Simo Valakari
Personal information
Full name Simo Johannes Valakari[1]
Date of birth (1973-04-28) 28 April 1973
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Riga FC (manager)
Youth career
KäPa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1994 FC Kontu 59 (7)
1995–1996 FinnPa 48 (5)
1996–2000 Motherwell 104 (0)
2000–2004 Derby County 46 (3)
2004–2006 FC Dallas 85 (1)
2007–2009 TPS 38 (1)
Total 380 (17)
International career
1996–2003 Finland 32 (0)
Managerial career
2010 Åbo IFK
KäPa (youth coach)
2012–2016 SJK
2017–2020 Tromsø
2020–2022 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 player. He is currently the manager of Latvian Higher League side Riga FC.

Club career

Valakari began his playing career with KontU in the Finnish lower divisions, before first moving to FinnPa in 1995 and then to Scottish 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 career

Valakari was a regular with the Finnish national team during his stay in Europe. He made a total of 32 caps for his country.

Coaching 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]

Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho

In 2012, Valakari joined 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.

Kuopion Palloseura

In November 2020, Valakari was appointed as the head coach of KuPS.[5][6] Under Valakari, KuPS won two consecutive Finnish Cup titles in 2021 and 2022, 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.[7]

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.[8][9] Valakari was named The Virslīga Coach of the Month in September 2023.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12] On the next day, the club confirmed that they had appointed Valakari as the new head coach.[13]

Managerial statistics

As of 11 November 2023[14]
Team Nat From To Record
PWDLGFGAGDW%
SJK Finland 1 September 2012 17 February 2016 165 92 32 41 275 153 +122 055.8
Tromsø IL Norway 27 July 2017 20 April 2020 81 31 11 39 126 136 −10 038.3
KuPS Finland 1 January 2021 13 January 2023 83 52 18 13 153 80 +73 062.7
FK Auda Latvia 16 January 2023 14 December 2023 40 17 11 12 50 49 +1 042.5
Riga FC Latvia 14 December 2023 Present 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Total 369 192 72 105 604 418 +186 052.0

Managerial achievements

SJK Seinäjoki

Kuopion Palloseura

FK Auda

Individual

Personal life

Valakari's sons Onni and Paavo are also footballers.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Simo Valakari". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Carrick, Buzz. "FCD to Cut Ties with Simo Valakari", 3rd Degree, 15 December 2006, Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  3. ↑ "Åbo IFK - Fotboll". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Suomen Palloliitto - Artikkeliarkisto" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Simo Valakari on KuPS:n uusi päävalmentaja". kups.fi. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Simo Valakari nousee KuPSin päävalmentajaksi, Hirvonen Hinni, Yle, 4 November 2020
  7. ↑ Simo Valakarin päävalmentajasopimus on purettu, 13 January 2023, kups.fi
  8. ↑ Simo Valakarin uusi työpaikka varmistui - jättää Suomen taakseen, Iltalehti, 16 January 2021
  9. ↑ Analyysi: Simo Valakari on menossa seuraan, jolla on yllättävä yhteys hänen poikaansa - taustalla Latvian mustalle listalle päätyneet oligarkit, Saatsi Samu, Yle, 15 January 2021
  10. 1 2 Septembra labākie – R.Ramiress un S.Valakari, 18 October 2023, Virslīga
  11. ↑ FK Auda Detalizēta statistika, optibetvirsliga.com
  12. ↑ MTV Urheilun tiedot: Simo Valakari suurseuran peräsimeen, mtvuutiset.fi / MTV Oy, Eetu Ikola, 13 December 2023
  13. ↑ SIMO VALAKARI BECOMES THE NEW “RIGA FOOTBALL CLUB” HEAD COACH, rigafc.lv/en, 14 December 2023
  14. ↑ "Simo Valakari Manager profile" (in Bosnian). 11 November 2023.
  15. ↑ KuPSin Admir Catovic Veikkausliigan kesäkuun pelaaja Archived 2014-07-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
  16. ↑ (in Finnish)
  17. ↑ Kai (30 October 2015). "Tässä ovat Captain's Ball -futisgaalan kaikki palkitut tahot". SuomiFutis (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Kuparinen, Heikki (12 November 2020). "Marcus Forss ja Onni Valakari nousivat sukujensa parhaiksi maalintekijöiksi A-maajoukkueessa heti debyyteissään".
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