Simo Valakari

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.^[2]

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.

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

He was appointed head coach of Norwegian Eliteserien side Tromsø in June 2017. In 2018, his contract was extended until 2022, but he was fired 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.^[15][16]

Auda

Shortly after his contract termination with KuPS, it was announced that Valakari was named the head coach of 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 third 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 were comfortably sitting in second place in 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] In April 2025, Valakari led the team to reach the semi-finals of the 2024–25 Scottish Cup.^[30] St Johnstone were relegated from the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2024-25 season.^[31] Valakari stayed with the club and led them to start the 2025–26 Scottish Championship season with record-tying seven wins and one draw.^[32] He was named the Scottish Championship Manager of the Month consecutively for August and September 2025.^[33][34]

Club

As of 31 December 2020^[38][39][40]

International

Managerial

As of match played 7 March 2026^[41]

More information Team, Nat ...

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W%
SJK Seinäjoki		1 September 2012	17 February 2016	165	92	32	41	275	153	+122	055.76
Tromsø		27 July 2017	20 April 2020	81	31	11	39	126	136	−10	038.27
KuPS		1 January 2021	13 January 2023	83	52	18	13	153	80	+73	062.65
Auda		16 January 2023	14 December 2023	40	17	11	12	50	49	+1	042.50
Riga FC		14 December 2023	30 September 2024	36	25	6	5	86	26	+60	069.44
St Johnstone		1 October 2024	Present	71	33	13	25	101	90	+11	046.48
Total				477	250	91	136	795	531	+264	052.41

Close

As a manager

SJK

• Veikkausliiga: 2015
• Finnish Cup: 2016
• Finnish League Cup: 2014

KuPS

• Finnish Cup: 2021, 2022

Riga FC

• Latvian Supercup: 2024^[42]

Individual

• Finnish Football Manager of the Year: 2015
• Veikkausliiga Manager of the Month: June 2014,^[43] October 2015^[44]
• Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year: 2015^[45]
• Virslīga Manager of the Month: September 2023^[19]
• Scottish Championship Manager of the Month: August 2025, September 2025^[33]