 Jani Honkavaara, head coach of Djurgårdens IF | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1976-02-02)2 February 1976 (age 49) | ||
| Place of birth | Seinäjoki,Finland[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Forward /Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Djurgården (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1999 | TP-Seinäjoki[a] | 121 | (10) |
| 2000 | Joensuun Pallo [fi] | 18 | (1) |
| 2001 | TP-Seinäjoki | 14 | (0) |
| 2002 | Jippo | 12 | (4) |
| 2002–2004 | Viikingit | 45 | (7) |
| 2005 | Someron Voima | 16 | (1) |
| 2006 | Kontu | 2 | (1) |
| 2006 | Viikingit | 10 | (0) |
| Total | 221 | (118) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2009 | Viikingit (assistant) | ||
| 2010–2011 | HIFK | ||
| 2012 | Gnistan | ||
| 2013–2016 | HIFK | ||
| 2017–2019 | KuPS | ||
| 2020–2021 | SJK | ||
| 2023–2024 | KuPS | ||
| 2024 | Finland (assistant) | ||
| 2025– | Djurgården | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jani Honkavaara (born 2 February 1976[2]), is a Finnish professionalfootball manager and former player, who is currently the manager of SwedishAllsvenskan clubDjurgården.[3] Nicknamed "Super-Honsu",[4][5] he ledVeikkausliiga clubKuPS to two Finnish championship titles in two separate stints as manager, in2019 and2024.
Honkavaara began his football career in his hometown clubTP-Seinäjoki (formerly known as Törnävän Pallo-55). During his time with the club, he played 10 matches in the Finnish top tierVeikkausliiga in the1997 season. While studying inJoensuu, Honkavaara played for local clubsJoensuun Pallo [fi] andJippo in the third-tierKakkonen, in 2000 and 2002 respectively. Later in his career, he was mainly known for playing forEast Helsinki based clubFC Viikingit ofVuosaari in the second-tierYkkönen.
After retiring as a football player, Honkavaara started as an assistant coach ofFC Viikingit, in the coaching staff ofToni Korkeakunnas. In 2007, he was appointed the head coach for the2007 Veikkausliiga season and held the position of coach in the club until 2009.
In the autumn of 2009, he was selected as head coach ofHIFK where he led the club towards promotion to the Finnish first divisionYkkönen after season 2010. He resigned from the role of manager of HIFK after season 2011.[6] After the successful spell at HIFK, he went to coach another Helsinki based clubIF Gnistan. Despite a rather successful season, he then resigned from the club after season 2012, citing family reasons.[7] Soon after he was appointed as the new head coach of HIFK which had faced relegation back to Finnish second division,Kakkonen, after the ending season, led by Honkavaara's successor in the managerial role,Juha Moilanen.[8] Right after next and very successful season 2013, he led HIFK back to Ykkönen. After the 2014 season, HIFK was promoted to Veikkausliiga, making it to the top tier of Finnish football for the first time in over 40 years.[9]
At the end of November 2016 it was announced, that Honkavaara would be the new manager ofKuopion Palloseura (KuPS), starting from 1 January 2017.[10] He managed the club to finish 2nd in the league in 2017, and in the 3rd place in 2018. In June 2019, he was offered a head coach position ofRoyale Union Saint-Gilloise. The Belgian club offered to pay a €100,000 fee for his contract, but KuPS was reluctant to let Honkavaara leave.[11] Eventually, in the2019 Veikkausliiga season, Honkavaara led KuPS to its first Finnish championship title in 43 years.[12]
In October 2019 Honkavaara was announced as the new manager of his hometown sideSeinäjoen Jalkapallokerho (SJK).[13] In the2021 season, the team finished 3rd in Veikkausliiga and won the bronze medal.
In the early 2022, Honkavaara started to work as a coach educator for theFootball Association of Finland.[14]
In April 2023, Honkavaara returned toKuPS, when the club sackedPasi Tuutti after only three games in the season.[15] Honkavaara improved the team's performances and led KuPS to finish 2nd in the2023 Veikkausliiga season, by a goal difference toHJK. In the end of the season, the club first didn't exercise their option, but later announced that Honkavaara's contract was extended for the2024 season.[16] For the 2024 season, KuPS reduced the player budget and acquired more of young potential players, rather than players who had already proved their league-level.
On 17 June 2024, Honkavaara was also named the new assistant coach of theFinland national football team.[17] It was also announced that he would not continue as the manager of KuPS after the 2024 season. In September, Honkavaara guided KuPS to win theFinnish Cup, and in October they won theVeikkausliiga championship title again, making it the first double win in the club's history, and the second title for Honkavaara with KuPS.[18] He was awardedFinnish Football Manager of the Year and Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year in 2024.
On 20 December 2024, SwedishAllsvenskan sideDjurgården announced that they had appointed Honkavaara as their new manager on a three-year contract, starting in January 2025.[19] His tenure with the Finland national team ended simultaneously. After Djurgården was knocked out of theSvenska Cupen in group stage, in March Honkavaara led the club to qualify for thequarter finals of theUEFA Conference League by defeatingPafos 3–1 on aggregate,[20] making it the first European quarter final appearance for a Swedish club sinceAIK in1996–97. Later they advanced to the semi-finals againstChelsea, after beatingRapid Wien in the quarter-finals. Honkavaara was named the Allsvenskan Manager of the Month for September 2025, after leading Djurgården to an eleven-game unbeaten run.[21][22]
Honkavaara has studied Finnish language and literature at theUniversity of Eastern Finland inJoensuu, and has later worked as a teacher.
In 2005, he worked briefly as a host of a TV-programNäytetään kieltä, produced byYle.[23]
Honkavaara is married and a father, and has lived inTuusula with his family.[11]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | W% | |||||||
| HIFK |  | 1 January 2010 | 31 December 2011 | 50 | 23 | 11 | 16 | 046.00 | |||
| Gnistan | | 1 January 2012 | 31 December 2012 | 27 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 055.56 | |||
| HIFK | | 1 January 2013 | 27 July 2016 | 113 | 46 | 27 | 40 | 040.71 | |||
| KuPS | | 1 January 2017 | 31 December 2019 | 116 | 58 | 28 | 30 | 050.00 | |||
| SJK Seinäjoki | | 1 January 2020 | 31 December 2021 | 59 | 25 | 12 | 22 | 042.37 | |||
| KuPS | | 21 April 2023 | 20 December 2024 | 72 | 45 | 11 | 16 | 062.50 | |||
| Djurgården |  | 20 December 2024 | present | 40 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 042.50 | |||
| Total | 477 | 229 | 107 | 141 | 048.01 | ||||||
HIFK
KuPS
SJK
Individual