Simo Valakari

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.

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.

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. He, however returned "home" as he announced his return to Käpylän Pallo as a youth coach after the 2010 season.

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). 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.

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. Valakari was named The Virslīga Coach of the Month in September 2023. 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.

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. On the next day, the club confirmed that they had appointed Valakari as the new head coach. On 2 March 2024, Valakari and Riga FC won the 2024 Latvian Supercup, beating RFS in the final on penalties.

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.

Managerial achievements
SJK Seinäjoki
 * Veikkausliiga: 2015, 2014 Runners-up, 2016 3rd place
 * Finnish Cup: 2016
 * Finnish League Cup: 2014

Kuopion Palloseura
 * Veikkausliiga: 2021 Runners-up, 2022 Runners-up
 * Finnish Cup: 2021, 2022

FK Auda
 * Virslīga: 2023 3rd place

Riga FC
 * Latvian Supercup: 2024

Individual
 * Veikkausliiga Coach of the Month: June 2014, October 2015


 * Veikkausliiga Coach of the Year: 2015


 * Virslīga Coach of the Month: September 2023