Managerial career
Valakari was named manager of Åbo IFK (ÅIFK) 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]
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. In the early 2016, he had been linked with Motherwell, [5] but eventually signed an upgraded contract extension with SJK on 10 February 2016. [6] Valakari was dismissed on 17 February 2017, due to disagreement with the club's chairman Raimo Sarajärvi. [7] [8]
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 due to disagreements in April 2020, after the club had suffered a relegation at the end of the 2019 season. [9] [10]
KuPS
In November 2020, Valakari was appointed as the head coach of Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS). [11] [12] Under Valakari, KuPS won two consecutive Finnish Cup titles in 2021 and 2022, [13] and finished as the Veikkausliiga runner-up 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. In the summer 2022, Valakari was rumoured for a head coach position of Motherwell, but eventually was not chosen. [14]
His contract with KuPS was terminated by mutual consent on 13 January 2023, after Valakari had announced his lack of "passion and ability" to continue to coach KuPS. [15] [16]
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. [17] [18] Valakari was named The Virslīga Coach of the Month in September 2023. [19] At 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. [20]
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. [21] On the next day, the club confirmed that they had appointed Valakari as the new head coach. [22] On 2 March 2024, Valakari and Riga FC won the 2024 Latvian Supercup, beating RFS in the final on penalties. [23] On 14 September, in a press conference after the match against Auda, Valakari hinted that he was not the one who had selected the starting line-up for the match. [24] He left the club on 30 September, after Riga and St. Johnstone had agreed on a fee for his contract. Prior to his departure, Riga FC was comfortably sitting in the 2nd place of the league table. [25]
St. Johnstone
On 1 October 2024, Valakari returned to Scotland when he was named the new manager of the Scottish Premiership club St. Johnstone on a three-year deal, [26] [27] becoming the first foreign manager in the club's 140-year-history. Due to work visa issues, the first two matches he couldn't officially access the bench, [28] but on 26 October, he managed St. Johnstone as they beat Dundee 2–1 away at Dens Park. [29]
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