Simo Valakari
![]() Valakari as the head coach of SJK in 2015. | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Simo Johannes Valakari[1] | ||
Date of birth | 28 April 1973 | ||
Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Riga FC (manager) | ||
Youth career | |||
KäPa | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1990 | KäPa | 16 | (2) |
1991–1994 | Kontu | 59 | (7) |
1995–1996 | FinnPa | 48 | (5) |
1996–2000 | Motherwell | 103 | (0) |
2000–2004 | Derby County | 46 | (3) |
2004–2006 | FC Dallas[a] | 89 | (1) |
2007–2009 | TPS | 38 | (1) |
Total | 399 | (19) | |
International career | |||
1996–2003 | Finland | 32 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2010 | ÅIFK | ||
2022 | KäPa (youth) | ||
2012–2016 | SJK | ||
2017–2020 | Tromsø | ||
2021–2022 | KuPS | ||
2023 | Auda | ||
2024– | Riga FC | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Simo Johannes Valakari (born 28 April 1973) is a Finnish football manager and a former international football player. He is currently the manager of Latvian Higher League side Riga FC.
Playing career
Club
Valakari played in the youth sector of Käpylän Pallo (KäPa) in Käpylä, Helsinki, and began his senior career with KäPa first team in 1990 in the fourth-tier Kolmonen. He played also for Kontula-based club KontU in the Finnish second-tier Ykkönen and third-tier Kakkonen, before first moving to Veikkausliiga club FinnPa in 1995 and then to Scottish Premier League club Motherwell in 1996. After four seasons in Scotland, he was off to Derby County in the Premier League.
Valakari failed to become a first team regular at Pride Park Stadium and decided to join Dallas Burn for the 2004 MLS season and finished the year with a goal and four assists. Following the 2006 season, his contract was not renewed with the team, known by that time as FC Dallas.[2]
Valakari decided to return to Finland for the 2007 Veikkausliiga season, where he signed for TPS, managed by Mixu Paatelainen. He retired from playing in 2009 after several injuries.
International
Valakari was a regular with the Finnish national team during his stay in Europe. He made a total of 32 caps for his country.
Managerial career
Valakari was named manager of Åbo IFK in January 2010 and subsequently ended his playing career.[3] He, however returned "home" as he announced his return to Käpylän Pallo as a youth coach after the 2010 season.[4]
SJK
In 2012, Valakari joined Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho (SJK) as the head coach. In 2013, he managed the team to gain promotion to the Veikkausliiga and they went on to win the Finnish championship in 2015. The team also won the Finnish League Cup in 2014 and the Finnish Cup in 2016.
Tromsø IL
After working as assistant manager for the Finnish national team after being fired from the SJK job, he was appointed head coach of Norwegian Eliteserien side Tromsø IL in June 2017. In 2018, his contract was extended until 2022, but he was fired after the relegation in 2019.
KuPS
In November 2020, Valakari was appointed as the head coach of Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS).[5][6] Under Valakari, KuPS won two consecutive Finnish Cup titles in 2021 and 2022,[7] and finished in the 2nd place in Veikkausliiga twice, falling just a one point short to HJK on both occasions. Valakari also led KuPS to the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers on two occasions. In 2021–22, the club reached to the (fourth) play-off round, but was knocked out by Union Berlin. Next year they reached to the 3rd round, where they eventually fell short to Young Boys.
His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 13 January 2023.[8]
FK Auda
Shortly after his contract termination with KuPS, it was announced that Valakari was named the head coach of FK Auda in Latvia for the 2023 season.[9][10] Valakari was named The Virslīga Coach of the Month in September 2023.[11] In the end of the season, Auda finished 3rd in the league and won their first medal in the premier division, and also qualified for the UEFA Conference League qualifiers again.[12]
Riga FC
On 13 December 2023, it was reported in Finnish media that Valakari is about to be named the new head coach of a fellow Latvian side Riga FC.[13] On the next day, the club confirmed that they had appointed Valakari as the new head coach.[14] On 2 March 2024, Valakari and Riga FC won the 2024 Latvian Supercup, beating RFS in the final on penalties.[15]
Personal life
Valakari's three sons are also footballers. His oldest son Paavo is playing at an amateur level in lower divisions in Finland, Onni is playing professionally for Pafos in Cyprus, and the youngest one Toivo plays for Käpylän Pallo (KäPa) in Helsinki, Finland.[16][17]
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | National cup[b] | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
KäPa | 1990 | Kolmonen | 16 | 2 | — | — | 16 | 2 | ||
Kontu | 1991 | Ykkönen | — | |||||||
1992 | Kakkonen | — | ||||||||
1993 | Ykkönen | — | ||||||||
1994 | Ykkönen | — | ||||||||
Total | 59 | 7 | — | 59 | 7 | |||||
FinnPa | 1995 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 3 | — | — | 22 | 3 | ||
1996 | Veikkausliiga | 26 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
Total | 48 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 5 | ||
Motherwell | 1996–97 | Scottish Premier Division | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
1997–98 | Scottish Premier Division | 27 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
1998–99 | Scottish Premier League | 35 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
1999–00 | Scottish Premier League | 30 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
Total | 103 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 114 | 0 | ||
Derby County | 2000–01 | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 14 | 1 |
2001–02 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
2002–03 | First Division | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
2003–04 | First Division | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
Total | 46 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 3 | ||
FC Dallas[a] | 2004 | MLS | 26 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||
2005 | MLS | 30 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
2006 | MLS | 33 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
Total | 89 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 1 | ||
TPS | 2007 | Veikkausliiga | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
2008 | Veikkausliiga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
2009 | Veikkausliiga | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
Total | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
Career total | 399 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 419 | 19 |
- ^ a b "Dallas Burn" before name change to FC Dallas in 2005
- ^ Includes Scottish Cup
- ^ Includes Scottish League Cup
- ^ a b c Includes EFL League Cup
- ^ Includes Finnish League Cup
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Finland | 1996 | 1 | 0 |
1997 | 3 | 0 | |
1998 | 5 | 0 | |
1999 | 5 | 0 | |
2000 | 5 | 0 | |
2001 | 0 | 0 | |
2002 | 4 | 0 | |
2003 | 9 | 0 | |
Total | 32 | 0 |
Managerial statistics
- As of 24 June 2024[21]
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W% | ||||
SJK | ![]() |
1 September 2012 | 17 February 2016 | 165 | 92 | 32 | 41 | 275 | 153 | +122 | 55.76 |
Tromsø | ![]() |
27 July 2017 | 20 April 2020 | 81 | 31 | 11 | 39 | 126 | 136 | −10 | 38.27 |
KuPS | ![]() |
1 January 2021 | 13 January 2023 | 83 | 52 | 18 | 13 | 153 | 80 | +73 | 62.65 |
Auda | ![]() |
16 January 2023 | 14 December 2023 | 40 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 49 | +1 | 42.50 |
Riga FC | ![]() |
14 December 2023 | Present | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 44 | 13 | +31 | 68.42 |
Total | 388 | 205 | 75 | 108 | 648 | 431 | +217 | 52.84 |
Managerial achievements
SJK Seinäjoki
- Veikkausliiga: 2015, 2014 Runners-up, 2016 3rd place
- Finnish Cup: 2016
- Finnish League Cup: 2014
Kuopion Palloseura
FK Auda
Riga FC
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Coach of the Month: June 2014,[23] October 2015[24]
- Veikkausliiga Coach of the Year: 2015[25]
References
- ^ "Simo Valakari". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Carrick, Buzz. "FCD to Cut Ties with Simo Valakari", 3rd Degree, 15 December 2006, Retrieved 15 December 2006.
- ^ "Åbo IFK - Fotboll". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Suomen Palloliitto - Artikkeliarkisto" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ^ "Simo Valakari on KuPS:n uusi päävalmentaja". kups.fi. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Simo Valakari nousee KuPSin päävalmentajaksi, Hirvonen Hinni, Yle, 4 November 2020
- ^ Savon kallein valmentaja: KuPSin cupin mestaruuteen luotsannut Simo Valakari keräsi yli 130 000 euron ansiotulot, Savon Sanomat, 8 November 2023
- ^ Simo Valakarin päävalmentajasopimus on purettu, 13 January 2023, kups.fi
- ^ Simo Valakarin uusi työpaikka varmistui - jättää Suomen taakseen, Iltalehti, 16 January 2021
- ^ Analyysi: Simo Valakari on menossa seuraan, jolla on yllättävä yhteys hänen poikaansa - taustalla Latvian mustalle listalle päätyneet oligarkit, Saatsi Samu, Yle, 15 January 2021
- ^ a b Septembra labākie – R.Ramiress un S.Valakari, 18 October 2023, Virslīga
- ^ FK Auda Detalizēta statistika, optibetvirsliga.com
- ^ MTV Urheilun tiedot: Simo Valakari suurseuran peräsimeen, mtvuutiset.fi / MTV Oy, Eetu Ikola, 13 December 2023
- ^ SIMO VALAKARI BECOMES THE NEW “RIGA FOOTBALL CLUB” HEAD COACH, rigafc.lv/en, 14 December 2023
- ^ LATVIAN SUPERCUP WINNERS, rigafc.lv/en, 5 March 2024
- ^ Kuparinen, Heikki (12 November 2020). "Marcus Forss ja Onni Valakari nousivat sukujensa parhaiksi maalintekijöiksi A-maajoukkueessa heti debyyteissään".
- ^ Toivo Valakari sopimukseen Käpylän Pallon kanssa!, kapylanpalloedustus.fi, 28 February 2023
- ^ Simo Valakari stats at Finnish Fa
- ^ Simo Valakari, WorldFootball
- ^ Simo Valakari, motherwellnet.com
- ^ "Simo Valakari Manager profile" (in Bosnian). 11 November 2023.
- ^ RIGAS FS VS. RIGA 1 - 1, soccerway
- ^ "KuPSin Admir Catovic Veikkausliigan kesäkuun pelaaja". Archived from the original on 9 July 2014.
- ^ "Aleksandr Kokko Kuukauden pelaaja lokakuussa". www.veikkausliiga.com.
- ^ Kai (30 October 2015). "Tässä ovat Captain's Ball -futisgaalan kaikki palkitut tahot". SuomiFutis (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
External links
- Simo Valakari at National-Football-Teams.com
- 1973 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Helsinki
- Men's association football midfielders
- Finnish men's footballers
- Finland men's international footballers
- Käpylän Pallo players
- FC Kontu players
- FinnPa players
- Motherwell F.C. players
- Derby County F.C. players
- FC Dallas players
- Turun Palloseura footballers
- Veikkausliiga players
- Scottish Football League players
- Premier League players
- English Football League players
- Scottish Premier League players
- Major League Soccer players
- Major League Soccer All-Stars
- Finnish expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Finnish football managers
- Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho managers
- Tromsø IL managers
- Kuopion Palloseura managers
- FK Auda managers
- Eliteserien managers
- Finnish expatriate football managers
- Expatriate football managers in Norway
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Norway
- Expatriate football managers in Latvia
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Latvia
- Veikkausliiga managers
- Latvian Higher League managers
- Riga FC managers