FC Haka explained

Nickname:	Haka
Ground:	Tehtaan kenttä, Valkeakoski
Capacity:	3,516
Clubname:	FC Haka
Upright:	0.8
Fullname:	Valkeakosken Haka
Founded:	1934
Chairman:	Olli Huttunen
Manager:	Andy Smith^[1]
League:	Veikkausliiga
Season:	2023
Position:	Veikkausliiga, 9th of 12
Website:	http://www.fchaka.fi
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FC Haka, originally Valkeakosken Haka, commonly known as Haka, is a Finnish professional football club based in the industrial town of Valkeakoski. The club was founded in 1934, competing in Finland's premier division of football, Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships and 12 Finnish Cup wins.

History

Haka has historically had close ties with the paper industry in the Valkeakoski area, and it is still sponsored by UPM Kymmene.

The club was founded as Valkeakosken Haka in 1934. In 1949 it was promoted to Finland's top division Mestaruussarja (now called Veikkausliiga), and in 1955 won the inaugural Finnish Cup.

The 1960s was the most successful era in the club's history, winning both the league and cup three times, including the first double in Finnish football history in 1960. The club was relegated in 1972, but came straight back, and won the double again in 1977.

The club's name was changed to FC Haka in the early 1990s. Haka won the title again 1995, but was relegated the next season. Keith Armstrong was hired as the new coach, and the club came straight back again, winning three straight championships from 1998 to 2000.^[2] Goalkeeping legend Olli Huttunen succeeded Armstrong as coach in 2002, and has already led the club to the championship (2004) and two cups (2002 and 2005).

Haka's best performance in UEFA competition was in the 1983–1984 season when they reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup, losing to eventual winners Juventus 0–2 on aggregate. The club has been involved in European competitions every year since 1998, the streak ending in 2008–2009 season.

In the recent years the club's financial situation has deteriorated on two occasions (like many other small market teams in Veikkausliiga). The first one was the 2008–09 season when a group of investors led by local businessman and restaurateur Sedu Koskinen (owner and founder of a nationwide night-club chain) formed FC Haka Oy to help an essentially bankrupt team to finish the season. In 2010 Sedu Koskinen left, after having put around 1 million euros of his own money into the club.

Since then the club's operations have been reformed to make it financial sound or at least not running on deficit. The team, having been one of the most successful and high stature in Finland, had been on run of deficit for several years during the 2000s. At the same time the overall economic situation in the world and also the sponsorship payments from UPM Kymmene diminished. This forced the club to rationalize its operations and adopt a new role as one of the smaller clubs in Finnish top flight football. The current situation at the start of 2012 Finnish football season is described by the current chairman and board members as difficult but stable.

These times of financial struggles have seen the club move from a perennial championship challenger to a team usually poised for relegation. Both 2011 and 2012 the pre-season media predictions have placed the club in the bottom three. Haka finished last in the standings in 2012 and were relegated to the Finnish First Division. The club finally won promotion back to the Veikkausliiga for the 2020 season following a near perfect campaign in the 2019 Ykkönen, where the club only dropped 7 points and finished 19 points ahead of second-place TPS.

Honours

• Mestaruussarja/Veikkausliiga
  • Champions (9): 1960, 1962, 1965, 1977, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004
• Finnish Cup
  • Winners (12): 1955, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1969, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1997, 2002, 2005
• Finnish League Cup
  • Winners: 1995
• Ykkönen
  • Champions: 1997, 2019
  • Promotion: 1973

European campaigns

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score	Agg.
1961–62	European Cup	First round		Standard Liège	1–5, v 0–2	1–7
1963–64	European Cup	Preliminary round		Jeunesse d'Esch	4–1, v 0–4	4–5
1964–65	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Skeid Fotball	0–1, v 2–0	2–1
		Second round		AC Torino	0–1, v 0–5	0–6
1966–67	European Cup	First round		RSC Anderlecht	1–10, v 0–2	1–12
1970–71	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		CSKA Sofia	0–9, v 1–2	1–11
1977–78	UEFA Cup	First round		Górnik Zabrze	3–5, v 0–0	3–5
1978–79	European Cup	First round		Dynamo Kiev	0–1, v 1–3	1–4
1981–82	UEFA Cup	First round		IFK Göteborg	2–3, v 0–4	2–7
1983–84	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Sligo Rovers	1–0, v 3–0	4–0
		Second round		Hammarby IF	1–1, v 2–1(aet)	3–2
		Quarter-finals		Juventus	0–1, v 0–1	0–2
1986–87	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		FC Torpedo Moscow	2–2, v 1–3	3–5
1989–90	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round		Ferencvárosi TC	1–5, v 1–1	2–6
1996–97	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		FC Flora Tallinn	2–2, v 1–0	3–2
		Second qualifying round		Legia Warszawa	0–3, v 1–1	1–4
1998–99	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying round		Bangor City	2–0, v 1–0	3–0
		First round		Panionios FC	0–2, v 1–3	1–5
1999–2000	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		HB Tórshavn	1–1, v 6–0	7–1
		Second qualifying round		Rangers	1–4, v 0–3	1–7
2000–01	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		Linfield	1–2, v 1–0	2–2 (a)
		Second qualifying round		Inter Bratislava	0–0, v 0–1(aet)	0–1
2001–02	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		Valletta FC	0–0, v 5–0	5–0
		Second qualifying round		Maccabi Haifa	0–1, v 3–0^[3]	3–1
		Third qualifying round		Liverpool	0–5, v 1–4	1–9
2001–02	UEFA Cup	First round		1. FC Union Berlin	1–1, v 0–3	1–4
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	First round		FK Obilić	2–1, v 1–1	3–2
		Second round		Fulham	0–0, v 1–1	1–1 (a)
2003–04	UEFA Cup	Qualifying round		Hajduk Split	2–1, v 0–1	2–2 (a)
2004–05	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Etzella Ettelbruck	2–1, v 3–1	5–2
		Second qualifying round		Stabæk IF	1–3, v 1–3	2–6
2005–06	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round		Pyunik F.C.	1–0, v 2–2	3–2
		Second qualifying round		Vålerenga IF	0–1, v 1–4	1–5
2006–07	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Levadia Tallinn	0–2, v 1–0	1–2
2007–08	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Rhyl	1–3, v 2–0	3–3 (a)
		Second qualifying round		FC Midtjylland	1–2, v 2–5	3–7
2008–09	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round		Cork City	2–2, v 4–0	6–2
		Second qualifying round		Brøndby IF	0–4, v 0–2	0–6
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	First qualifying round		Crusaders	2–2, v 0–1	2–3

Divisional movements

• Top Level (60 seasons): 1945, 1950–72, 1974–96, 1998–2012, 2020–
• Second Level (18 seasons): 1938–43/44, 1945/46–49, 1973, 1997, 2013–2019^[4]

Season to season

Season	Level	Division	Section	Administration	Position	Movements
1937	Tier 3	Maakuntasarja (Second Division)	West	Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto)		Promotion Playoff - Promoted
1938	Tier 2	Itä-Länsi-Sarja (Second Division)	West League, Northern Group	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
1939	Tier 2	Itä-Länsi-Sarja (Second Division)	Western League, Group 3	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
1940-41	Tier 2	B-Sarja (Second Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1943-44	Tier 2	SPL Suomensarja (Second Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th	Promoted
1945	Tier 1	SPL Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)	Groub B	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th	Relegated
1945-46	Tier 2	SPL Suomensarja (Second Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th	Relegation Playoff
1946-47	Tier 2	Suomensarja (Second Division)	South Group	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1947-48	Tier 2	Suomensarja (Second Division)	South Group	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th
1948	Tier 2	Suomensarja (Second Division)	South Group	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1949	Tier 2	Suomensarja (Second Division)	West Group	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Promoted
1950	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1951	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th
1952	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	7th
1953	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th
1954	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1955	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
1956	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	5th
1957	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
1958	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	7th	Relegation Playoff
1959	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1960	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
1961	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1962	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
1963	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
1964	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th
1965	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
1966	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1967	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
1968	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	7th
1969	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	7th
1970	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1971	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1972	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	12th	Relegated
1973	Tier 2	I Divisioona (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd	Promoted
1974	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1975	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	10th	Relegation Playoff
1976	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
1977	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
1978	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1979	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	7th	Championship Group – 6th
1980	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th	Championship Group – 2nd
1981	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th	Championship Group – 3rd
1982	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd	Championship Group – 3rd
1983	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd	Championship Group – 3rd
1984	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Championship Playoffs – 4th
1985	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
1986	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	5th
1987	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	9th
1988	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th	Championship Group – 6th
1989	Tier 1	Mestaruussarja (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th	Championship Group – 4th
1990	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th	Playoffs – QF
1991	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
1992	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
1993	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	10th	Relegation Group – 4th
1994	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
1995	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
1996	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	11th	Relegation Group – 11th – Relegated
1997	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)	North Group	Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Upper Group – 1st – Champions – Promoted
1998	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
1999	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Championship Group – 1st – Champions
2000	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
2001	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th
2002	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd	Upper Group – 3rd
2003	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
2004	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions
2005	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	4th
2006	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	3rd
2007	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
2008	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
2009	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
2010	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	8th
2011	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	10th
2012	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier League)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	12th	Relegated
2013	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	2nd
2014	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	5th
2015	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
2016	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	7th
2017	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	6th
2018	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	5th
2019	Tier 2	Ykkönen (First Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	1st	Champions – Promoted
2020	Tier 1	Veikkausliiga (Premier Division)		Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto)	10th

• 63 seasons in Veikkausliiga
• 18 seasons in Ykkönen
• 1 seasons in Kakkonen

^[5]

Management and boardroom

Management

As of 15 February 2021^[6]

Name Role Andy Smith Head Coach Sander Guerreiro Coach Mikko Manninen Coach Pauli Jussila Goalkeeping Coach Alejandro Peris Mora Fitness Coach Janne Hannu Fitness Coach Jonna Kauppinen Team Manager Jari Jalava Kit Manager Juuso Niemenpää Doctor Kalle Myyrä Masseur

Boardroom

As of 15 February 2021^[7]

Name Role Marko Laaksonen Chairman Olli Huttunen CEO

Managers

• Jukka Vakkila (1982–84, 1986–87, 1993–96)
• / Keith Armstrong (January 1998 – December 2001)
• Olli Huttunen (January 2002 – September 2009)
• Sami Ristilä (September 2009 – August 2012)
• Asko Jussila (August 2012 – September 2012)
• Harri Kampman (November 2012 – June 2013)
• Asko Jussila (June 2013 – July 2013)
• Juho Rantala (July 2013 – December 2014)
• Kari Martonen (January 2015 – September 2016)
• Asko Jussila/ Olli Huttunen (September 2016 – December 2016)
• / Keith Armstrong (January 2017 – December 2018)
• Teemu Tainio (January 2019 – October 2023)
• Andy Smith (October 2023 – present)

Notes and References

1. https://fchaka.fi/uutiset/fc-haka-siirtyy-ulkomaalaiskomentoon-uusi-paavalmentaja-vaikuttunut-fc-hakasta/ FC HAKA SIIRTYY ULKOMAALAISKOMENTOON – UUSI PÄÄVALMENTAJA VAIKUTTUNUT FC HAKASTA!
2. Web site: English Energy and Nordic Nonsense. Karel Stokkermans. 17 June 2018 . . 3 October 2018 .
3. The original result of the second leg was a 4-0 victory to Maccabi Haifa, but Haka were awarded a 3–0 walkover victory after it was determined that Haifa had fielded two ineligible players.
4. News: Finland – Divisional Movements 1930–2009 . 2010 . . 2010-08-17.
5. Web site: Football Archive - Index of SPL Finnish League Suomen Cup Seasons.
6. Web site: Hakan edustusjoukkue. FC Haka. fi. 15 February 2021. 22 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191222095351/http://fchaka.fi/?page_id=25. dead.
7. Web site: Yhteystiedot. FC Haka . fi . 15 February 2021.