Nordic Football News

Alright, so I’ve picked five winners for the Veikkausliiga haiku competition. The standard of entries was really, really high, and the judges were all blown away by some of the work displayed. Honourable mentions should go to Venire, Sylvia, Piip, CF and Leonardo (Veikkausliiga’s only Brazilian poet, as far as NFN is aware), who made the decisions very difficult, but decide we did and we now finally have our winners.

First up is Purojannu, who gave us this ode to early season football:

Lumikinokset
Makkara ja kahvia
Meidän liigamme

It translates as ’snow piles, sausages and coffee, our league’, a succinct but pertinent description of Veikkausliiga’s opening rounds. Coffee and sausages are often the best thing about games at this time of year.

Our second winner is another description of springtime in Finnish football, this time from Osku:

Lunta kentällä,
nurmea paikoitellen.
Kausi lähellä?

And in English:

Snow on the pitch,
grass here and there
is the season close?

Given the dominance of poor pitch conditions and the delayed opening rounds for many of the inland and northern clubs, this one had to be included among the winners.

In the same vein, we have this from Arcz. I feel that this determined resolve not to get taken in by the usual pre-season optimism of the football fan deserved to be rewarded. By tickets to more football matches. I hope they do not make him suicidal.

kolme pistettä
aurinko ei sammukaan
valehtelevat

or in English:

Three points,
the sun won’t stop shining after all
they are liars

Next up, we have an example of the Russian Haiku tradition, in which weather is used as a metaphor for the author’s emotions. Sinä Olga is clearly part of Sedu Koskinen’s target market, interested as she is in bare-chested young men, but even the shirt removal she outlines cannot overcome her indifference to the sport. Work still to do for Sedu-style football to take hold? We’ll see when she uses the ticket vouchers.

Men run, out in the cold
I wait – they take off their shirts
In the end. Cold.

Lastly, we have Haka. A real tour de force, this one, and sums up so much of what football is about for everyone, not just Finns. Who says they don’t have football culture?

just a glimmer of hope from the north
anemic shit
wasted optimism
running down in weeks
causing painful shrieks

just a glimmer of hope from the north
another disappointment in the absence
of the so called loyal
blameful crowds
walking away in shrouds

just a glimmer of hope from the north
with no respect for it’s roots
yelling for fancy suits and new recruits
seeking joy from the failures of enemies
found with ease

who benefits of this malicious joy
when your left with a group of men who have no will
at least we have something
to wait for…
far from still