Vesa Vasara
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 Vasara with Honka in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vesa-Pekka Vasara | ||
| Date of birth | 16 August 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Inter Turku (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| MPS | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1993 | MPS | 30 | (5) |
| 1994–2000 | HJK | 136 | (17) |
| 2001 | Jokerit | 29 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Kalmar FF | 32 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Jaro | 24 | (4) |
| 2006–2008 | Honka | 59 | (8) |
| International career | |||
| Finland U21 | 11 | (2) | |
| 1999–2002 | Finland | 12 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Honka II | ||
| 2012–2013 | Honka (assistant) | ||
| 2014–2016 | HJK (assistant) | ||
| 2017–2023 | Honka | ||
| 2024– | Inter Turku | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vesa-Pekka Vasara (born 16 August 1976) is a Finnish professional football manager for Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku, and a former player who played for the Veikkausliiga sides HJK Helsinki, FC Jokerit, FF Jaro, and FC Honka, as well as for Kalmar FF in Sweden. He was also capped 12 times for the Finland national team, scoring twice.
Vasara started his career with Malmin Palloseura (MPS) in Malmi, North Helsinki, before joining Vantaan Pallo in 1994.
On 26 August 1998, Vasara scored a goal for HJK Helsinki against Metz, in the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off round, helping his team to get a 1–1 away draw (2–1 on aggregate) and qualify to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, as the first-ever Finnish club.[1] Vasara ultimately spent six seasons with HJK.
Later he played for Kalmar FF in Swedish Allsvenskan, and for Jokerit, Jaro and Honka in Veikkausliiga.
Managerial career
Vasara was selected as the Veikkausliiga Manager of the Month for June 2018 while managing Veikkausliiga side Honka.[2] Vasara worked as a manager of Honka for seven seasons, until Honka was declared for bankruptcy at the end of the 2023, and he was released.
Vasara was subsequently named the manager of a fellow Veikkausliiga side Inter Turku, signing a two-year deal with the club, starting in 2024.[3][4][5] They won two consecutive Finnish League Cup titles in 2024 and 2025, and reached the final of the 2024 Finnish Cup.
Personal life
His brother Jussi Vasara is also a former professional footballer.[6]
