Matias Tapio Ritari (born 15 July 2005) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ettan Södra side FC Rosengård.
Early career Ritari started football in a youth team of PPJ in 2011 when aged five, but after a few training sessions he joined a newly established district youth team of HJK Helsinki in Töölö neighbourhood.Matias Ritari viihtyi kentällä tarvittaessa pimeässäkin, hjk.fi, 25 October 2023Tartuta kipinä, älä valmenna, muista leipoa, Helsingin Sanomat, 15 February 2016
Ritari captained the HJK U17 team in 2022, and helped the team to win the league of their age group. He signed his first contract with HJK organisation on 7 November 2022.HJK ja Matias Ritari sopimukseen, hjk.fi, 7 November 2022
Club career HJK
Ritari made his senior debut for HJK in a Finnish League Cup match against Inter Turku in February 2023. In the 2023 season, he played for the club's reserve team Klubi 04 in third-tier Kakkonen. He represented HJK in the 2023–24 UEFA Youth League in all four games,HJK:n nuoret tekivät suomalaista jalkapallohistoriaa, Finnish News Agency/STT, 26 October 2023 where the team advanced by winning Malmö FF, but was eventually knocked out by Nantes in the 2nd round on penalties, after a 1–1 aggregate draw.
In 2024, Ritari captained Klubi 04 in the new third-tier Ykkönen. He also made two appearances scoring a goal in Finnish League Cup, and two appearances in Finnish Cup for HJK first team. On 30 August 2024, he signed a professional contract with the club, on a deal until the end of 2026 with a one-year option.Matias Ritari jatkaa Klubissa, hjk.fi, 30 August 2024 At the end of the season, Klubi 04 won the Ykkönen title and earned a promotion to Ykkösliiga. On 19 December 2024, in a UEFA Conference League match against Real Betis, Ritari came on from the bench as a late substitute to Georgios Kanellopoulos, in a 1–0 away loss at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. He made his league debut on 11 May 2025, in a 3–0 away win over Jaro.
On 9 July 2025, he was loaned to Gnistan.Matias Ritari siirtyy loppukauden lainalle Gnistaniin, gnistan.fi, 9 July 2025
FC Rosengård
On 5 March 2026, Ritari officially joined Ettan Södra side FC Rosengård for an undisclosed fee.Matias Ritari siirtyy Ruotsiin, hjk.fi, 5 March 2026
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKlubi 042023Kakkonen23300——2332024Ykkönen256———2562025Ykkösliiga30———30Total519000000519HJK2023Veikkausliiga00001000102024Veikkausliiga00202110512025Veikkausliiga303051001112026Veikkausliiga––20–20Total305010210192Gnistan2025Veikkausliiga141–––141FC Rosengård2026Ettan Södra0000——00Career total681050102108412
Honours HJK Finnish League Cup: 2023 Klubi 04 Ykkönen: 2024
References
External links
Matias Ritari stats at Finnish FA