Miika Takkula

Miika Takkula
Personal information
Date of birth (1983-04-17) 17 April 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Kiiminki, Finland
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Ilves (sporting director)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Tervarit 12 (0)
2002 → KajHa (loan) 7 (0)
2003–2004 AC Oulu 40 (0)
2005 Inter Turku 0 (0)
2005 → VG-62 (loan) 20 (0)
2006–2007 AC Oulu 12 (1)
2006 → OLS (loan) 3 (0)
2007 → OPS (loan) 2 (0)
Managerial career
2019–2023 HJK (sporting director)
2023– Ilves (sporting director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Miika Takkula (born 17 April 1983) is a Finnish sporting director and former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently working as the sporting director of Veikkausliiga club Ilves.

Playing career

During his playing career, Takkula played in Finland for his hometown clubs Tervarit and AC Oulu in Ykkönen and in Kakkonen. He ended his playing career after the 2007 season due to injuries.

Career

After his retirement as a player, Takkula started to work in HJK Helsinki organisation in 2008. He started in an after-school day care arranged by the club. He worked with youth teams, as a youth coach and as an academy coach, and additionally in other positions in the club. In 2013, he was named the coaching director of the club's youth sector. In 2018–2019, he spent eight months in Australia working in a local academy of AC Milan.[1]

In July 2019, Takkula returned to Finland and was named the sporting director of HJK first team in Veikkausliiga. During his four-year spell in HJK, the club won three Finnish Championship titles in a row and qualified to the group stages of European competitions in three consecutive seasons.

In the middle of the 2023 season, it was announced that Takkula departed HJK and was named the sporting director of fellow Veikkausliiga side Ilves.[2][3] Takkula had worked in different roles in HJK for a total of 15 years before his departure.[4][5][6][7] At the end of the 2024 season, the Ilves first team built by Takkula, finished as the Veikkausliiga runners-up, falling two points short to KuPS.

Personal life

He is the brother of Finnish politician and former MEP Hannu Takkula, and cellist Heikki Takkula.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Kiiminkiläislähtöinen Miika Takkula on nyt HJK:n urheilu- ja kehitysjohtaja – Entisen AC Oulun pelaajan matka tehtävään alkoi pienen huoneen nurkkauksesta reilut 13 vuotta sitten". Kaleva (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  2. ^ "Ilves vahvistaa organisaatioitaan – Miika Takkula urheilutoimenjohtajaksi". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  3. ^ Lietjärvi, Mikko (2023-08-28). "Ilves Edustus Oy ja Ilves Stadion Oy vahvistavat organisaatioitaan". Ilvesedustus.fi | Edustusjoukkueiden yhteinen koti (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  4. ^ Mäntylä, Pekka (2023-08-28). "Miika Takkula jättää HJK:n urheilujohtajan tehtävät". HJK Helsinki (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  5. ^ "HJK ry: Urheilu ja kehitysjohtaja Miika Takkula ja henkilöstöpäällikkö Laura Salmi". www.mehilainen.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  6. ^ "Seurapomo jättää HJK:n – siirtyy toisen Veikkausliiga-joukkueen palkkalistoille". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  7. ^ "HJK:n seurapomo siirtyy Ilveksen riveihin". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  8. ^ Raunio, Antti (2023-10-21). "Uusi Ilves-pomo lataa kovan tavoitteen mestaruudesta – Tällainen on Miika Takkulan menestysvisio". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-01-08.