Seth Saarinen
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 May 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Inter Turku | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2017 | HJK | ||
| 2017 | Zürich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Klubi 04 | 22 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Haka | 59 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | KuPS | 43 | (4) |
| 2025 | De Graafschap | 4 | (0) |
| 2025– | Inter Turku | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016–2017 | Finland U16 | 5 | (0) |
| 2019 | Finland U18 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:34, 22 July 2020 (UTC) | |||
Seth Saarinen (born 5 May 2001) is a Finnish footballer who plays as a right-back for Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku.
Club career
Saarinen spent his youth years in HJK youth sector, before he transferred to FC Zürich in 2017, for a €100,000 transfer fee.[1]
Saarinen signed with Veikkausliiga club Haka on 11 December 2019 on a one-year deal.[2] His contract with Haka was extended for two more years on 6 September 2020.[3]
Ahead of the 2023 Veikkausliiga season, Saarinen signed with KuPS on a two-year deal.[4]
On 7 September 2024, it was announced that Saarinen would join Dutch club De Graafschap in January 2025. He had signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with an option for one more.[5]
Personal life
Saarinen was born in Finland to a Swiss mother and a Finnish father, and he holds dual citizenship of Finland and Switzerland.[6] He fulfilled the mandatory Finnish military service in Santahamina, Helsinki, between Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024.
Career statistics
- As of 11 May 2025[7]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Klubi 04 | 2018 | Ykkönen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Kakkonen | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 2[b] | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| Haka | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 12 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 2 | |||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 5[c] | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Total | 59 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 4 | ||
| KuPS | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 35 | 3 |
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Total | 43 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 66 | 4 | ||
| KuPS Akatemia | 2024 | Ykkönen | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | |||
| De Graafschap | 2024–25 | Eerste Divisie | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| Inter Turku | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 129 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 173 | 10 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup and KNVB Cup
- ^ Appearances in the Kakkonen Cup
- ^ a b c Appearances in the Finnish League Cup
- ^ a b Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours
KuPS
- Veikkausliiga: 2024[8]
- Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2023
- Finnish Cup: 2024[9]
- Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2024
References
- ^ 16-vuotias suomalaislupaus siirtyy HJK:sta Sveitsiin - maajoukkuevalinta vielä auki, Iltalehti, 12 June 2017
- ^ Haka teki uusia sopimuksia: Joonas Immonen jatkaa maalilla, nuoresta Seth Saarisesta ensimmäinen uusi kiinnitys, Aamulehti, 11 December 2019
- ^ Purme ja Saarinen jatkosopimuksiin Hakan kanssa, Veikkausliiga, 6 September 2020
- ^ KuPSissa jo kolme päävalmentajaa kokenut Saarinen lähti ulkomaan kentille heti yläkoulun jälkeen, mutta Sveitsin visiitti jäi lyhyeksi, Savon Sanomat, Outi Poikonen, 3 June 2023
- ^ De Graafschap versterkt zich in de winter met Seth Saarinen, degraafschap.nl, 7 September 2024
- ^ Rönkä, Otto (12 June 2017). "16-vuotiaasta Seth Saarisesta tuorein ulkomaille lähtevä suomalaislupaus – "FC Zürichiltä iso panostus"" (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- ^ Seth Saarinen at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Kuopio villiintyi KuPSin mestaruudesta – Eini ilmestyi juhlahumuun, Yle, 19 October 2024
- ^ KuPS nousi takaa ohi Suomen Cupin voittoon – Petteri Pennanen ratkaisi pelin upealla laukauksella, Yle, 21 September 2024