Kaan Kairinen

Kasper Kaan Kairinen (born 22 December 1998) is a Finnish professional footballer, who plays as a central midfielder for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Finland national team.

Early life
Kairinen was born to a Turkish father and a Finnish mother in Turku, and was raised in Runosmäki.

Inter Turku
Kairinen is a youth exponent from FC Inter Turku. He made his Veikkausliiga debut at 25 October 2014 against FF Jaro, coming on as a substitute for Kalle Kauppi after 70 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat. Kairinen became the second-youngest player in Inter Turku's history to play for the club, since he made his debut at the age of 15.

Midtjylland and loans
On 1 February 2016, it was confirmed by FC Midtjylland, that they had signed with Kairinen for an undisclosed fee.

On 14 November 2018, Midtjylland announced that Kairinen would spend 2019 at HJK Helsinki on a loan deal.

Lillestrøm
Kairinen had a successful loan spell with Lillestrøm SK in Norway in the 2020 season, after which the club gained a promotion to Eliteserien. After the season, Kairinen transferred to Lillestrøm on a permanent contract, signing a four-year deal, for a transfer fee of €300,000. In late 2021, he suffered from a long-lasted foot injury, which was eventually operated in January 2022 by surgeon Lasse Lempainen in Turku, Finland.

Sparta Prague
On 20 December 2022, it was confirmed by Sparta Prague, that they had signed with Kairinen on a deal until 30 June 2026, for a reported fee of €1.5 million. Kairinen scored a goal and provided an assist in his debut in Czech First League on 5 February 2023, in a 4–1 home win against Mladá Boleslav. During his first season in Prague, he helped the club to win their first Czech championship title since 2014. On 16 March 2024, Kairinen extended his contract with Sparta until 30 June 2028.

Kairinen recorded 12 appearances and provided four assists in Sparta's 2023–24 UEFA Europa League campaign, helping his side to advance to the round of 16, where they were eventually defeated by Liverpool. On 18 May 2024, after an away win against Mladá Boleslav, Kairinen and Sparta secured their second Czech First League championship title in a row. On 22 May 2024, Kairinen and Sparta were crowned the 2023–24 Czech Cup champions after beating Viktoria Plzen 2–1 in the final, completing Sparta's first double since 2014.

International career
Kairinen debuted for the Finland national team on 8 January 2019  in a friendly match against Sweden, as a substitute for Rasmus Schüller in the 54th minute.

Personal life
Kairinen has two siblings; an older brother and a younger sister. At the age of five, Kairinen suffered a tragic loss when his father passed away. He has openly told about the eating disorder and depression he suffered during his time with Midtjylland, which almost ended his career prematurely.

Honours
Sparta Prague
 * Czech First League: 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Czech Cup: 2023–24
 * Czech Cup runner-up: 2022–23

Midtjylland
 * Danish Superliga: 2017–18

Individual
 * Veikkausliiga Breakthrough of the Year: 2015
 * Finnish FA: U21 Player of the Year, 2017