Kari Arkivuo

Kari Arkivuo (born 23 June 1983) is a Finnish football coach and a former professional football defender who could play as left back and right back.^[1] He is currently working as an assistant coach of FC Lahti. Arkivuo was born in Lahti, Finland where he played for the local teams before moving to Sandefjord at age 22 in 2006.

Kari Arkivuo

Personal information
Date of birth	(1983-06-23) 23 June 1983 (age 42)
Place of birth	Lahti, Finland
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Left Back
Team information
Current team	Lahti (assistant coach)
Youth career
1994–2003	Kuusysi
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2006	Lahti	101	(12)
2006–2008	Sandefjord	71	(5)
2008–2010	Go Ahead Eagles	46	(3)
2010–2019	BK Häcken	195	(5)
2020–2021	Lahti	45	(2)
International career
	Finland U21	15	(0)
2005–2017	Finland	57	(1)
Managerial career
2024–	Lahti (assistant)
Medal record Finland national football team Baltic Cup 2012 FC Lahti Finnish Cup 2002 Finnish League Cup 2004 Finnish League Cup 2005 Sandefjord Norwegian Football Cup 2006 BK Häcken Allsvenskan 2012 Svenska Cupen 2016
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arkivuo made his international debut for Finland in November 2005, at the age of 22.

Club career

FC Lahti

A product of his local FC Kuusysi, Arkivuo made his senior debut for FC Lahti on 3 May 2001 against Inter. He was able to appear in four league matches during his debut season, scoring once in the process. Arkivuo went on to make total of 101 league appearances and 12 goals for Lahti during his five-year stay.

Sandefjord

On 2006 he signed a three-year contract with Sandefjord in the Norwegian Premier League. He started his first season well, but suffered an injury in May and had to join Sandefjord's reserve team in order to gain play time. After season 2007 Sandefjord was relegated to Adeccoligaen. After just one season in the second tier Sandefjord returned to Tippeligaen.^[2]

Go Ahead Eagles

After struggling with injuries and facing a relegation with Sandefjord, Arkivuo left the club and joined the Eerste Divisie side Go Ahead Eagles in 2009.

Häcken

During the summer 2010 it was announced that Arkivuo had signed a 1+3 year-contract with Allsvenskan side BK Häcken.^[3]

FC Lahti

In October 2019 it was announced that Arkivuo would be returning to play for FC Lahti in Veikkausliiga.^[4]

International career

After playing 15 times for the Finland U21, Arkivuo made his national team debut on 12 November 2005 in a friendly match against Estonia and went on scoring in the 2−2 home draw.^[5] After appearing mostly in friendlies, Arkivuo was called up by national coach Mixu Paatelainen for the Euro 2012 qualifying matches, where he has been playing as a right back. After the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifications he established himself as a regular in the national team and has appeared in every qualification campaign since.^[6]

Coaching career

After his retirement, Arkivuo has worked as a youth talent coach for FC Lahti. On 18 July 2024, he started as an assistant coach of the FC Lahti first team.^[7]

Personal life

He is commonly known by the nickname Arki-Kari amongst the supporters of Finland national team.^[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of 31 October 2016^[9][10]

Club	Season	Division	League		Domestic Cups		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Lahti
	2001	Veikkausliiga	4	1	0	0	–		4	1
	2002	Veikkausliiga	26	0	0	0	–		26	0
	2003	Veikkausliiga	23	4	0	0	–		23	4
	2004	Veikkausliiga	26	5	0	0	–		26	5
	2005	Veikkausliiga	22	2	0	0	–		22	2
	Total		101	12	0	0	0	0	101	12
Sandefjord
	2006	Tippeligaen	19	1	0	0	–		19	1
	2007	Tippeligaen	24	3	0	0	–		24	3
	2008	1. divisjon	28	1	0	0	–		28	1
	Total		71	5	0	0	0	0	71	5
Go Ahead Eagles
	2008–09	Eerste Divisie	12	1	0	0	–		12	1
	2009–10	Eerste Divisie	32	2	4	0	–		36	2
	Total		44	3	4	0	0	0	48	3
Häcken
	2010	Allsvenskan	5	0	0	0	–		5	0
	2011	Allsvenskan	23	2	0	0	5	0	28	2
	2012	Allsvenskan	25	0	3	0	–		28	0
	2013	Allsvenskan	21	0	3	0	4	0	28	0
	2014	Allsvenskan	25	1	1	0	–		26	1
	2015	Allsvenskan	20	0	6	0	–		26	0
	2016	Allsvenskan	24	2	0	0	2	0	26	2
	2017	Allsvenskan	22	0	4	0	–		26	0
	2018	Allsvenskan	22	0	3	1	4	0	29	1
	2019	Allsvenskan	8	0	0	0	–		8	0
	Total		195	5	20	1	15	0	230	6
FC Lahti	2020	Veikkausliiga	21	0	6	0	–		27	0
	2021	Veikkausliiga	24	1	0	0	–		24	1
	Total		45	1	6	0	0	0	51	1
Career total			456	26	31	1	15	0	502	27

International

As of 13 January 2017^[11][12]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Finland
	2005	1	1
	2006	4	0
	2007	0	0
	2008	1	0
	2009	1	0
	2010	0	0
	2011	6	0
	2012	6	0
	2013	11	0
	2014	5	0
	2015	6	0
	2016	8	0
	2017	2	0
Total		52	1

International goals

#	Date	Location	Opponent	Result	Competition
1.	12 November 2005	Helsinki	Estonia	2−2	Friendly

Honours

Häcken

• Svenska Cupen: 2016

Finland

• Baltic Cup runner-up: 2012