Kari Ukkonen (born 19 February 1961) is a Finnish former football manager and former football player. As a player, Ukkonen was fielded as defender as well as midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kari Ukkonen | ||
| Date of birth | 19 February 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Kuopio, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1982 | KuPS | 91 | (13) |
| 1982–1986 | Cercle Brugge | 107 | (16) |
| 1986–1987 | Lokeren | 32 | (8) |
| 1987–1991 | Anderlecht | 38 | (3) |
| 1991–1993 | Royal Antwerp | 39 | (1) |
| 1993–1996 | Châteauroux | 52 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 1983–1996 | Finland | 59 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Finland (youth coach) | |||
| 2004–2006 | TPS | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editUkkonen started playing football in his hometown club Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in top-tier Mestaruussarja in 1979. In 1982, Ukkonen moved from Finland to Belgium, when he was bought by Cercle Brugge. Ukkonen made his Belgian début on 13 November, when Cercle defeated SV Waregem with 2–1. Ukkonen would go on to win the Belgian Cup with Cercle in 1985. Ukkonen would spend most of his career in Belgium, also playing for other First division teams as Lokeren, Anderlecht and Royal Antwerp.[1] Ukkonen ended his playing career with French side LB Châteauroux.
International career
editUkkonen represented Finland at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Three years later, he earned his first cap for Finland in a 1–1 draw against Poland. The same year, Ukkonen was voted Finnish Footballer of the Year by sports journalists and the Football Association of Finland. He made 59 appearances for the Finland national team, scoring four goals.
Coaching career
editHe stayed in football as manager. First he was coach of Finland's national youth team. He was head coach of Finland at the 2001 World Youth Championship in Argentina.
His next job was the manager of Turun Palloseura (TPS) in 2004–2006.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 16 May 2024.
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cups[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| KuPS | 1979 | Mestaruussarja | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 1980 | Mestaruussarja | 26 | 2 | 2[b] | 0 | 28 | 2 | |||
| 1981 | Mestaruussarja | 25 | 7 | 25 | 7 | |||||
| 1982 | Mestaruussarja | 28 | 4 | 28 | 4 | |||||
| Total | 91 | 13 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 93 | 13 | ||
| Cercle Brugge | 1982–83 | Belgian First Division | 21 | 2 | – | – | 21 | 2 | ||
| 1983–84 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 31 | 1 | ||
| 1984–85 | Belgian First Division | 25 | 3 | 7 | 2 | – | 32 | 5 | ||
| 1985–86 | Belgian First Division | 31 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | 46 | 11 | |
| Total | 107 | 16 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 130 | 19 | ||
| Lokeren | 1986–87 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 8 | 2 | 1 | – | 34 | 9 | |
| RSC Anderlecht | 1987–88 | Belgian First Division | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 18 | 1 | |
| 1988–89 | Belgian First Division | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | Belgian First Division | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | 12 | 3 | |
| 1990–91 | Belgian First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 53 | 4 | ||
| Royal Antwerp | 1991–92 | Belgian First Division | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | |
| 1992–93 | Belgian First Division | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| Total | 38 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| Châteauroux | 1993–94 | Division 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | |
| 1994–95 | Division 2 | 37 | 1 | 7 | 1 | – | 44 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | Division 2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 52 | 1 | 9 | 2 | – | – | 61 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 359 | 42 | 47 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 416 | 49 | ||
- ^ Includes Suomen Cup, Belgian Cup, Belgian Super Cup, Belgian Ligabeker and Coupe de France
- ^ Includes UEFA Cup
- ^ a b c d Includes UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Honours
edit- Belgian Cup:
- Winner (4): 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992
- Runner-up (1): 1986
- Belgian First Division:
- Winner (1): 1990–91
- Runner-up (2): 1988–89, 1989–90
References
edit- ^ Kasila, Markku; Vuorinen, Juha. Pelimiehet. Suomen Urheilumuseosäätiö. p. 354. ISBN 978-952-99075-9-5.
- Cerclemuseum.be (in Dutch)
- Kari Ukkonen player profile (in Dutch)
- Kari Ukkonen at National-Football-Teams.com