Roope Vilhelmi Riski (born 16 August 1991) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Veikkausliiga club Ilves.
Roope is a forward who has accomplished several things in his career. In the middle of the 2010 season, Riski was selected to the opening squad for the first time of his career. Since then he has enjoyed his season, starting 12 games and scoring 11 goals. He has the best game/goal ratio in the Veikkausliiga.
Club career TPS Riski started football in the youth sector of Maskun Palloseura, and later joined Turun Palloseura. He made his senior debut with TPS in Veikkausliiga in the 2010 season. On 22 September 2010, Riski scored a hat-trick for TPS against AC Oulu. By doing this, he became the first ever player in Finland to score a hat-trick in all the highest three levels of Finnish football system during one season,; YLE.fi, 29.2010 as he had loan stints with Viikingit in Ykkönen and Åbo IFK in Kakkonen during 2020.
Cesena and loans On 27 January 2011, he was announced as the Cesena player in Italian Serie A. The transfer fee was reported to be €750.000.Suomalaislupauksen siirtyminen Serie A:han lähes varma, Ilta-Sanomat, 20 January 2011 He made his Serie A debut on 19 March 2011 against Lazio on Stadio Olimpico (1−0 away loss) as a 69th-minute substitute for Fabio Caserta, he has had loan spell in Finland for TPS Turku in 2012 and Hønefoss BK in Norway. In August 2012, Riski joined English side Derby County on trial ahead of their pre-season against Chesterfield, where he started in a 3–1 loss, he scored in a reserve friendly against Matlock Town.
SJK Seinäjoki
On 8 February 2016, SJK announced the signing of Riski on a two-year contract. Riski was the top goal scorer in Veikkausliiga in 2016.
On 10 January 2017, he was loaned to SC Paderborn in German 3. Liga.
St. Pölten In June 2017, Riski left SJK when he signed with Austrian Bundesliga club St. Pölten for an undisclosed fee.Roope Riskille unelmasiirto Itävaltaan – SJK:lle huomattava siirtosumma, suomifutis.com, 27 June 2017
On 28 August 2018, Riski was loaned out to Greek club AO Chania − Kissamikos.Veikkausliigan toissa kauden maalitykki Roope Riski siirtyy Kreikkaan, Yle, 28 August 2018
HJK Helsinki On 21 November 2019, HJK Helsinki confirmed the signing of Riski on a contract until the end of 2021 with an option for one further year.Riski Klubin hyökkäykseen, hjk.fi, 21 November 2019 He was crowned the Veikkausliiga top goal scorer again in 2020. During the 2022 and 2023 season, he suffered from knee injuries and missed several months.
Ilves On 6 November 2023, it was announced that Riski had signed with Veikkausliiga club Ilves on a two-year deal, starting in 2024.TERVETULOA ILVEKSEEN, ROOPE RISKI!, ilvesedustus.fi During his first season with Ilves, Riski scored 11 goals in 26 Veikkausliiga appearances.
International career On 19 January 2015, Riski made his senior debut for the Finland national team in a 1–0 friendly against Sweden, where he scored the only goal of the match.
He was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.Roope Riski ja Carljohan Eriksson Huuhkajien leirijoukkueeseen
Personal life He is the younger brother of former Finnish international footballer Riku Riski.
Since 2019, Riski has abstained from drinking alcohol.Oli Roope, joka dokasi, Helsingin Sanomat, 6 May 2024 He has also revealed his devotion for poetry.Jalkapalloilija Roope Riski kirjoittaa rakkausrunoja: ”Olen tosi herkkä tyyppi ja tunnen kaikki tunteet tosi vahvasti”, Yle, 2 June 2025
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTPS2010Veikkausliiga18121063412916Viikingit (loan)2010Ykkönen6500––65Åbo IFK (loan)2010Kakkonen91200––912Cesena2010–11Serie A1000––10TPS (loan)2011Veikkausliiga1150000–115Hønefoss (loan)2012Tippeligaen1000––10TPS (loan)2012Veikkausliiga710000–712013Veikkausliiga2770062213510Total3480062214211Hønefoss20141. divisjon241200––2412Haugesund2015Tippeligaen10000––100SJK Seinäjoki2015Veikkausliiga1380000–1382016Veikkausliiga331743542144252017Veikkausliiga0000–0000Total46254354215733SC Paderborn (loan)2016–173. Liga10100––101SC Paderborn II (loan)2016–17Oberliga Westfalen11–10–21St. Pölten2017–18Austrian Bundesliga25511––2662018–19Austrian Bundesliga0000––002019–20Austrian Bundesliga8020––100Total335310000366Chania (loan)2018–19Football League Greece22753––2710HJK2020Veikkausliiga201693––29192021Veikkausliiga24665–14942202022Veikkausliiga20213400752023Veikkausliiga80100030120Total5422189341799244Klubi 042023Kakkonen10–––10Ilves2024Veikkausliiga261110414335152025Veikkausliiga63006000124Total321410101434718Career total316129331630142915408174
International
FinlandYearAppsGoals201521201630201700201800201900202000202130Total81
International goals Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Riski goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Roope RiskiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 19 January 2015 Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 1–0 1–0 Friendly
Honours SJK Veikkausliiga: 2015
HJK Veikkausliiga: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Finnish Cup: 2020
Ilves Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2024Ilveksen päävalmentaja hopeasta: ”Voitettu mitali”, Yle, 19 October 2024
Individual Finnish League Cup Top goalscorer: 2016
Veikkausliiga Player of the Month:August 2010,TPS:n Roope Riski Veikkausliigan elokuun pelaaja June 2016,Roope Riski kuukauden pelaajaksi October 2020Roope Riski Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 10 November 2020
Veikkausliiga Player of the Year: 2020
Veikkausliiga Striker of the Year: 2020
Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2016, 2020
Veikkausliiga Top score: 2016,veikkausliiga.com 2020
References
Sources Roope Riski palaa pitkällä sopimuksella SJK-paitaan, veikkausliiga.com, 8 February 2016
External links