Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
SJK Seinäjoki
Full nameSeinäjoen Jalkapallokerho
Nickname(s)SJK, Kerho (The Club)
Founded5 November 2007; 16 years ago (5 November 2007)
GroundOmaSP Stadion,
Seinäjoki, Finland
Capacity5,817
ChairmanRaimo Sarajärvi
ManagerToni Lehtinen
LeagueVeikkausliiga
2023Veikkausliiga, 4th of 12
WebsiteClub website
Current season
SJK supporters.

Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho, commonly referred to as SJK, also internationally SJK Seinäjoki, is a Finnish professional football club from the city of Seinäjoki. The club plays in the Veikkausliiga, the highest tier of the Finnish league system. Their home ground is OmaSP Stadion, which is located near the city center and next to SJK's training facility Wallsport. SJK was formed in 2007 after the merger of TP-Seinäjoki and Sepsi-78.

History

The early years

SJK was formed on 5 November 2007 as a merger between the first teams of TP-Seinäjoki and Sepsi-78. It was told to the public five days later. Sepsi-78 had a board meeting on 24 October and TP-Seinäjoki on the next day. Both clubs supported the merger.[1] Sepsi-78 and TP both gave up their place in Kakkonen.[2] The first signing of the new club was Petri Huttu.[3] There were several negotiations about the merger over the years. The main reason was the inadequacy of players. The clubs continued doing junior work after the merger, but could also have their own team in the lower divisions. The work name of the club was Seinäjoki Futis, and there was a contest about the official name, where everyone could suggest a name. The final name was Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho, that had been suggested by many people. There was also a contest about the logo and uniform.[4] The registered name of the club is Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho ry, and it was registered on January 22, 2008.[5] Mikko Latomäki was chosen as the first chairman. Jukka Saarijärvi was chosen as the vice chairman. Saarijärvi was a former TP-Seinäjoki chairman.

Promotion to Veikkausliiga

In 2013 SJK started its second season in

Palloliitto about the amount of foreigners in SJK. The complaint went through and AC Kajaani was changed as the winner of the match. SJK complained about the decision and the result was again changed. AC Kajaani complained again, but later canceled it.[6] After that SJK lost five matches in a row. SJK however did win eight matches in a row after that. The promotion to Veikkausliiga was confirmed on 29 September 2013 in a homematch against FC Haka
. There was a record breaking attendance (4 798). The match was a 1–1 draw.

SJK started the season 2014 with winning the

For the 2015 season SJK got even stronger. There were new signings like

Liverpool FC loanee Allan. SJK was chosen as the team of the year in Finland's sports gala.[9]

SJK won the Finnish Cup in 2016. It was the first time in the club's history.[10]

SJK's head coach

KPV in the end of April and was at the first place of the league.[21] Despite the good start, SJK couldn't get good results. Yeryomenko was sacked in August. The replacement was Brian Page.[22]
SJK didn't win any games for the rest of the season. SJK placed ninth.

After the season SJK appointed Jani Honkavaara as the new head coach.[23] Honkavaara signed many prolific players for the 2020 season, such as Ariel Ngueukam, Robin Sid, Tero Mäntylä and Niko Markkula.[24] In the winter, SJK once again could not get through from the group stage of the Finnish Cup.[25] As the Veikkausliiga season started in July, SJK won in the first round against TPS.[26] SJK had a good start to the season, but the results started to get worse quite quickly.[27] In the summer transfer window the club signed a couple of players, such as Jake Jervis and Emmanuel Ledesma.[28] They proved themselves quickly and with their lead SJK could end the season somewhat brightly. SJK finished seventh, which was disappointing for the club and the supporters.[29]

On 6 March 2023, SJK announced a co-operation deal with Ghanaian football academy Vision FC.[30]

Domestic history

Season Level Pos Pld W D L For Against Points Finnish Cup League Cup Top goalscorer (League)[31] Top goalscorer (All competitions)
2008 3rd 8 26 10 7 9 57 37 37 Finland Tommi Haanpää  – 10 -
2009 5 26 14 1 11 56 52 43 Third round Finland Mikael Muurimäki  – 14 -
2010 5 26 11 9 6 46 31 42 Fifth Round Finland Mikael Muurimäki  – 9 -
2011 1 26 22 4 0 72 14 70 Seventh Round Finland Petter Meyer  – 23 -
2012 2nd 2 27 14 5 8 42 29 47 Fifth Round Finland Toni Lehtinen – 13 Finland Toni Lehtinen - 14
2013 1 27 18 5 4 51 17 59 Third round Finland Toni Lehtinen – 10 Finland Toni Lehtinen – 10
2014 1st 2 33 16 11 6 40 26 59 Quarter-final Winners Finland Akseli Pelvas – 11 Finland Akseli Pelvas – 12
2015 1 33 18 6 9 50 22 60 Fifth Round Quarter-final Finland Akseli Pelvas – 14 Finland Akseli Pelvas – 20
2016 3 33 17 6 10 49 36 57 Winners Runners-up Finland Roope Riski – 17 Finland Roope Riski – 25
2017 6 33 13 8 12 42 47 47
Runners-up
England Billy Ions – 12 England Billy Ions – 14
2018 9 33 8 8 17 28 37 32 Quarter-final Finland Johannes Laaksonen – 6 Finland Johannes Laaksonen, Democratic Republic of the Congo Aristote M'Boma  – 6
2019 9 27 7 9 11 18 29 30 Group-stage - Ukraine Denys Oliynyk - 8 Ukraine Denys Oliynyk - 10
2020 7 22 8 5 9 27 29 29 Group-stage - Argentina Emmanuel Ledesma - 5 Finland Joonas Lepistö - 6
2021 3 27 14 6 7 45 34 48 Quarter-final - Cameroon Ariel Ngueukam –14 Cameroon Ariel Ngueukam – 14
2022 6 27 10 5 12 33 38 35 Quarter-final Semi-final England Jake Jervis –6 England Jake Jervis – 10
2023 4 27 12 6 9 35 33 42 Fourth round Group-stage Nicaragua Jaime Moreno –11 Nicaragua Jaime Moreno – 12

European history

Accurate as of 28 July 2022
Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Champions League 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 000.00
UEFA Europa League 4 0 1 3 0 4 −4 000.00
UEFA Europa Conference League 4 1 0 3 6 9 −3 025.00

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q Iceland FH 0–1 0–1 0–2
2016–17 UEFA Champions League 2Q Belarus BATE Borisov 2–2 0–2 2–4
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Iceland KR Reykjavík 0–2 0–0 0–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Estonia Flora 4–2 (
a.e.t.
)
0–1 4–3
2Q Norway Lillestrøm 0–1 2–5 2–6
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round

Stadium and sponsors

Stadium

OmaSP Stadion

SJK play their home matches at OmaSP Stadion. Previously SJK played their home matches at Seinäjoen keskuskenttä.

In 2010, it was reported for the first time that SJK were planning a new football stadium. Eventually, in autumn 2014 it was announced that the construction of SJK's new stadium would start soon. The construction began in summer 2015 and the new stadium was completed in June 2016.[32] Stadium has a capacity of 5817 seats.

SJK play their friendlies and cup matches during the winter at Wallsport Areena which is an indoor training facility owned and operated by the team.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

As of 3 April 2022[33]
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsors Ref
2008–2009 England Umbro Nordea, S-Market
2010–2011 Germany Adidas Nordea, Carlsberg, Eepee
2012 Kotijoukkue, Prisma
2013 Kotijoukkue, Lähitapiola, ABC, Sokos Hotels
2014 Conline, Ilkka, Lähitapiola, GapCon, Sokos Hotels
2015 Conline, Kotijoukkue, Lähitapiola, EPPK, ABC, Sokos Hotels
2016 Conline, Kotijoukkue, Lähitapiola, EPPK, Prima Power
2017 FinCap, I-Print, OmaSp, Lähitapiola, Prima Power, Elisa
2018 Visura, ProPrint, Peab, Lähitapiola, OmaSp, Elisa [34]
2019 Atria, ProPrint, Peab, Lähitapiola, OmaSp, Elisa
2020 Atria, ProPrint, Lähitapiola, OmaSp, Elisa
2021 Atria, ProPrint, Ilkka-Pohjalainen, Lähitapiola, OmaSp, Elisa
2022 Ilkka-Pohjalainen, ProPrint, Lecklé, Lähitapiola, OmaSp, Pihlajalinna

Honours

Players

First team squad

As of 9 February 2024[35][36][37]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Finland FIN Roope Paunio
2 DF Portugal POR Babacar Fati
7 FW Finland FIN Rasmus Karjalainen
8 MF Argentina ARG Valentin Gasc
9 FW Nicaragua NCA Jaime Moreno
13 FW Finland FIN Kasper Paananen
15 MF Ghana GHA Salim Yussif
16 DF Finland FIN Otto Kemppainen
17 DF Finland FIN Ville Tikkanen
18 MF Finland FIN Markus Arsalo
19 FW Finland FIN Tuomas Kaukua
20 DF Finland FIN Dario Naamo
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW Ghana GHA Kingsley Ofori
24 DF Ivory Coast CIV Ibrahim Cissé
25 GK Nicaragua NCA Miguel Rodríguez (on loan from Diriangén FC)
26 MF Finland FIN Pyry Hannola
30 MF Finland FIN Oliver Günes
36 MF Finland FIN Denis Cukici
40 GK Finland FIN Hemmo Riihimäki
MF Finland FIN Lauri Laine
FW Benin BEN Olatoundji Tessilimi
DF Cape Verde CPV Kelvin Pires (on loan from AS Trenčín)
FW Finland FIN Eetu Mömmö (on loan from US Lecce)
FW Finland FIN Onni Hänninen

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Finland FIN Jeremiah Streng (at Ascoli until 30 June 2024)
MF Malaysia MAS Nooa Laine (at Selangor until 31 December 2024)

SJK Akatemia

Reserve team squad

As of 14 February 2024[38]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Finland FIN Asseri Heinämäki
6 FW Ghana GHA Emmanuel Essel (on loan from Vision F.C.)
9 FW Finland FIN Miro Turunen
14 MF Finland FIN Topias Helle
15 FW Finland FIN Elias Hyytinen
16 DF Finland FIN Tuomas Koivisto
21 DF Finland FIN Oskari Väistö
23 DF Finland FIN Joona Lahdenmäki
24 DF Finland FIN Eemeli Löytökorpi
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 GK Finland FIN Juho Kaunismäki
26 FW Finland FIN Eemeli Honkola
29 FW Finland FIN Akseli Tervaniemi
38 FW Finland FIN Elari Hautamäki
MF Ghana GHA Bob Armah (on loan from Sporting Club Accra)
FW Finland FIN Artur Atarah
DF Finland FIN Gabriel Oksanen
DF Finland FIN Tobias Karkulowski
FW Brazil BRA Vinícius Ribeiro

Management and boardroom

Management

As of 12 January 2023[39][40][41][42][43]

Name Role
Finland Toni Lehtinen Head coach
Scotland Stevie Grieve Assistant coach
Finland Risto-Matti Toivonen Fitness coach
Luís Fernando
Goalkeeping coach
Finland Tiitus Lehtinen Physiotherapist
Finland Pekka Lehtinen Team Manager
Finland Ranno Kukk Doctor
England Paul Riley Head of Recruitment
Brazil Adriel Gabilan Analyst/Scout
Finland Arttu Aromaa SJK Akatemia Head coach
Finland Niko Hasa SJK Akatemia/2 Head coach
England Ash Civil Talent coach

Boardroom

As of 19 February 2021[44]

Name Role
Finland Raimo Sarajärvi Chairman
Wales Richie Dorman Technical director
Finland Sami-Petteri Kivimäki Managing Director
Finland Heikki Leppänen Chief Financial Officer
Finland Elina Paavola Finance Manager
Finland Joonas Kuivalainen Sales Negotiator
Finland Lari Paski Media Manager
Finland Tommi Kilpiö Marketing Assistant

Records and notable stats

Club Records

  • Biggest home win: SJK 8–1 TUS (30 May 2008)
  • Biggest away win: VPS-j 0–7 SJK (7 September 2008)
  • Biggest home loss: SJK 0–6 HJK (10 August 2017)
  • Biggest away loss: HJK 6–0 SJK (31 May 2017)
  • Most consecutive matches without lost: 44 (18 August 2010 – 30 May 2012)
  • Most consecutive wins: 9 (11 July 2011 – 27 August 2011)
  • Most consecutive losses: 5 (8 April 2022 – 7 May 2022)

Individual Records

Most appearances

As of 28 October 2023
# Name Matches
1 Estonia Mihkel Aksalu 221
2 Finland Mehmet Hetemaj 207
3 Finland Johannes Laaksonen 200
4 Wales Richie Dorman 168
5 Cameroon Ariel Ngueukam 133
6 Finland Matej Hradecky 131
7 Finland Timo Tahvanainen 128
8 Finland Ville Tikkanen 124
9 Finland Toni Lehtinen 118
10 Ukraine Denys Oliynyk 116

Club captains

Name Nat Period
Juha-Pekka Salminen[45] Finland 2008
Petri Niemi[46] Finland 2009
Ville Ylinen[47] Finland 2010
Chris Cleaver[48] England 2011–2013
Pavle Milosavljević[49] Serbia 2014–2015
Mihkel Aksalu[50] Estonia 2016–2018
Mehmet Hetemaj[51] Finland 2019–2022
Matej Hradecky[52] Finland 2023

Supporters player of the year

[53]

Name Nat Period
Jani Asuintupa Finland 2008
Ville Pajula Finland 2009
Ville Pajula Finland 2010
Aki Sipilä Finland 2011
Patrik Lomski Finland 2012
Pavle Milosavljević Serbia 2013
Cedric Gogoua
Ivory Coast 2014
Mihkel Aksalu Estonia 2015
Roope Riski Finland 2016
Mehmet Hetemaj Finland 2017
Johannes Laaksonen Finland 2018
Denys Oliynyk Ukraine 2019
Emmanuel Ledesma Argentina 2020
Ville Tikkanen Finland 2021
Jake Jervis England 2022
Ville Tikkanen Finland 2023

SJK All Stars

In April 2020, SJK fans participated in a fan vote selecting their 11 favourite SJK players from the 2014-2019-seasons.[54]

Name Pos Nat Years Games Goals League
games
League
goals
Mihkel Aksalu GK Estonia 2013–2019 221 0 158 0
Richie Dorman RB Wales 2012–2018 168 7 95 4
Pavle Milosavljević CB Serbia 2013–2015 77 1 38 1
Cedric Gogoua
CB Ivory Coast 2014–2015 59 3 52 3
Timo Tahvanainen LB Finland 2013–2017 128 4 79 2
Johannes Laaksonen CM Finland 2013–2018 200 18 141 14
Mehmet Hetemaj CM Finland 2015– 200 22 142 14
Denys Oliynyk CM Ukraine 2018–2022 116 29 94 23
Ariel Ngueukam RW Cameroon 2015–2016
2020–2021
133 36 108 28
Roope Riski CF Finland 2015–2016 58 34 46 25
Billy Ions LW England 2016–2020 74 19 64 17

Managers

References

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External links