Matti Tapio Oivanen (born 26 May 1986 in

Huittinen Huittinen () is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori and southwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

) is a Finnish

volleyball player {{short description, none This is a list of lists of volleyball players, and of notable examples in fiction. Lists of notable players * List of international volleyball players * List of American beach volleyball players * List of Chinese volleyb ...

, a member of

Finland men's national volleyball team The Finland men's national volleyball team is the national volleyball team of Finland. It is governed by the Finland Volleyball Association and takes part in international volleyball competitions. The team's best results to date are fourth place a ...

and Finnish club

Hurrikaani Loimaa Hurrikaani Loimaa is a Finnish volleyball team located in Loimaa. The team plays at the highest level in the country, the Finnish Volleyball Champions League. History Hurrikaani Loimaa moved up to the top Finnish Volleyball Champions League in ...

. His twin brother is

Mikko Oivanen Mikko Oivanen (born 26 May 1986) is a Finnish volleyball player, a member of Finland men's national volleyball team. Personal life Mikko has a twin brother – Matti Oivanen, who is also a volleyball player. Career Clubs Oivanen started hi ...

also

Career

Matti Oivanen was born on 26 May 1986 in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, the same day as his brother Mikko Oivanen. He began his volleyball career with his brother, playing for Kiikoisten Kirma. During this time, the pair was selected by coaches for the Finland youth national volleyball team. They moved to

Kuortane Kuortane is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The neighboring municipalities of Kuortane are ...

, to attend high school, where they trained with the national team until graduation. Oivanen and his brother also played with

Vammalan Lentopallo Vammalan Lentopallo — Valepa is a volleyball team in southwest Finland founded in 1978. It is based in the Vammala district of the town of Sastamala, in the Pirkanmaa Region. Valepa plays in the highest level in Finland. History Vammalan Le ...

during their last years of high school, until they graduated in 2004.

Raision Loimu

After leaving Kuortane in 2004, Oivanen signed a contract with the Raision Loimu team, which plays in the

Finland volleyball league The Finland Volleyball League () is highest level of men's volleyball in Finland. There are 10 teams in the league. History The Finland Volleyball League has founded 1994. Before then, teams play league in the Champion League. In 2010, the l ...

. While there, he helped the team achieve fourth place in the league championship. During his second season, he helped the team make it to the finals, where they lost to Napapiirin Palloketut.

Pielaveden Sampo

After two seasons with Loimu, Oivanen left the team and signed with Pielaveden Sampo. His brother signed with Rovaniemen Santasport, marking the first time the two had separated since they started playing volleyball years earlier. Oivanen helped Sampo win the Finland Cup Championship, while they lost the Finland league championship. During his second season with the team, he led them to the Finland Cup Championship, but lost in the finals to Santasport.

Beauvais Oise

During the 2008–2009 season, Oivanen played in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

's Pro A league with

Beauvais OUC Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous town in the ...

Copra Berni Piacenza

In 2009–2010 season, Oivanen plays with the

Italian Volleyball League The Lega Pallavolo Serie A is structured in several levels of importance; the highest of them is ''SuperLega'' (formerly ''Serie A1''). Since the early 1980s, many among the best volleyball players in the world play in Superlega and the overall ...

club Copra Berni Piacenza.

Yoga Volley Forlì

During the 2010–2011 season, Matti will play in the A1 Italian League with

Yoga Volley Forlì 1975 Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. In 2013/2014 was a player of Polish team

Indykpol AZS Olsztyn AZS Olsztyn, officially known for sponsorship reasons as Indykpol AZS Olsztyn, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Olsztyn in northeastern Poland, founded in 1950 as a university team (AZS), located near the University of Warmia and ...

.''PlusLiga: Drugi z bliźniaków Olsztynie''
- przegladsportowy.pl - 20-05-2013

National team

Oivanen's first game as a member of the

was against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the summer of 2005. That year, Finland made it to the

Men's European Volleyball League The Men's European Volleyball League is a continental volleyball competition senior men's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). Created in 2004, the competition serves as a qualifying tour ...

finals and won second place. During the

2007 Men's European Volleyball Championship The 25th Men's European Volleyball Championship was the first continental volleyball competition hosted by Russia. Championship took place from September 6 to September 16, 2007, and was won by Spain. Qualification Teams ;Pool A – Sain ...

, the Finland national team won fourth place.

Achievements

Henkilökohtaiset: * Finland league All-Stars player 2008 * Best server on the Finland league 2008 * Sport Channel All-Stars player Finland league 2008 * Best newcomer player on the Finland league 2004 Maajoukkueessa: * European Championships 4. place 2007 * European league silver medal 2005 SM-liigassa: * Finland league silver 2007, 2008 * Finland Cup Champion 2004, 2006–2007

References

External links

PlusLiga player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oivanen, Matti 1986 births Living people Finnish men's volleyball players Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate volleyball players in Russia Finnish expatriate volleyball players in France Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate volleyball players in Poland AZS Olsztyn (volleyball) players Sportspeople from Huittinen Expatriate volleyball players in Italy Finnish twins 21st-century Finnish sportsmen