Columbus signs Finnish defender Jukka Raitala

Columbus Crew SC announced Friday the club has signed defender Jukka Raitala, picking up the Finland international out of Norwegian outfit Sogndal IL as a "Discovery Signing."

The 28-year-old operates as a full-back and has played a total of 263 matches across his time in the Bundesliga, La Liga, Eredivisie and in Scandinavia.

"Jukka is a very experienced player, both in league play and international play," Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter said of his new signing. "We think this experience is going to help us. When you're in tough games and you have a number of different opponents, the skill-sets that you're up against, you've seen it all. We're confident that his experience is going to help us.

Berhalter's side has traditionally relied on exposing width and in that sense, adding another full-back to Columbus' ranks doesn't hurt, but he says it's Raitala's adaptability that makes him an asset for the club.

"He's been around different playing styles and he understands the playing styles of different countries and he’s able to adapt," Berhalter said of Raitala. "When you see a guy that can go from Holland, go to Spain, go to Germany and go to Norway: his game can adapt. This adaptability is going to help us. He's a very steady and solid player and we think that stability is going to help our group.

"We see him competing for a spot at left back, left wing back as well and we're excited to see how he can adapt. He's a very balanced player – he brings an equal amount of quality on both offense and defense and he's a guy that works extremely hard and plays for the team."