Samuli Rasmus Miettinen

On 30 January 2025, Samuli Rasmus Miettinen was presented to the press in Pula as an Istra 1961 player. He had arrived as a free agent, and the club tied him down until June 2030.

The route there ran through Kuopio. Miettinen came up at KuFu-98 , playing in Kakkonen, the Finnish third division, across 2020 and 2021: 21 matches and two goals from the back. In 2022 he moved into the KuPS structure, splitting his time between the academy side, KuPS Akatemia , where he made 14 appearances and scored once, and the senior squad.

The senior spell lasted until 2025 and amounted to 47 matches in the Veikkausliiga, Finland's top flight, with one goal. He also featured for KuPS in European competition.

In between came Italy. Miettinen spent 2022 and 2023 on loan at Sampdoria , but the move never took him past the Primavera side — no official appearances for the first team. He went back to Kuopio, and the Veikkausliiga minutes kept coming.

Istra 1961 did exactly that, taking him from the Finnish league without a fee and handing him a contract that runs deep into the decade.