Robert Ivanov

Robert Ivanov

Ivanov with Honka in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-09-19) 19 September 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) [1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Asteras Tripolis
Number	2
Youth career
1998–2002	Kontu
2003–2010	HJK
2011	PK-35
2012	LPS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2014	Myllypuro	35	(6)
2015	Viikingit	19	(3)
2015	→ Viikingit II	1	(1)
2016–2020	Honka	115	(13)
2020–2023	Warta Poznań	84	(2)
2023–2025	Eintracht Braunschweig	46	(1)
2025–	Asteras Tripolis	0	(0)
International career‡
2019–	Finland	39	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025

Robert Ivanov (born 19 September 1994) ^[2] is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Greek Super League club Asteras Tripolis and the Finland national team.

Ivanov began his career with Kontu, and made his senior debut aged 18 in 2013 with Myllypuro.

Club career

FC Myllypuro

Ivanov started his senior career with FC Myllypuro in 2013, competing in Kolmonen. After the promotion, he continued with the team in third-tier Kakkonen. ^[3]

Viikingit

He joined FC Viikingit for the 2015 season and made 19 appearances in the first team and 4 in the reserve team. ^[4] After one season with Viikingit in Kakkonen, he joined FC Honka for the 2016 Kakkonen season.

Honka

With Honka he won two consecutive promotions, and eventually Ivanov debuted in the top-tier Veikkausliiga with Honka in 2018. ^[5] He was part of the Veikkausliiga Team of the Month for July 2018, ^[6] and September 2018. ^[7]

Warta Poznań

On 1 September 2020, he signed an initial two-year contract with Polish Ekstraklasa club Warta Poznań for an undisclosed fee. ^[8]

Eintracht Braunschweig

On 16 June 2023, it was announced that Ivanov had signed a two-year deal with 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig on a free transfer. ^[9] Ivanov scored his first goal for the club on 8 October 2023, in a 3–1 home defeat against Paderborn. ^[10] In June 2025, it was announced that Ivanov would leave Braunschweig following the expiry of his contract, having not played since March due to minor injury. ^[11]

Asteras Tripolis

On 13 August 2025, Ivanov signed a two-year contract with Asteras Tripolis in Greece. ^[12]

International career

Having never played for any of the Finland international youth teams, ^{[13] [14]} Ivanov made his debut for the Finland senior national team on 8 January 2019 at the age of 24, in a friendly against Sweden, coming on an 85th-minute substitute for Albin Granlund. ^[15]

Ivanov was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021. ^[16] He was part of the Finland squad in the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 in June 2021. ^[17]

Personal life

Ivanov was born in Kurkimäki, Helsinki, and raised in East Helsinki to an Ingrian Finnish mother and a Russian father. His mother Nelli Pakki, a former Estonian international handball player, ^[18] had moved to Finland from Estonia earlier in 1990. ^{[19] [20]} Besides professional football, Ivanov has played futsal in MaKu. ^[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 March 2025 ^[3]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Myllypuro	2013	Kolmonen	21	4	0	0	—		21	4
	2014	Kakkonen	14	2	0	0	—		14	2
	Total		35	6	0	0	–	–	35	6
FC Viikingit	2015	Kakkonen	19	3	1	0	—		20	3
FC Viikingit II	2015	Kolmonen	1	1	—		—		1	1
FC Honka	2016	Kakkonen	22	5	4	0	—		27	5
	2017	Ykkönen	24	3	6	3	—		30	6
	2018	Veikkausliiga	30	3	7	1	—		37	4
	2019	Veikkausliiga	29	2	7	1	—		36	3
	2020	Veikkausliiga	10	0	6	0	1 [b]	0	17	0
	Total		115	13	30	5	1	0	146	18
Warta Poznań	2020–21	Ekstraklasa	22	0	1	0	—		23	0
	2021–22	Ekstraklasa	31	1	1	0	—		32	1
	2022–23	Ekstraklasa	31	1	1	0	—		32	1
	Total		84	2	3	0	0	0	87	2
Eintracht Braunschweig	2023–24	2. Bundesliga	27	1	0	0	—		27	1
	2024–25	2. Bundesliga	19	0	1	0	–		20	0
	Total		46	1	1	0	0	0	47	1
Asteras Tripolis	2025–26	Super League Greece	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
Career total			299	26	35	5	1	0	335	31

1. Includes Suomen Cup, Polish Cup and DFB-Pokal
2. Includes UEFA Europa League

International

As of 10 June 2025 ^{[22] [23]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Finland	2019	2	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	6	0
	2022	9	0
	2023	10	0
	2024	8	0
	2025	4	0
Total		39	0

Honours

Honka ^[5]

• Ykkönen runner-up: 2017

References

1. Robert Ivanov at National-Football-Teams.com
2. "#4 Ivanov, Robert" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
3. Tulospalvelu Palloliitto
4. "Robert Ivanov". Palloliitto . Retrieved 8 August 2025.
5. Robert Ivanov at Soccerway . Retrieved 30 August 2018.
6. "Honka-tähti jälleen kuukauden pelaajaksi – kuukauden valmentaja VPS:n hurjaan lentoon siivittänyt Vuorinen" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
7. "Tulikuuma HJK-tähti jälleen kuukauden pelaajaksi" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
8. "ROBERT IVANOV BECOMES A FOOTBALL PLAYER OF WARTA POZNAŃ" (in Polish). Warta Poznań. 1 September 2020.
9. "Robert Ivanov wechselt zu Eintracht Braunschweig" (in German). regionalheute.de. 16 June 2023.
10. "ref". SOCCERWAY. 8 October 2023.
11. Suomalaistähdelle tylyt sanat päin näköä: Ulos joukkueesta, Iltalehti, 4 June 2025
12. "Ο διεθνής Φινλανδός Robert Ivanov στον ASTERAS AKTOR" [Finnish international Robert Ivanov at ASTERAS AKTOR] (in Greek). Asteras Tripolis F.C. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
13. Pitkä polku Huuhkajiin, Helsingin Sanomat, Ari Virtanen, 9 October 2021
14. Henkilökuva: Robert Ivanov – matka divarista Puolaan, floppitaulu.net, 9 October 2020
15. "Sweden v Finland game report". Eurosport. 8 January 2019.
16. "Näillä pelaajilla Huuhkajat lähtevät kohti EM-kisoja – kaksi nimeä kiinnostivat yli muiden" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
17. Huuhkajien Robert Ivanoville huhutaan maukasta siirtoa – kintereillä 31 mestaruutta voittanut suurseura, Aamulehti, Viljami Kalmari, 15 June 2021
18. Virtanen, Ari (15 April 2018). "Robert Ivanov selvisi läheisten kuolemista juttelemalla itsekseen poterossa Parolannummella – jalkapalloilijana hän nousi aladivareista FC Honkaan ja Veikkausliigaan". HS.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
19. Huuhkajien sensaatio kannatti lapsena Venäjää – äiti kertoo: "ammattiohjaaja sanoi, että toivoton tapaus", Iltalehti, 16 June 2021
20. Inkeristä Eurooppaan – Yhdessä inkeriläisperheessä on kolme tapaa olla suomalainen. Vaari kärsi vainot, äiti pääsi it-töihin, lapset varttuvat euromaassa, Helsingin Sanomat, 10 March 2002
21. Tulospalvelu Palloliitto
22. "Robert Ivanov". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
23. Robert Ivanov » Internationals, REF worldfootball.net

External links

• Eintracht Braunschweig official profile
• Finnish Football Federation profile
• Robert Ivanov at BDFutbol