Ossi-Pekka Juhani Virta (born 9 July 1988) is a Finnish football coach and a former player, currently working as an assistant coach of Veikkausliiga club HJK Helsinki. Virta has completed UEFA Pro -coaching license in March 2023.

Playing career

Virta started playing football with

Käpylän Pallo Käpylän Pallo or KäPa for short, is a football (soccer) club from the Käpylä district of Helsinki. The club currently plays in the Kakkonen, the third tier of the Finnish league system. KäPa play their home matches at the Max Westerberg A ...

(KäPa) youth sector in 1992. He also played for the club's first team in the third-tier

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the third level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. The II divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kakkonen (Finnish for 'Number Two' ...

.Hakan villi tuulettajavalmentaja herättää huomiota – Ossi Virta teki nuorena rohkean valinnan: ”Enkä ole katunut päivääkään”
Valkeakosken Sanomat, 9 September 2022

Coaching career

Virta started his coaching career also in KäPa youth sector in 2005, where he coached several youth teams during his 10-year spell. He worked also as a coaching director for the club.Ossi Virta Käpylän Pallon edustusjoukkueen päävalmentajaksi
kapylanpallo.fi, 3 November 2020 On 15 April 2015, Virta was named the director of

SJK Akatemia SJK Akatemia (formerly Kerho 07 in 2013–2015) is a football club from Seinäjoki in Finland. The club was formed in 2012 and their home ground is at the OmaSP Stadion. SJK Akatemia is SJK's 'B team' and currently plays in the ''Ykkönen'', ...

. He also worked in the coaching staff of head coach

Simo Valakari Simo Johannes Valakari (born 28 April 1973) is a Finnish football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of FK Auda. Career Valakari began his career with KontU in the Finnish lower divisions, before first moving to FinnPa in 1 ...

for SJK first team in Veikkausliiga. During 2016–2020, he worked for Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP) as a youth coach, assistant coach and interim head coach. He left the club after the 2020 season, when he was named the head coach of KäPa in third-tier

. After one season with KäPa, Virta signed with Veikkausliiga side

FC Haka FC Haka is a Finnish football club based in the industry town of Valkeakoski. It is currently competing in Finland's premier division of football, Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships a ...

on 5 November 2021 as an academy director, and simultaneously joined the coaching staff of Teemu Tainio in the Haka first team. During his time in Haka, Virta gained a relatively wide popularity in social media with his passionate goal celebrations.Someilmiö nousi tunaroinnin ansiosta huippupestiin – tällainen johtaja on Ossi Virta

Ilta-Sanomat ''Ilta-Sanomat'' () is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid size evening newspaper and the second largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is ''Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019 ''Ilta- ...

, 13 January 2024

HJK Helsinki

In July 2023, Virta was named the assistant coach of HJK Helsinki, after Haka and HJK had agreed on a fee for his contract. Virta joined the coaching staff of

Toni Korkeakunnas Toni Korkeakunnas (born 15 May 1968) is a Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national lang ...

on a deal until the end of 2024, with a club option. He became a viral social media hit again during HJK's

2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League will be the third season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final will be played at the yet to be announced venue. The winners of ...

campaign with his rapid and accurate half-time live analyses. In January 2024, Virta was unexpectedly named the manager of HJK for the

2024 Veikkausliiga The 2024 Veikkausliiga is the 94th season of top-tier football in Finland, which takes place from April to November. Veikkaus was the league's sponsor. Teams The league consisted of twelve teams; ten teams remaining from the previous season, and ...

season, after it was revealed that a newly recruited head coach

Ferran Sibila Ferran Sibila Font (born 13 July 1988) is a Spanish football coach. Coaching career Sibila was an assistant coach of GIF Sundsvall in Allsvenskan during 2017–2018. On 3 September 2020, after the then head coach Poya Asbaghi was sacked, Sibil ...

lacks the required UEFA Pro -coaching license. According to his contract with the club, Virta works as a manager until Sibila is able to attend and start the UEFA Pro coaching class. Sibila was sacked on 20 May 2024, and Virta continued as an assistant coach for newly returned manager

.Toni Korkeakunnas palaa HJK:n päävalmentajaksi
hjk.fi, 20 May 2024

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Virta, Ossi 1988 births Living people Finnish men's footballers Käpylän Pallo players Finnish football managers Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi managers Veikkausliiga managers Footballers from Helsinki Sportspeople from Helsinki