Simo Valakari

Simo Valakari
Personal information
Full name	Simo Johannes Valakari
Date of birth	28 April 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	SJK (Manager)
Youth career
	Käpylän Pallo
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991-1994	FC Kontu
1995–1996	FinnPa
1996–2000	Motherwell
2000–2004	Derby County
2004–2006	FC Dallas
2007–2009	TPS Turku
Total
International career
1996–2003	Finland
Managerial career
2010	Åbo IFK
2011-2012	Käpylän Pallo (youth coach)
2012-	Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Simo Johannes Valakari (born 28 April 1973) is a Finnish former footballer and the current manager of Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho.

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.^[1] 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.^[2] He however returned "home" as he announced his return to Käpylän Pallo as a youth coach after the 2010 season.^[3]

Since 2012 he has been the head coach of SJK. In 2013, he managed the team to gain promotion to the Finnish premier division Veikkausliiga and they went on to win the Finnish championship in 2015. The team also won the Finnish League Cup in 2014.

References

^ Carrick, Buzz. "FCD to Cut Ties with Simo Valakari", 3rd Degree, 15 December 2006, retrieved 15 December 2006.
^ http://www.aifk.fi/fotboll/newsmod-1335-407.html
^ http://www.palloliitto.fi/viestinta/?num=175376 Template:Fi icon

[1] Carrick, Buzz. "FCD to Cut Ties with Simo Valakari", 3rd Degree, 15 December 2006, retrieved 15 December 2006.

[2] ttp://www.aifk.fi/fotboll/newsmod-1335-407.html

[3] ttp://www.palloliitto.fi/viestinta/?num=175376 Template:Fi icon

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