Walter Viitala

Walter Viitala

Personal information
Date of birth	(1992-01-09) 9 January 1992 (age 33)
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 as of 29 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals 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

Viitala is a former youth international for Finland, and represented his country from under-16 to under-21 level.

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

• Veikkausliiga (1): 2016 ^[12]
• Finnish Cup: 2015

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: April 2016 ^[13]
• Veikkausliiga Goalkeeper of the Year: 2016 ^[14]
• Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016 ^[15]

References

1. "Walter Viitala siirtyy SJK:n riveihin Norjasta". sjk.fi. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. 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. Archived from the original on 12 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. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. 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.

External links

• Walter Viitala – UEFA competition record ( archive )