Simo Valakari

Simo Valakari

Personal information
Full name	Simo Johannes Valakari
Date of birth	28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
Place of birth	Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Käpylän Pallo (Youth Coach)
Number	5
Youth career
	Käpylän Pallo
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 Turku	38	(1)
National team
1996–2003	Finland	32	(0)
Teams managed
2010	Åbo IFK
2010-	Käpylän Pallo (youth coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Simo Johannes Valakari (born 28 April 1973 in Helsinki) is a former Finnish footballer, who currently is youth coach of Käpylän Pallo.

Career

Valakari began his 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, it was off to Derby County in the English Premiership. However, 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. Valakari decided to return to Finland for the 2007 Veikkausliiga season, where he signed for TPS Turku managed by Mixu Paatelainen.

International career

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

Coaching career

He was named manager of Åbo IFK in January 2010 and subsequently ended his playing career. He however returned "home" as he announced his return to Käpylän Pallo as a youth coach after the 2010 season.