Watching Tampere United struggle to a single goal victory over JJK at Ratina yesterday, it occurred to me just how astonishing it is that anyone watches Finnish football. The first half was enjoyably predictable, as TamU attacked and JJk attempted to string a few passes together. JJK’s South Korean striker Nam was brought off injured, and someone curled a shot against the bar for the Jyväskyläns (it could very possibly have been Koskela), and Rafinha got the winner when Sinisalo headed past his own keeper, but overall it was a pretty run of the mill Veikkausliiga match.
Things livened up considerably in the second half when a torrential downpour began, 30 seconds into which the benevolent tannoy operator sprang into action.
“Specators in the sunny side stand can move to the main stand free of charge,” said the latter day Florence Nightingale, as the huddled and drenched sunnysiders – located in one of the many parts of Ratina Stadium offering less protection from the elements than New Orleans’s flood defences - sought what shelter they could in the gangways.
The funny thing was, quite a few of them sat tight throughout the deluge. They knew they took the risk and they had brought umbrellas, those pac-a-mac thingies you get at theme parks, and a dogged determination to see the game for which they (or some of them, at least) had paid.
The announcement had no effect on this. The generosity of spirit that would allow the drenched hordes entry into the holy VIP paradise of the dry, warm, Eden-like main stand went tragically under-appreciated. The Sunnysiders preferred to stand in the gangways, using the stand itself as a roof and neglecting the tannoy man’s kind offer.
The crowd yesterday was announced as 1,848, a number of people that could all fit into the main stand if the club wanted them to. That would get people sitting closer together, imagining themselves to be part of a crowd rather than a wake, and maybe even encourage more of a football-type atmosphere.
A better option would be to play games where fewer than 5,000 fans are expected at the excellent Tammela Stadium, which will be the venue for Tampere United’s match against FF Jaro in the cup on Thursday. I can’t quite express how excited I am about this, except to say that I will almost certainly be disappointed, such a fevered state of anticipation have I worked myself into.
For all it’s many, many faults and deficiencies (bumpy pitch, crap showers, no VIP facilities), Tammela keeps pretty much everyone dry, and able to see the pitch without binoculors. In my somewhat addled football-value index, this makes tickets worth twice as much as they would be at Ratina, and I cannot understand why TamU do not play there to build a loyal fanbase, while moving bigger games to Ratina when they sell enough tickets.
Enough stadia ranting. Ilari Ruuth came on for Sakari Saarinen, and did nothing wrong, Jonne Hjelm played from the start and did little noticeably right, Kangaskolkka was little better, but I was very impressed with Vili Savolainen. He seems to have taken on the responsibility of playing as a defensive midfielder and now gives the ball away much less frequently than he used to. He was a poor player when he arrived from HJK, but Ari Hjelm’s coaching might just have turned him around.
Elsewhere in Veikkausliiga, the top two steamed ahead with 2-0 away victories. The cleanliness of HJK’s win in Jakobstad can’t really be questioned, but imagine if this happened somewhere in Eastern Europe: the home team’s coach announces his intention to stand down at the end of the season. It’s reported that he may well be headed to the away, title-challenging team. The home team then loses 2-0, scoring an own goal and missing a penalty. I’ve no reason to believe Mika Laurikainen was anything other than 100% committed to ensuring Jaro won the game, but this kind of complicated contract situation invites cynicism.
“HJK were better,” Laurikainen said afterwards. “We couldn’t get into the game in the first half hour. The second half went better.”
Antti Hynynen was Haka’s hero in Anjalankoski, scoring both goals against mypa. He complimented Niko Ikabalko’s cross afterwards, and said it was nice to start a game – with Haka’s embarrasment of riches he probably had to score to stay in the side.
Elsewhere Inter drew 1-1 with a Litmanenless Lahti (who are in between the two legs of their Europa League tie with Dinamo Tirana, and as such a little tired), IFK drew 0-0 with VPS, and yesterday KuPS beat RoPS 3-0 in the relegation six-pointer. Things look pretty tight down there now, with KuPS bottom on 7 points, JJK second bottom on the same points total, and RoPS third bottom on 8. There’s then a gap till Mypa, who are on 13 points.
Things are a little clearer at the top. Both components of ‘Finland’s classico’ are now on 27 points, with Haka top on goal difference. TPS are next up, five points behind with a game in hand, a game that will be played away against Honka tomorrow (live on UTV and streams at 7pm). Mariehamn are fourth on 22 points, having played 13 games like the top two, then it’s Honka on 20 points after 12 games.
Highlights of all the weekends games are available here.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Is there any particular reason why Mariehamn feels compelled to play every match to a 0-0 draw?
July 6th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Sure. A tight defence and legless strikers. Have not yet checked the match reports but usually it VPS away who is to blame with basically the same reasons, added with the desire the earn at least one undeserved point.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Olli-Pekka Lyytikäinen was interviewed for this morning’s Ilta-Sanomat, and he reportedly laughed out loud when he was asked whether HJK have struck a deal with Laurikainen. He said HJK are not busy with deciding their head coach for next year, and didn’t make any further comments regarding Laurikainen’s possible arrival at Finnair Stadium. Then again, what else could he say?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:59 am
They wouldn’t be busy if it was already decided, would they? It’d be an unusually positive and long-term strategy for HJK to follow, and as such I’d like to see it happen, but it has a pernicious effect on this season if it’s all hush hush. Just get it done now and allow everyone to plan, if it’s going to happen.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:56 am
You’re right. But I feel they want a big name rather than a good, but relatively unknown coach like Laurikainen. And Muurinen is probably an option too. He’s a good friend of Lyytikäinen, and if HJK achieve something in this year’s league, Muurinen could well get a new contract to the delight of their fans.
July 6th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I have recently been introduced to Finnish football by a big FC Haka fan and already find myself regularly visiting the website and wearing the tee-shirt sent to me by my friend. It appears that ‘little’ Haka who did quite poorly last season, are in a postion to challenge the big city boys this year. Can someone with a better understanding of Finland football explain what is expected from this season ?
July 6th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Crikey blimey, where to start with this?
Haka are certainly not ‘little’ in Finnish football, they are one of the giants of the Finnish game and are not without friends in high places. They were founded by paper baron Juuso Walden (he also founded MyPa). His grandson Jan is head of Veikkausliiga, and his other grandson Timo is the press officer for the national team and runs his own successful football media business. The springboard for Timo’s success was his position as Haka’s press officer, and they are certainly one of the old, established clubs in Finnish football. Along with HJK, they are one of those teams that expects to have things all their own way, as shown when they were denied a licence for the UEFA Cup last season and various Haka sources began whispering about dark plots among their enemies at the FA. They (and HJK) do not expect FA decisions to go against them.
Their illustrious history means that they are expected to compete for the title most years. They’ve won the league 9 times and the cup 12, and even though the paper mill no longer bankrolls their operations, they have Sedu Koskinen in charge now. He runs a chain of bars and nightclubs in Finland, is extraordinarily wealthy, and has shaken things up good and proper.
This has been both positive and negative. On the plus side, Haka now have great hospitality facilities, and it is impossible now to buy a season ticket without giving your name and address for future marketing purposes (I did that in 2008, much to my astonishment). Their budget is large and they have signed a lot of players, although suspicions exist as to whether it was Sedu or the coach, Oka Huttunen who actually signed some of them. Sedu has suggested that more attractive players are needed so that more women will attend matches, and that celebrities watching from the stands would mean more fans through the turnstiles.
He has professionalised their operations to a large extent, and the golf buggies and segways that tootle around Tehttaan kenttä on match days certainly look impressive. The problem is that Valkeakoski is a small town, and the nightclub approach might begin to rub people up the wrong way. For instance: I was chatting with a Haka fan the other day, and as I was leaving he asked when I’d next be in Valkeakoski. I said the next game, and we should have a pint. He said ‘okay, I’ll be in Mama’s’ – Mama’s being one of the very few Valkeakoski watering holes not owned by Sedu’s new Koski-Ravintolat company, founded to channel profits to Haka. It seems like people resent the pace of change in the town and the club, and Sedu has not quite been as accommodating of these traditionalist voices as he could have been.
That said, it’s working. They’re not playing very well, but hoovering up points, and Huttunen knows his position will be under threat if he finishes outside the top three, and maybe even if he fails to win the title. These are interesting times for Haka, that’s for sure.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Thanks Egan – that’s certainly a comprehensive background to the politics of FC Haka ! I’m not so sure about the merits of signing handsome players for the benfit of gate receipts – I would welcome ‘ugly’ Wayne Rooney at Villa Park any day.
I knew about the paper mill history but not that the club was currently bank rolled by the bar/nightclub industry. I still hope they do well as I now have a tee shirt and my friend has a season ticket at the club !
Let’s see how the season unfolds.
Cheers
July 6th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
They’re a good team, and it’s a lovely ground. If you get the opportunity to visit, you should definitely see a match there.