALIVAHTI TOIMINTAAN, ppj.fi, 24 October 2023
  10. ^ Walter Viitala at Soccerway
  11. ^ Walter Viitala stats, Finnish FA
  12. ^ "IFK vann årets ligaguld" [IFK won this year's league gold]. ifkfotboll.ax (in Swedish). IFK Mariehamn. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  13. ^ Walter Viitala huhtikuun kuuka
  14. ^ "Kauden parhaita palkittiin Captain's Ballissa". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  15. ^ "Koplajoukkue 2016 palkittiin päätöskierroksella". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-01-02.