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.
Playing career 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.Champions League Qual. 1998/1999 » 2. Round » FC Metz - HJK Helsinki 1:1, worldfootball 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. 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.VESA VASARASTA FC INTERIN UUSI PÄÄVALMENTAJA, fcinter.fi, 17 November 2023MTV Urheilun tiedot: Turkulaisseura kiinnitti uuden päävalmentajan, mtvuutiset.fi/MTV Oy, Timo Innanen, 17 November 2023Lähde: Vesa Vasarasta tulee Interin uusi päävalmentaja, hs.fi/Helsingin Sanomat, Ari Virtanen, 17 November 2023 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.Citation
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMPS1992Kolmonen1993KakkonenTotal305003051994Kakkonen75–75Honka1994Kolmonen135–135HJK1995Veikkausliiga242402821996Veikkausliiga231312621997Veikkausliiga255202751998Veikkausliiga232612931999Veikkausliiga256402962000Veikkausliiga16110171Total1361720215619Käpylän Pallo (loan)1999Kakkonen10–10Jokerit2001Veikkausliiga29020310Kalmar FF2002Allsvenskan150–1502003Allsvenskan172–172Total32200322Jaro2004Veikkausliiga244–244Honka2005Ykkönen222–2222006Veikkausliiga235–2352007Veikkausliiga141–141Total59800598Career total3294022235142
International
FinlandYearAppsGoals199910200062200140200210Total122
International goals As of match played 4 February 2000. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Vasara goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Vesa VasaraNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition14 February 2000La Manga Stadium, La Manga, Spain1–02–12000–01 Nordic Football Championship2 2–1
Managerial
TeamNatFromToRecordPWDLW%Honka1 January 201731 December 2023Inter Turku1 January 2024presentTotal
Honours As a player HJK Veikkausliiga: 1997 Finnish Cup: 2000
As a manager Honka Finnish Cup runner-up: 2023 Finnish League Cup: 2022 Ykkönen runner-up: 2017
Inter Turku Finnish Cup: 2026 Finnish Cup runner-up: 2024 Finnish League Cup: 2024, 2025, 2026
Individual Veikkausliiga Manager of the Month: May 2025HJK:n Alexander Ring Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja toukokuussa, veikkaus.fi, 12 June 2025
References
External links Vesa Vasara at FC Honka