FC Viikingit

Infobox Football club
clubname = FC Viikingit

| fullname = FC Viikingit
nickname = "Viikkarit", "Punaiset"
founded = 1965/1998
ground = Vuosaaren Urheilukenttä
Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland
capacity = 4,200
chairman = flagicon|Finland Jorma Koivukangas
mgrtitle = Manager
manager = flagicon|Finland Toni Korkeakunnas
league = Finnish First Division ("Ykkönen")
season = 2007
position = Finnish Premier League, Veikkausliiga, 13th
shirtsupplier = Adidas
shirtsponsors = Gulf
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pattern_la2= | pattern_b2= | pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=000080 | body2=000080 | rightarm2=000080 | shorts2=000080 | socks2=000080

FC Viikingit ("The vikings of Vuosaari") is a Finnish football club, based in Vuosaari, East Helsinki. The club was founded as Vuosaaren Viikingit in 1965, but in 1998 the football section was separated from the rest of the club and continued under the name FC Viikingit. Usually, the team is referred to as just Viikingit (Finnish for "The Vikings"). The team plays its home matches at Vuosaari on Vuosaaren Urheilukenttä, nicknamed Heteniitty and Monttu.

Recent history

During the years 2002-2006, the team played in the Finnish First Division ("Ykkönen"). The team was promoted from the third division to the second division in 2001 and consequently a year after to the first division. In 2003, FC Viikingit finished 3rd only two points away from a qualification spot for the Finnish Premier Division. The team finished 4th in 2004.

In 2005, Jari Europaeus, a former national team defender, started as the club's manager. The team's target was promotion to the top flight, but it finished 6th. In the pre-season 2006, the team was widely considered one of the biggest promotion candidates. The first half of the season was uneven, but the second half displays were stable and the team was on top of the table when 23 rounds were played. In the 24th round home game against FC Hämeenlinna a winning goal in the 89th minute by Jarno Kallijärvi secured second place and direct following round home victory against RoPS secured the championship title of Ykkönen. In 2007, FC Viikingit played its first ever season in the Premier Division finishing 13th and was relegated back to the First Division. The club is widely believed to return to the top flight after the 2008 season.

Current squad

Notable former players

*flagicon|RUS flagicon|FIN Alexei Eremenko Jr.
*flagicon|FIN Markus Heikkinen
*flagicon|FIN Petri Oravainen
*flagicon|FIN Markus Halsti
*flagicon|FIN Mehmet Hetemaj
*flagicon|RUS Aleksei Zhukov
*flagicon|UKR Aleksander Baranov

External links

*fi icon [http://www.fcviikingit.com FC Viikingit official website]