Pyry Soiri


Pyry Soiri is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a defender

Early life

Soiri was born in Ekenäs, Finland, to a Finnish mother, Iina Soiri, and a Namibian father, he spent most of his childhood in Africa. He holds both Finnish and Namibian citizenships. His football journey began in the youth sector of PPJ in Helsinki in 2000.

Club career

MYPA

Soiri spent his last years on youth level in MYPA and debuted in Veikkausliiga with the first team in April 2012, aged 17, in a match against Jaro. During the 2012 season, he was also loaned out to Kakkonen teams JäPS and KTP in Finnish third level. During the next 2013 Veikkausliiga season, he secured his place in the team and gained 22 caps and 1 goal.

VPS

In 2015 Soiri transferred to fellow Veikkausliiga club Vaasan Palloseura signing a two-year deal. During his two seasons with VPS, he made 62 appearances in Veikkausliiga scoring 14 goals. He also represented the club in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk

In February 2017 Soiri signed a deal with Belarusian Premier League side Shakhtyor Soligorsk for an undisclosed fee.

Admira Wacker

In August 2018 Soiri transferred to Austrian Bundesliga club Admira Wacker. Soiri made 12 appearances and scored two goals for the club, before he left after just one season.

Esbjerg

in Danish Superliga announced on 18 June 2019, that they had signed Soiri on a contract until June 2022. However, after 54 appearances and five goals, the spell was cut short, when he got his contract terminated by mutual agreement on 25 August 2021.

HJK

On 4 October 2021, he signed a two-year contract with HJK Helsinki, beginning in the 2022 season. He represented HJK in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League and the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League group phases.

Universitatea Craiova

On 28 December 2023, Romanian Liga I club Universitatea Craiova announced the signing of Soiri on a two-and-a-half-year deal, on a free transfer. He left the club next summer, having made seven appearances in total.

Athens Kallithea

On 4 July 2024, Soiri joined a newly promoted Super League Greece club Athens Kallithea for an undisclosed fee, which was reported to be in six figures. He scored his first goal in the Greek league on 18 January 2025, in a 2–0 home win against Volos. During the season, Soiri made 32 appearances in the league, scoring three goals, but couldn't help his team from relegating.

International career

On 6 October 2017, Soiri made his debut for Finland's senior national team in a qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup against Croatia. Brought on as a substitute late in the match, he scored the equalising goal for the 1–1 draw in the 90th minute. Soiri was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021. In UEFA [Euro 2020 Group B] he gained one cap for Finland on 16 June 2021 in a match against Russia when he replaced Jukka Raitala as a substitute on 75th minute of the match. Soiri made his international debut for Finland in November 2017 and has since had over 30 caps. He appeared in 9 out of 10 of Finland's UEFA Euro 2020 qualification matches and thus helped Finland reach their first ever major tournament, the UEFA Euro 2020.

Personal life

Soiri is in a relationship with Sara Sieppi, a Finnish social media personality and a former Miss Finland of 2011. Their dating was first revealed in June 2022.

Career statistics

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.6 October 2017Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia1–11–12018 [FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification]
2.9 November 2017Telia 5G -areena, Helsinki, Finland1–03–0Friendly
3.26 March 2018Gloria Golf Resort Pitch A, Belek, Turkey5–05–0Friendly
4.15 October 2018Tampere Stadium, Tampere, Finland1–02–02018–19 [UEFA Nations League C]
5.26 March 2019Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia2–02–0UEFA [Euro 2020 qualifying Group J|UEFA Euro 2020 qualification]
6.20 November 2023Stadio Olimpico de Serravalle, Serravalle, San Marino1–02–1UEFA [Euro 2024 qualification]
7.20 November 2023Stadio Olimpico de Serravalle, Serravalle, San Marino2–02–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

Shakhtyor Soligorsk
HJK
Individual