Kaan Kairinen

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Kaan Kairinen
Kaan Kairinen 2.jpg
Kairinen with Inter Turku in 2015
Personal information
Full name Kasper Kaan Kairinen
Date of birth (1998-12-22) 22 December 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth Turku, Finland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Sparta Prague
Number 6
Youth career
TuNL
0000–2015 Inter Turku [1]
2016–2018 Midtjylland
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2016 Inter Turku 27 (0)
2016–2020 Midtjylland 5 (0)
2017Skive IK (loan) 6 (0)
2018Inter Turku (loan) 6 (0)
2019HJK (loan) 24 (2)
2020Lillestrøm (loan) 28 (4)
2021–2022 Lillestrøm 42 (2)
2023– Sparta Prague 44 (3)
International career
2014–2015 Finland U17 10 (0)
2015–2016 Finland U19 7 (0)
2017–2020 Finland U21 19 (4)
2019– Finland 17 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Kasper Kaan Kairinen (born 22 December 1998) is a Finnish professional footballer, who plays as a central midfielder for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Finland national team.

Contents

Early life

Kairinen was born to a Turkish father and a Finnish mother in Turku, and was raised in Runosmäki. [2]

Club career

Inter Turku

Kairinen is a youth exponent from FC Inter Turku. He made his Veikkausliiga debut at 25 October 2014 against FF Jaro, coming on as a substitute for Kalle Kauppi after 70 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat. [3] Kairinen became the second-youngest player in Inter Turku's history to play for the club, since he made his debut at the age of 15. [4]

Midtjylland and loans

On 1 February 2016, it was confirmed by FC Midtjylland, that they had signed with Kairinen for an undisclosed fee. [5]

On 14 November 2018, Midtjylland announced that Kairinen would spend 2019 at HJK Helsinki on a loan deal. [6]

Lillestrøm

Kairinen had a successful loan spell with Lillestrøm SK in Norway in the 2020 season, after which the club gained a promotion to Eliteserien. After the season, Kairinen transferred to Lillestrøm on a permanent contract, signing a four-year deal, for a transfer fee of €300,000. [7] [8] In late 2021, he suffered from a long-lasted foot injury, which was eventually operated in January 2022 by surgeon Lasse Lempainen in Turku, Finland. [9]

Sparta Prague

On 20 December 2022, it was confirmed by Sparta Prague, that they had signed with Kairinen on a deal until 30 June 2026, [10] for a reported fee of €1.5 million. [11] Kairinen scored a goal and provided an assist in his debut in Czech First League on 5 February 2023, in a 4–1 home win against Mladá Boleslav. [12] During his first season in Prague, he helped the club to win their first Czech championship title since 2014. [13] On 16 March 2024, Kairinen extended his contract with Sparta until 30 June 2028. [14] [15] [16]

Kairinen recorded 12 appearances and provided four assists in Sparta's 2023–24 UEFA Europa League campaign, helping his side to advance to the round of 16, where they were eventually defeated by Liverpool. [17] On 18 May 2024, after an away win against Mladá Boleslav, Kairinen and Sparta secured their second Czech First League championship title in a row. [18] On 22 May 2024, Kairinen and Sparta were crowned the 2023–24 Czech Cup champions after beating Viktoria Plzen 2–1 in the final, [19] completing Sparta's first double since 2014.

International career

Kairinen debuted for the Finland national team on 8 January 2019 [20] [21] [22] in a friendly match against Sweden, as a substitute for Rasmus Schüller in the 54th minute. [23]

Personal life

Kairinen has two siblings; an older brother and a younger sister. At the age of five, Kairinen suffered a tragic loss when his father passed away. [24] He has openly told about the eating disorder and depression he suffered during his time with Midtjylland, which almost ended his career prematurely. [25] [26] [27]

Career statistics

Club

As of 28 July 2024 [28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [lower-alpha 1] OtherEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Inter Turku 2014 Veikkausliiga 10000010
2015 Veikkausliiga250304 [lower-alpha 2] 0320
2016 Veikkausliiga00001 [lower-alpha 2] 010
Total260305000340
Midtjylland 2016–17 Danish Superliga 20000020
2017–18 Danish Superliga30000030
Total5000000050
Skive IK (loan) 2017 Danish 1st Division 600060
Inter Turku (loan) 2018 Veikkausliiga600060
HJK (loan) 2019 Veikkausliiga242516 [lower-alpha 3] 0353
Lillestrøm (loan) 2020 1. divisjon 28400284
Lillestrøm 2021 Eliteserien 20110211
2022 Eliteserien221204 [lower-alpha 4] 0281
Total422300040492
Sparta Prague 2022–23 Czech First League 15130181
2023–24 Czech First League2822014 [lower-alpha 3] 0442
2024–25 Czech First League10000010
Total4435000140633
Career total181111615024022812

International

As of match played on 26 March 2024.
National teamYearCompetitiveFriendlyTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Finland 2019002020
2020000000
20212 [lower-alpha 1] 01030
20222 [lower-alpha 2] 00020
20238 [lower-alpha 3] 00080
20241 [lower-alpha 4] 01020
Total13040170

Honours

Sparta Prague

Midtjylland

Individual

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References

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  7. Kaan Kairinen teki sopimuksen Norjan liigaan nousseen Lilleströmin kanssa, Yle, 15 December 2020
  8. Norjan pääsarjaan nouseva suomalaispelintekijä avoimena – ”Kovempi vaatimustaso kuin HJK:ssa”, mtvuutiset.fi|MTV Oy, Timo Innanen, 12 December 2020
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  26. Superlupauksen pitkä polku, Helsingin Sanomat, Ari Virtanen, 4 September 2021
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