Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku (Swedish: Inter Åbo) and colloquially known as Inter, is a Finnish professional 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.
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| Full name | Football Club International Turku | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sinimustat ('Black and Blues') | ||
| Founded | 1990 | ||
| Ground | Veritas Stadion Kupittaa, Turku, Finland | ||
| Capacity | 9,372 | ||
| Chairman | Stefan Håkans | ||
| Manager | Vesa Vasara | ||
| League | Veikkausliiga | ||
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga, 7th of 12 | ||
| Website | fcinter | ||
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Inter have won one Finnish League title, two Finnish Cups, and two Finnish League Cups. They play their home league matches at Veritas Stadion, with a capacity of 9,372 seats for most matches.
History
editFC 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 Turun Palloseura (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.
In the 2011 Veikkausliiga season, the club's first-choice striker Timo Furuholm scored 22 goals and won the Veikkausliiga Golden Boot, and helped Inter to finish as the season's runner-up.
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
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Current squad
edit- As of 6 October 2024[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Management
editAs of 7 November 2024
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
 Vesa Vasara
|
Manager |
| Riku Paularinne
|
Assistant coach |
 Ramiro Muñoz
|
Assistant coach |
| Jussi-Pekka Savolainen
|
Reserve team head coach |
| Miika Salmi
|
Goalkeeping coach |
 David Moore
|
First Team Administrator |
| Ville Peltonen
|
Physiotherapist |
| Teemu Ahonen
|
Physiotherapist |
| Seppo Pajunen
|
Kit Manager |
| Jani Meriläinen
|
InterAction director |
| Kalle Parviainen
|
Sporting director |
Honours
edit- Veikkausliiga
- Finnish Cup
- Finnish League Cup
- Winners: 2008, 2024
- Runners-up: 2022
Player records
edit- Most goals scored: Tero Forss (74 goals)
- Most matches played: Petri Lehtonen (227 matches)
Past managers
edit
Anders Romberg (1992)- Timo Sinkkonen (1993 – 1994)
- Hannu Paatelo (1995 – 1997)
- Tomi Jalo (1997 – 1998)
Steven Polack (1998)- Timo Askolin (1999 – 2000)
- Pertti Lundell (January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2002)
- Kari Virtanen (January 1, 2003 – September 16, 2006)
René van Eck (September 16, 2006 – November 16, 2006)- Job Dragtsma (January 1, 2007 – May 26, 2016)
- Jami Wallenius (May 26, 2016 – August 3, 2016)
- Shefki Kuqi (August 3, 2016 – August 3, 2017)
Fabrizio Piccareta (August 3, 2017 – June 10, 2018)
José Riveiro (January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2021)- Miguel Grau (January 1, 2022 – September 19, 2022)
- Ramiro Muñoz (September 20, 2022 – December 31, 2022)
- Jarkko Wiss (January 1, 2023 – November 6, 2023)
- Vesa Vasara (January 1, 2024 – present)
References
edit- ^ "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.