FC Inter Turku

Summary

Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku (Swedish: Inter Åbo) and colloquially known as Inter, is a Finnish football club based in Turku that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded in 1990 by Stefan Håkans, the club has a rivalry with Turun Palloseura.

FC Inter Turku
Logo of FC Inter Turku
Full nameFootball Club International Turku
Nickname(s)Sinimustat ('Black and Blues')
Founded1990; 34 years ago (1990)
GroundVeritas Stadion
Kupittaa, Turku, Finland
Capacity9,372
ChairmanStefan Håkans
ManagerVesa Vasara
LeagueVeikkausliiga
2023Veikkausliiga, 6th of 12
WebsiteClub website
Veritas Stadion

Inter have won one League title, two Finnish Cups, and one League Cup. They play their home league matches at Veritas Stadion, with a capacity of 9,372 seats for most matches.

History edit

FC Inter was founded in 1990 by Stefan Håkans, the managing director of the towage and salvage company Alfons Håkans, allegedly after his 11-year-old son could not fit into any of the other youth teams in Turku. The club started out as a youth team, but in 1992 a senior squad was founded and it entered the Finnish league system at the fourth level (third division Kolmonen). The following year, the club assumed the place of the financially troubled local club Turun Toverit in the Second Division. Manager Timo Sinkkonen invested in new players, and eventually the club finished first and was promoted to the First Division (Ykkönen).

In 1995, Inter finished first in the Ykkönen and was promoted, as well as reaching the semi-final stage in the Finnish Cup. The squad was strengthened with new players, and in 1996, as both of Turku's better teams were now playing in the Veikkausliiga, the club's attendance records were broken with 8,200 spectators in the local derby between TPS and Inter.

In 1997, the club were relegated after finishing last in the Veikkausliiga, but achieved promotion again the following season. New foreign players were bought to strengthen the squad, such as Richard Teberio and Fernando della Sala. Since then the club has consistently finished between 7th and 4th in the league, and maintained a steady inflow of foreign players as well as young starlets from its own youth academy.

During the 2006 season Inter sacked their manager Kari Virtanen and hired new coach, Dutchman Rene van Eck. After the season van Eck returned to Switzerland to coach FC Wohlen, and another Dutchman Job Dragtsma took over.

In 2008 Inter led the league since early season and clinched their first Finnish championship title after winning against FF Jaro in their final game.

European cup history edit

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R   ÍA 0–0 4–0 4–0  
2R   NK Varteks 2–2 3–4 5–6  
2009–10 UEFA Champions League 2Q   Sheriff 0–1 0–1 0–2  
2010–11 UEFA Europa League 3Q   Genk 1–5 2–3 3–8  
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 2Q   Twente 0–5 1–1 1–6  
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Víkingur Gøta 0–1 1–1 1–2  
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Brøndby 2–0 1–4 3–4  
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Honvéd 1−2 (a.e.t.)  
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Puskás Akadémia 1–1 0–2 1–3  
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q   Drita 1–0 0–3 1–3  

Season to season edit

Season Level Division Section Administration Position Movements
1992 Tier 4 III divisioona (Third Division) Group 3 Turku District (SPL Turku) 6th
1993 Tier 3 II divisioona (Second Division) West Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd Promoted
1994 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd
1995 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Promoted
1996 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th Upper Group – 6th
1997 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th Third round – 10th – Relegated
1998 Tier 2 Ykkönen (First Division) South Group Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd Upper Group – 3rd – Promoted
1999 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd Upper Group – 5th
2000 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th
2001 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th
2002 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th
2003 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th
2004 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th
2005 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th
2006 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th
2007 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 9th
2008 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 1st Champions
2009 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th
2010 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 6th
2011 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd
2012 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd
2013 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 9th
2014 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 10th
2015 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 4th
2016 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 11th
2017 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 9th
2018 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 7th
2019 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd
2020 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 2nd
2021 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 3rd
2022 Tier 1 Veikkausliiga (Premier League) Finnish FA (Suomen Palloliitto) 5th

Current squad edit

As of 27 February 2024[1]

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   FIN Eetu Huuhtanen
2 DF   FIN Jussi Niska
3 DF   FIN Juuso Hämäläinen
4 DF   FIN Mikael Almén
5 DF   FIN Albin Granlund
6 DF   CIV Dimitri Legbo
8 MF   NED Kevin Jansen
9 FW   RSA Darren Smith
10 MF   GER Florian Krebs
12 GK   FIN Eero Vuorjoki
13 GK   FIN Tino Kangasaho
14 MF   FIN Thomas Lahdensuo
17 MF   GHA Bismark Ampofo
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF   FIN Iiro Järvinen
20 MF   FIN Djoully Nzoko
21 FW   FIN Matias Tamminen
22 DF   FIN Luka Kuittinen
23 FW   FIN Daniel Rökman
24 FW   FIN Timo Stavitski
25 MF   FIN Joonas Kekarainen
26 FW   FIN Otto Lehtisalo
27 GK   FIN Anton Aaltonen
28 MF   CIV Axel Kouame
30 DF   FIN Valentin Purosalo
DF   ESP Derik Osede
FW   BFA Jean Botué

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player

Management edit

As of 19 January 2021.

Name Role
  Vesa Vasara Manager
  Riku Paularinne Assistant coach
  Ramiro Muñoz Assistant coach
  Jussi-Pekka Savolainen Reserve team head coach
  Ville Vastamäki Goalkeeping Coach
  David Moore First Team Administrator
  Ville Peltonen Physiotherapist
  Teemu Ahonen Physiotherapist
  Seppo Pajunen Kit Manager

Honours edit

Player records edit

  • Most goals scored: Tero Forss (74 goals)
  • Most matches played: Petri Lehtonen (227 matches)

Past managers edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Joukkue FC Inter". Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-03-05.

External links edit

  • FCInter.fi – The club's official site.
  • Ultraboyz – A supporters' club in Finnish.