Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta (born 10 July 2004) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Allsvenskan club Sirius, and the Finland under-21 national team.
Club career AC Oulu
Born in Oulu and raised in Karjasilta, Liimatta played in the youth sector of Tervarit before signing his first professional contract with AC Oulu in September 2020.Suomen jalkapallotulevaisuuden suurin toivo on futaaja, ei jalkapalloilija – Mitä se tarkoittaa sinivalkoiselle juniorivalmennukselle?, Apu, 14 May 2024
He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 28 May 2021, aged 16, in a 3–1 away loss to HJK: in the process, he assisted his side's only goal. During 2021, Liimatta played for the club's reserve team Oulun Luistinseura (OLS) in third-tier Kakkonen, and additionally made nine appearances in Veikkausliiga with the first team.
Liimatta scored his first goal in the league on 29 April 2022, the opener in a 3–0 home win against Haka. In the summer of 2022, various Finnish media outlets reported that Liimatta had attracted interest by several high-profile European clubs. At the end of the 2022 season, Liimatta was named the Best Young Player of the Year at the Captain's Ball awards held by the Finnish FA.
F.C. Famalicão
On 29 July 2023, Liimatta officially joined Primeira Liga side Famalicão for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year deal with the Portuguese club. According to the media, the fee was in six figures and is believed to be close to €600,000. He made his debut for the Fama on 11 August 2023, starting in the opening league game of the season against Braga, which ended in a 2–1 win for his team.
IFK Värnamo (loan) On 26 July 2025, he was loaned out to Allsvenskan club IFK Värnamo.Sivuraiteelle Portugalissa joutunut oululainen jalkapalloilija Otso Liimatta löysi uuden seuran, Kaleva, 26 July 2025 On 2 August, in his second match for Värnamo, Liimatta scored his first Allsvenskan goal as a substitute, in a 2–2 home draw against GAIS.Suomalaispelaaja siirtyi Ruotsin kentille – täräytti unelmamaalin toisessa ottelussaan, Yle, 2 August 2025
Halmstads BK (loan) On 5 March 2026, he was loaned out to Allsvenskan club Halmstads BK.Otso Liimatta klar för HBK, www.hbk.se, 5 March 2026
IK Sirius On 7 August 2026 Liimatta joined Allsvenskan club Sirius on a contract running to 2031.https://www.siriusfotboll.se/nyheter/otso-liimatta-klar-for-sirius-fotboll/
International career
Youth Liimatta has represented Finland at various youth levels.
On 7 March 2023, at the age of 18, he got his first call-up to the Finland under-21 national team for two friendly matches against North Macedonia and Bulgaria. He scored his first U21 goal in the latter match, on 28 March 2023, taking part in a 0–2 win over Bulgaria.
Liimatta scored a hat-trick against Albania U21 on 13 October 2023 in a 2025 UEFA U21 Euro qualifying match, which ended in 4–1 victory for Finland.Finland vs Albania, 13 October 2023, UEFA Liimatta finished the qualification campaign scoring seven goals, making him the joint-second-best goalscorer of the whole qualification, and helped Finland to qualify for the final tournament, for the second time in the nation's history.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsOLS2020Kakkonen10—22—322021Kakkonen173———173Total183002200205AC Oulu2021Veikkausliiga9000——902022Veikkausliiga2853100—3162023Veikkausliiga1643371—268Total5396471006614Famalicão2023–24Primeira Liga1201000—1302024–25Primeira Liga501000—60Total170200000190IFK Värnamo (loan)2025Allsvenskan13310——143Halmstad (loan)2026Allsvenskan9210——102Sirius2026Allsvenskan2200——22Career total11219104930013126
Honours AC Oulu Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2023HJK AC Oulu, Veikkausliiga
Individual Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022 Finnish FA: Best Young Player of the Year 2022 Finnish FA: U21 Player of the Year 2023Captain's Ball 2023 Kaj Natrille – Katso kaikki palkitut, Veikkausliiga, 1 December 2023 Finnish FA, Northern Finland: Player of the Year 2022,Vuoden pelaaja Otso Liimatta AC Oulu, acoulu.fi, 15 February 2023 2023AC OULULAISIA PALKITTIIN PALLOLIITON POHJOISEN ALUEEN GAALASSA, acoulu.fi, 22 February 2024
References
External links
F.C. Famalicão official profile Finnish Football Federation profile