Onni Valakari

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Onni Valakari
Onni Valakari.jpg
Valakari with TPS in 2018
Personal information
Full name Onni Johannes Simonpoika Valakari [1]
Date of birth (1999-08-18) 18 August 1999 (age 25) [1]
Place of birth Motherwell, Scotland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 San Diego FC
(on loan from Pafos)
Number 8
Youth career
2007–2013 KäPa [2]
2013–2016 SJK [3]
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2017 SJK II 10 (5)
2017–2018 TPS 29 (10)
2017 → SalPa (loan) 2 (0)
2018–2019 Tromsø 42 (9)
2020– Pafos 136 (40)
2024 → AIK (loan) 10 (2)
2025– → San Diego FC (loan) 0 (0)
International career‡
Finland U18
2017 Finland U19 1 (0)
2019–2020 Finland U21 13 (4)
2020– Finland [4] 11 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2023

Onni Johannes Simonpoika Valakari (born 18 August 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club San Diego FC, on loan from Pafos, and the Finland national team.

Contents

Club career

Valakari started to play football in the youth sector of Käpylän Pallo (KäPa) in 2007. In 2013, he moved to Seinäjoki with his family and joined local club Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho (SJK). After making his senior debut with the club's reserve team SJK II in a then third-tier level Kakkonen in 2015, Valakari continued his career with Turun Palloseura (TPS). He played with TPS first in the second-tier Ykkönen in 2017, and in the next 2018 season he debuted in the premier division Veikkausliiga. During the first half of the season, he scored four goals in the league. [3]

On 5 August 2018, Valakari signed with the Norwegian club Tromsø, [5] after his father was named the manager of the club's first team. [3] The initial transfer fee was estimated to be around 200,000 NOK, with TPS securing a 15% sell-on clause. [6] [7]

In January 2020 he moved to Cypriot First Division club Pafos for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around €300,000. [7] [8] On 25 November 2022, Valakari extended his contract with Pafos until June 2026. [9] On 18 May 2024, Valakari and Pafos won the 2023–24 Cypriot Cup title, after defeating Omonia 3–0 in the final. [10]

On 26 August 2024, Valakari was loaned out to Swedish Allsvenskan club AIK for the rest of the 2024 season, [11] with a purchase option of around €1 million. [12] On 21 September, he scored his first goal in Allsvenskan, in a 1–0 away win against Kalmar FF. [13] [14] Following his loan, AIK were interested in signing Valakari on a permanent contract, but the clubs were unable to agree on the financial terms, and Valakari returned to Pafos. [15]

In January 2025, Valakari extended his deal with Pafos until 2027, [16] and subsequently signed a season-long loan deal with San Diego FC in MLS, [17] for a €400,000 loan fee, with a purchase option of €1.5 million. [18]

International career

He played for Finland at under-19 and under-21 levels. [19]

Valakari made his senior international debut for Finland on 11 November 2020, scoring on his debut in a 2–0 victory over France. The other goalscorer was fellow debutant Marcus Forss. [20]

Valakari was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021. [21]

After a two-year absence from the national team, Valakari was named in the Finland squad for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B matches against Ireland and Greece in November 2024. [22]

Personal life

Valakari's father Simo is a former professional international player and a current manager; his older brother Paavo is a former professional player, [23] and his younger brother Toivo is playing for Käpylän Pallo in Finnish second-tier. [24] Onni was born in Scotland when his father had a stint as a player at Motherwell. [25] [26] [27]

In May 2024, it was reported that Valakari had been sentenced to a €9,900 fine in Finnish Court of Kymenlaakso for not enrolling to the mandatory conscription service on time in January 2022. [28]

In November 2024, in an interview to Helsingin Sanomat, Valakari sparked controversy with his positive comments on Andrew Tate and Donald Trump, implying also that the media has painted a false picture of them. Valakari stated that Trump's reelection was a positive thing for the USA. He thinks the country and the world needs a strong leader such as Trump, who can bring back the stability to the world and restore the foreign relations. [29] [30]

Career statistics

Club

As of 11 November 2024 [31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCup [a] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
SJK Akatemia 2015 Kakkonen 2000——20
2016 Kolmonen 85——1 [b] 095
2017Kolmonen0021——21
Total105210010136
SJK 2017 Veikkausliiga 004000—40
TPS 2017 Ykkönen 13600——136
2018 Veikkausliiga 16441——205
Total291041——3311
SalPa (loan) 2017 Kakkonen2000——20
Tromsø 2018 Eliteserien 13200——132
2019 Eliteserien29730——327
Total42930——459
Pafos 2019–20 Cypriot First Division 65———65
2020–21 Cypriot First Division361322——3815
2021–22 Cypriot First Division261021——2811
2022–23 Cypriot First Division33761——398
2023–24 Cypriot First Division35552——407
2024–25 Cypriot First Division00007 [c] 0—70
Total13640156700015846
AIK (loan) 2024 Allsvenskan 10200––102
San Diego FC (loan) 2025 MLS 0000–0000
Career total22866288701025774

International

As of 23 September 2022
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Finland 202041
202150
202220
Total111
As of match played on 7 June 2022. Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.
NoDateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 November 2020 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France1Flag of France.svg  France 2–02–0 Friendly

Honours

Pafos

TPS

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Onni Valakari at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Käpylän Pallon kasvatit Suomessa ja ulkomailla, KäPa
  3. 1 2 3 Ilmiöksi yhdessä illassa, Helsingin Sanomat, 13 November 2020
  4. ↑ "Onni Valakari". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Valakari klar for Gutan" (in Norwegian). Tromsø IL. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Norjalaismedia: Veikkausliigan junioritähti Onni Valakari siirtymässä isänsä valmennukseen Tromssaan, Yle, 5 August 2018
  7. 1 2 Liiganousu tuli TPS:lle erittäin kalliiksi – seura voi saada sievoisen summan rahaa Onni Valakarin siirrosta, Turun Sanomat, 28 January 2020
  8. ↑ "onni valakari joins pafos fc".
  9. ↑ "PAFOS FC EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH ONNI VALAKARI". pafosfc.com.cy. Pafos FC. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  10. 1 2 Liigamestaruus ja cup-pokaali – Huuhkajien pelaajille menestystä eurokentillä, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 19 May 2024
  11. ↑ Onni Valakari på lån till AIK Fotboll, aikfotboll.se, 26 August 2024
  12. ↑ MTV Urheilun tiedot: Onni Valakari, 25, vaihtaa seuraa – sopimuksessa yli miljoonan euron optio, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, Eetu Ikola, 23 August 2024
  13. ↑ Valakari avgjorde matchen mot Kalmar FF, aikfotboll.se, 21 September 2024
  14. ↑ Studio AIK Live: Onni Valakari, 20 September 2024
  15. ↑ AIK bekräftar: Nära flera nyförvärv - men Valakari på väg att lämna, fotbollskanalen.se, 8 January 2025
  16. ↑ Onni Valakari löysi uuden seuran – edessä iso muutos, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 10 January 2025
  17. ↑ San Diego FC Acquires Midfielder Onni Valakari on Loan from Pafos FC, sandiegofc.com, 13 January 2025
  18. ↑ San Diego FC with a stunning acquisition on the verge of closing, chromeandazul.com
  19. ↑ Onni Valakari at WorldFootball.net
  20. ↑ "France 0–2 Finland: Brentford's Marcus Forss scores against world champions". BBC Sport. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "Näillä pelaajilla Huuhkajat lähtevät kohti EM-kisoja – kaksi nimeä kiinnostivat yli muiden" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  22. ↑ Onni Valakari palaa Huuhkajiin – Markku Kanervalta antelias kädenojennus Pikkuhuuhkajille, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 8 November 2024
  23. ↑ Kuparinen, Heikki (12 November 2020). "Marcus Forss ja Onni Valakari nousivat sukujensa parhaiksi maalintekijöiksi A-maajoukkueessa heti debyyteissään".
  24. ↑ Toivo Valakari sopimukseen Käpylän Pallon kanssa!, kapylanpalloedustus.fi, 28 February 2023
  25. ↑ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven (4 June 2021). "Euro 2020: your complete guide to all 622 players". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  26. ↑ "Euro 2020: Meet Finland's Motherwell-born starlet, Onni Valakari". BBC Sport. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  27. ↑ McGilvray, Andy (21 June 2021). "Finland star who stunned France was born in Motherwell". Daily Record.
  28. ↑ Onni Valakari karkasi armeijasta – nyt jysähti kova sakkotuomio, Ilta-Sanomat, 10 May 2024
  29. ↑ HS: Onni Valakari, 25, kertoo näkemyksensä Andrew Tatesta ja Donald Trumpista, Ilta-Sanomat, 14 November 2024
  30. ↑ Onni Valakari, 25, avaa nuoren esikuvan maailmankuvaa – ”On tullut vastaan eri totuuksia”, Helsingin Sanomat, 14 November 2024
  31. ↑ "Onni Valakari". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV2. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
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