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Onni Valakari

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Onni Valakari
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-08-18) 18 August 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Motherwell, Scotland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Pafos
Number 24
Youth career
2007–2013 KäPa[2]
2013–2016 SJK[3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 SJK II 2 (0)
2017–2018 TPS 29 (10)
2017 → SalPa (loan) 2 (0)
2018–2019 Tromsø 42 (9)
2020– Pafos 136 (40)
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 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2023

Onni Valakari (born 18 August 1999) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Cypriot First Division club Pafos and the Finnish national team.

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]

In January 2020 he moved to Pafos, competing in Cypriot First Division.[6] On 25 November 2022, Valakari extended his contract with Pafos until June 2026.[7] On 18 May 2024, Valakari and Pafos won the 2023–24 Cypriot Cup title, after defeating Omonia 3–0 in the final.[8]

International career

He played for Finland at under-19 and under-21 levels.[9]

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.[10]

Valakari was called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 pre-tournament friendly match against Sweden on 29 May 2021.[11]

Personal life

Valakari's father Simo is a former professional player and a Finnish international, and is currently working as a manager of Riga FC. His brother Paavo has also played football professionally.[12] Onni was born in Scotland when his father had a stint as a player at Motherwell.[13][14][15]

On 10 May 2024, it was reported that Valakari had been sentenced to a €9,900 fine in Finnish court for not enrolling to the mandatory conscription service on time in January 2022.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 19 May 2024[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SJK II 2015 Kakkonen 2 0 0 0 — 2 0
TPS 2017 Ykkönen 13 6 0 0 — 13 6
2018 Veikkausliiga 16 4 4 1 — 20 5
Total 29 10 4 1 — 33 11
SalPa (loan) 2017 Kakkonen 2 0 0 0 — 2 0
Tromsø 2018 Eliteserien 13 2 0 0 — 13 2
2019 Eliteserien 29 7 3 0 — 32 7
Total 42 9 3 0 — 45 9
Pafos 2019–20 Cypriot First Division 6 5 0 0 — 6 5
2020–21 Cypriot First Division 36 13 2 2 — 38 15
2021–22 Cypriot First Division 26 10 2 1 — 28 11
2022–23 Cypriot First Division 33 7 6 1 — 39 8
2023–24 Cypriot First Division 35 5 5 2 — 40 7
Total 136 40 15 6 — 151 46
Career total 210 59 22 7 0 0 225 66

International

As of 23 September 2022
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Finland 2020 4 1
2021 5 0
2022 2 0
Total 11 1
As of match played on 7 June 2022. Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.
No Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 November 2020 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 1  France 2–0 2–0 Friendly

Honours

Pafos

References

  1. ^ Onni Valakari at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. ^ Käpylän Pallon kasvatit Suomessa ja ulkomailla, KäPa
  3. ^ a b c 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. ^ "onni valakari joins pafos fc".
  7. ^ "PAFOS FC EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH ONNI VALAKARI". pafosfc.com.cy. Pafos FC. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b Liigamestaruus ja cup-pokaali – Huuhkajien pelaajille menestystä eurokentillä, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 19 May 2024
  9. ^ Onni Valakari at WorldFootball.net
  10. ^ "Finland beat world champions France" – via bbc.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Näillä pelaajilla Huuhkajat lähtevät kohti EM-kisoja – kaksi nimeä kiinnostivat yli muiden" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  12. ^ Kuparinen, Heikki (12 November 2020). "Marcus Forss ja Onni Valakari nousivat sukujensa parhaiksi maalintekijöiksi A-maajoukkueessa heti debyyteissään".
  13. ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven. "Euro 2020: your complete guide to all 622 players" – via www.theguardian.com.
  14. ^ "Meet Finland's Motherwell-born starlet" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  15. ^ McGilvray, Andy (21 June 2021). "Finland star who stunned France was born in Motherwell". Daily Record.
  16. ^ Onni Valakari karkasi armeijasta – nyt jysähti kova sakkotuomio, Ilta-Sanomat, 10 May 2024
  17. ^ "Onni Valakari". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV2. Retrieved 26 August 2019.


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