Simo Johannes Valakari is a former Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 footballer, who currently is youth coach of Käpylän Pallo

Käpylän Pallo

Käpylän Pallo or KäPa for short, is a football club from the Käpylä district of Helsinki. The club is currently playing in the Kakkonen, the third tier of the Finnish league system. KäPa play their home matches at the Max Westerberg Areena, situated in Käpylän liikuntapuisto...

.

Career

Valakari began his career with KontU

FC Kontu Itä-Helsinki

FC Kontu Itä-Helsinki is a football club from Helsinki, Finland. It serves Kontula in East Helsinki and the immediately surrounding area. The club was formed in 1967 under the name Kontulan Urheilijat , the name being changed in 1994...

 in the Finnish lower divisions, before first moving to FinnPa

FinnPa

Finnairin Palloilijat, or FinnPa as the club is more commonly known as, was a Finnish association football club established in 1965. The club was based in Helsinki and it operated from 1965 to 1998....

 in 1995 and then to Scottish

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club Motherwell

Motherwell F.C.

Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...

 in 1996. After four seasons in Scotland, it was off to Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 in the English Premiership

FA Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

. However, Valakari failed to become a first team regular at Pride Park Stadium

Pride Park Stadium

Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...

 and decided to join Dallas Burn for the 2004 MLS

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

 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

FC Dallas

FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...

. Valakari decided to return to Finland for the 2007 Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...

 season, where he signed for TPS Turku

Turun Palloseura

Turun Palloseura, TPS for short and nicknamed Tepsi, is a Finnish football club based in Turku. The club was founded in 1922. TPS currently play in the Veikkausliiga, the highest level of Finnish football. They play their home matches at the 9,372 seater Veritas Stadion, Turku.-History:FC TPS Turku...

 managed by Mixu Paatelainen

Mixu Paatelainen

Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen is a former Finnish international football player and the current manager of the Finnish national team, having started the role in April 2011...

.

International career

Valakari was a regular with the Finnish national team

Finland national football team

The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....

 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

Åbo IFK

Åbo IFK is a sports club from Turku, Finland. The club was founded in 1908.-Background:The greatest successes of ÅIFK have come in football where it has won three Finnish championship titles, in 1910, 1920 and 1924. It has played a total of 9 seasons in the Finnish premier division Mestaruussarja,...

 in January 2010 and subsequently ended his playing career. He however returned "home" as he announced his return to Käpylän Pallo

Käpylän Pallo

Käpylän Pallo or KäPa for short, is a football club from the Käpylä district of Helsinki. The club is currently playing in the Kakkonen, the third tier of the Finnish league system. KäPa play their home matches at the Max Westerberg Areena, situated in Käpylän liikuntapuisto...

as a youth coach after the 2010 season.