Photo by Tero Wester.

Baxter had an eventful 2009. Finland’s qualification efforts ran aground, and the introduction of younger players went more slowly than many Finland fans would have liked. The loss to Russia and draw in Liechtenstein were particular low points, but Finland’s two victories over Wales ensured they retained third spot in the group.

Baxter has always talked about an evolution in the national team, a strategy to ensure that players are ready when they make the step up. The 2-1 victory over Wales in Helsinki and 1-1 draw in Germany four days later provided some vindication for the Birmingham-born coach. Sparv, Porokara, Hämäläinen, Moisander and Eremenko all played vital roles in those games, the question is whether they could all have played earlier or whether Baxter got their development plans just right.

At this stage it’s hard not to give him the benefit of the doubt, as some players met expectations (Moisander, Eremenko), while others exceeded them (Sparv, Hämäläinen, Porokara). Baxter’s contract runs until the end of the 2012 European Championships, or at least Finland’s involvement in it.

Finland coaching staff singing the national anthem before Finland v Russia in Helsinki. Photo by Tero Wester.

Finland’s coaching staff. Olli Huttunen, to Baxter’s left, was fighting for his survival as Haka’s head coach at this time, a fight he eventually lost to almost universal sympathy – his then boss, Seppo ‘Sedu’ Koskinen, is not regarded as an easy man to work for. Next up is Jari-Pekka Keurulainen, who has been part of Finland’s coaching setup since Antti Muurinen’s arrival in 2000, Heikki Kinnunen, team doctor, Paavo Leiramo, physio, and Kai Kyntölä, kit man.

Jonatan Johansson scores the first goal for Finland in their 2-0 win against Wales in Cardiff. Phot by Anu Laitila.

Prior to this match Finland were not in an optimistic mood, having lost 3-0 in Moscow the previous October to make qualification quite a long shot. The calls for renewal and youth were gaining a little currency, and failure to win in cardiff could have tipped the balance, but in the end a brilliant performance from Jari Litmanen helped secure a Finland victory. He played a central role in setting up this goal for Jonatan Johansson.

The 33 year old (since turned 34) was criticised afterwards by Welsh captain Craig Bellamy, who said he wasn’t ‘good enough to score’. He played his 100th international against Germany in Hamburg on 14 October, receiving bouquets from the Finnish and German FA’s and scoring the Finland goal. He spent several months out of contract in the summer before eventually signing for St Johnstone.

Finland's young midfielder before kickoff in Cardiff. Photo by Anu Laitila.

Tim Sparv broke into the full national team in 2009, forming a formidable partnership in central midfield with Roman Eremenko. Making his debut in the bizarre February friendly against Japan in Tokyo, he was then called up to the squad for the game in Cardiff, despite also captaining the Under-21s who were at a training camp in Spain at the time. His maturity is valued by Baxter, who places a lot of emphasis on mental strength and tactical intelligence.

When he gave a press conference in October with the leaders of the previous ‘golden generation’, Sami Hyypiä and Jari Litmanen, it looked very much like an introduction to the team’s new leader. Sparv secured himself a move to Groningen in the wake of his performances in the Under-21 European Championships, and he will officially transfer to the Dutch club on 1 January 2010.

'The King' orchestrated Finland's play in Wales. Photo by Anu Laitila.

Litmanen’s performance against Wales was superb. He barely moved outside of the centre circle, but he controlled Finland’s play with a range of passing and an intelligence that almost no other Finnish player has ever displayed. At the age of 38, it is still possible he will be part of the Finland squad in the forthcoming European Championship campaign, indeed the new chairman of the Finnish FA, Sauli Niinistö, publicly asked him to stay on during his election campaign.

Tihinen, Kallio and Heikkinen thank the 2,000 Finland fans after victory in Cardiff gave them a glimmer of hope of qualification for the World Cup. Photo by Anu Laitila.

Jääskeläinen and Pasanen celebrate the Wales victory. Photo by Anu Laitila.

Finland’s 2,000-strong following in Cardiff brought admiring coverage in the press, and gratitude from the players. Fulham defender Toni Kallio started the year well, with a good performance in Wales. The 31 year old left back faced tough competition from AZ Alkmaar’s Niklas Moisander, and the Wales match was probably to prove his high point of the year in a Finland shirt.

34 year-old Hannu Tihinen recovered well from a horror show against Russia in the previous qualifier. He was to suffer again in Helsinki against Guus Hiddink’s rapid counter-attacking side, but against Wales ‘Rautavuori’, or ‘Steel mountain’, looked solid and dependable. Markus Heikkinen had a role in every Finland game this year except Wales at home, and his tenacity and versatility are very useful in a squad like Finland’s.

Petri Pasanen’s versatility ensures that he is part of most Finland teams. He can play anywhere across the back line, and has done so for Finland, while Jussi Jääskeläinen announced his retirement from international football in October.

Finland fans let off a flare in Kamppi before marching to the Russia match. Photo by Tero Wester.

Finland’s supporter group, SMJK, has brought a hint of European football culture to international matches. Whereas most Finnish sporting events are accompanied by rhythmic clapping and shouts of ‘hei! hei! hei! hei!’, or ‘maali’, at Finland matches there is a ‘curva’, and a capo, and often excellent choreography.

They had been looking forward to this game against the Eastern neighbour, and they warmed up in their usual spot in the centre of town before marching along Mannerheimintie towards the Olympic Stadium. The footballers failed to heed the ‘time for heroes’ flag, unfortunately.

Finnish and Russian fans clash on Mannerheimintie before the match. Photo by Tero Wester.

SMJK’s march to the stadium was met near the National Museum by a large group of Russian fans also wanting to get to the ground. The resulting clash between the two groups, on one of Finland’s busiest streets during rush hour, was pretty much unprecedented.

“Finland has many presidents, but only one King”. The slogan sums up Litmanen’s position in society, and indeed the “king” moniker has spread beyond internet forums and into the mainstream media. He is pretty much a living deity.

Finland fans invoke the fight against Russification from the early part of the 20th century. Photo by Tero Wester.

Isto’s maiden is intended to represent Finland’s fight against Russian domination. In the original version the eagle – representing Russia – is attempting to take away Finland’s book of laws, when its autonomous Grand Duchy status and separate legal code within the Russian Empire was under threat in the last years of Tsarist rule. In June, SMJK replaced the book with a football for their choreography.

Finland's team photo before kick-off against Russia in Helsinki. Photo by Tero Wester.

This starting team had an average age of 30.5.

Arshavin in possession, as he seemed to be for much of the game. Photo by Tero Wester.

Litmanen struggled to recreate his Cardiff form against Russia, and the fast-moving, modern Russia side showed the limitations of a team reliant on experience rather than mobility. Litmanen himself has the vision and creativity to involve younger water carriers, but they were not in evidence against Russia, and after the Russia game renewal of the side began in earnest. Arshavin seemed to be a quicker, more inventive, sharper version of Litmanen, prompting comparisons with the King’s earlier years. The Arsenal man dominated Finland in Moscow and Helsinki, and the failure to deal with Russian movement on and off the ball was a big failing for Finland.

Eremenko under pressure from Zurianov. Photo by Tero Wester.

Eremenko was one of the few to emerge from the Russia game with any credit, as William Moore pointed out at the time. He was under some pressure beforehand, with the Russian media playing on his and his brother’s roots (both were born in Russia), but he responded well to the challenge. Although he has been playing at right-back for Dinamo Kiev, his is probably the first midfielder’s name on the teamsheet.

Alexei Jr in his second game back. Photo by Tero Wester.

The other Eremenko brother also had a decent 2009. After going incommunicado and getting dropped from the squad for the autumn 2008 qualifiers by text message, drink-driving issues and fitness difficulties, Eremenko was recalled to the squad for the wales match and has stayed there ever since. Now playing for Metalist Kharkiv in the Ukraine, his next challenge in the national team is holding down a place in a settled side.

Finland fans show their colours. Photo by Tero Wester.

The North Curve was the only section of the stadium without Russian fans, and even there a few flags appeared around the edges. It seemed as though half of Northwest Russia had arrived in Helsinki that day, but SMJK did their best to support their team anyway.

These fans went on to suffer their own heartbreak in the play-off against Slovenia. Photo by Tero Wester.

Russian fans and players celebrate their third goal against Finland in Helsinki. Photo by Tero Wester.

Some of the estimated 30,000 Russian fans celebrate their victory, which ensured that Finland’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup disappeared.

Finland's captain makes a clearance. He was a busy man in the Russia game. Photo by Tero Wester.

Finland's captain with his eye on the ball. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Hyypiä had an eventful year. He was left out of Liverpool’s 2008-09 Champions League squad by Rafael Benitez, and the news broke in the build-up to Finland’s opening World Cup qualifier against Germany. He spoke of his hurt and shock at the decision, and his eventual departure from Liverpool began to look inevitable.

His form in a Finland shirt was mediocre, with Russia in particular giving the rather static Finnish defence nightmares, but the two games against Wales were cathartic for everyone involved. Hyypiä just about managed to keep his former team-mate Craig Bellamy in check, which did not make the Welshman happy, and is likely to continue in a Finland shirt until he decides he has had enough. He is ever-present for his new side, Bayer Leverkusen, who are challenging at the top of the Bundesliga, while his old club Liverpool look defensively weak and in danger of missing out on the Champions League.

In between the Russia match and the Wales game Finland scraped a victory in Lankaran, Azerbaijan, and drew 1-1 with Liechtenstein, which forced even Baxter to admit that qualification was ‘now very unlikely’. You can see pictures from the Liechtenstein debacle here, if you really want to.

Despite Everything, we're always here. Photo by Lauri Ouvinen.

The Azeris have been a bogey side for Finland, and a 2-1 win away from home is not to be sniffed at, but the Vaduz result was awful and the fans felt it necessary to make their views known with a banner before the Wales game. The text was ‘Kaikesta huolimatta, Me ollemme aina täällä’, which translates as ‘despite everything, we are always here’. The question was how many of the players from the older generation would also remain in the squad.

One of Finland's younger talents, Roni Porokara. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Porokara has taken a typical route for Finnish footballers, following his Veikkausliiga career with a spell in Allsvenskan. He joined Sixten Böström’s Finnish colony at Örebro when he left Honka, and has impressed so much he is unlikely to remain there in 2010. Rumours suggest he could take a very untypical route to Israel, with Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv possible destinations for the winger. Having started both the Wales and Germany games and scored the opening goal against Wales, he looks likely to remain in Stuart Baxter’s plans.

Bellamy shushes the Finland fans after equalising for Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Bellamy was prominent in the Finnish football year, after declaring that Finland and Wales were ‘two poor teams that haven’t got a hope in hell of qualifying’. Subsequent events arguably proved him right, with the Finns dropping points against a tax haven and failing to even nearly trouble Russia, but due to his tactless and provocative delivery, he still received near-constant abuse – in English – from the Finland fans, who alleged that he is a ‘homo’. This Wildean wit failed to put him off his game, and he scored Wales’s equalising goal.

Kasper Hämäläinen, Chris Gunter, and a ballboy. Photo by Krevis from ff2.

Hämäläinen got his first run-out (not counting the Japan match in February) as a substitute against Wales, replacing Joonas Kolkka in the 68th minute. he did well enough to get a starting spot against Germany, and played well again, but his club season ended in disappointment as TPS Turku missed out on the title. Expected to move abroad this winter, he will need regular playing time to ensure he retains his spot in the national side.

Niklas Moisander's goal against Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Niklas Moisander's goal against Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Niklas Moisander's goal against Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Niklas Moisander's goal against Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Niklas Moisander celebrates his goal against Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

Celebrations after Niklas Moisander's goal against Wales. Photo by Olli Jantunen.

This goal meant a lot to Moisander. In 2009 he won the Dutch league with Alkmaar, lost his coach Louis Van Gaal to Bayern Munich, and struggled to retain his position under new boss Ronald Koeman. His (some would say long overdue) establishment as a national team player was marked by this late winner in the Wales match, where he turned inside the defender and leathered the ball home from a tight angle. He spoke afterwards about the recent death of his grandfather, and his difficulties at club level, that ensured this goal – in his first Finland start at the Olympic Stadium – was important on a personal level.

Mutual applause for Finnish team, fans. Photo by, erm, 'Juustonacksu' from ff2.

You can see more pictures from Finland’s excellent yet slightly unlucky 1-1 draw in Hamburg at UEFA’s site.

Thanks, as ever, to Finns Worldwide, FutisForum2, Petteri Lehtonen, Olli Jantunen and Tero Wester.

]]> http://www.nordicfootball.info/finland/finland-2009-in-pictures-part-three/feed/ 5 http://www.nordicfootball.info/finland/johansson-scores-one-and-sets-up-another-as-finland-draw-in-hamburg/ http://www.nordicfootball.info/finland/johansson-scores-one-and-sets-up-another-as-finland-draw-in-hamburg/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:58:15 +0000 Egan Richardson http://www.nordicfootball.info/?p=3839 It was billed as the day Finland’s young players would come of age, and those that played certainly did that. Roni Porokara was a constant threat to Beck on Finland’s left wing, Kasper Hämäläinen linked up on the other wingand was not overawed in front of a crowd 12 times larger than his club’s average gate, while Tim Sparv was admirably robust in his challenges, fouling when necessary and breaking up plenty of German attacks. Jari Litmanen was also magnificent, orchestrating Finnish moves and counter-attacks as well as he did in Finland’s victory over Wales last March.

But the central figure was Jonatan Johansson, who received bouquets from Mickael Ballack and Finnish FA president Pekka Hämäläinen before kick off in recognition of his achievement in starting 100 internationals. Finland took the lead after a precise, rapid counter-attack launched when Litmanen set free Porokara down the left, who raced past the near-stationary Beck before delivering a cross to Roman Eremenko, who knocked it down for Johansson to pick up. The bouquet recipient nipped in between Friedrich and Westermann before poking the ball past Adler and into the German goal, and Finland’s fans and players could not quite believe it.

They began spraying the ball about as if they were a calm, confident modern football team, a preposterous impersonation given their previous cock-ups in this group. At least one move involved more than 20 passes, and it was no surprise when the German fans booed their team off at half time. Was this really Finland, playing possession football, assured at the back and dangerous up front? They didn’t create too many clear cut chances, but they were dominating play and frustrating Germany. Mission accomplished, pretty much – if only it had ended then.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Baxter swapped Hämäläinen for Kolkka on 66 minutes, and Kuqi for Porokara on 71, and Finland’s fluent counter-attacks all but dried up, as Germany’s attacking onslaught gathered pace. Deprived of the respite offered by an attacking quartet able to keep the ball near the German goal, Finland came under more and more pressure, and eventually conceded a farcical equaliser when Johansson trod on the ball in the six yard box. Klose passed to Podolski, who side footed home and then laughed hysterically for a couple of minutes as his team mates celebrated.

Baxter defended his substitutions in his post-game TV interview.

“We have a lot of players that don’t play at this level, and they tire, like they did in Helsinki, and we had to replace them,” Baxter told the watching thousands.

That Kuqi looked more tired after five minutes on the field than Porokara had after 70 was not pointed out to the coach, neither was the fact that it is much less tiring to keep possession than it is to defend. But to do so would have been overly critical, as Finland performed much better than they have in pretty much any other game this campaign. The coach deserves credit for that, and he was gutted about the result, if not most of the performance.

“I must be one of the most stupid coaches in the world, because I’ve drawn twice with Germany and I’m disappointed,” said the Helsingborg-based Finland manager. “I’m massively disappointed for the players. We could have been one of the few teams to have beaten Germany in a World Cup qualifier on their home pitch.”

Philipp Lahm was not impressed with Finland’s attacking intent, but quite what he expected from them is unclear.

“We always have trouble playing against teams that pack their defence, just as we did against Azerbaijan,” the left back moaned afterwards. “And that was the case today as well. They scored the goal early and then played defensively.”

Lothar Mathäus would never have made excuses like that, but this is all-new, skintight-shirt-wearing, aesthetically pleasing Germany, and victory is less important than a nice spectacle for the fans. Call me old fashioned if you must, but I’m not sure I like it.

“I was there when we drew with Liechtenstein, that was an awful night.”

“LIECHTENSTEIN? LUXURY! I’ve seen us draw 0-0 with Andorra!”

“That’s nothing – I was there when Shefki missed that last minute chance in Prague and the Czechs went up the other end and scored the winner.”

And so on, and on. This summer one member of the Finnish press corps boldly stated that he would get down on his knees after the game in Germany and beg Baxter to resign, such was his despair at Finland’s performances in recent times.

It is unlikely he will do so now, after Baxter revealed that speculation linking him with the now-vacant Sweden job had led the Finnish FA to think about extending his contract. If the anti-Baxter journalist does indeed follow through on his promise to beg Baxter to go, I certainly hope there are cameras there to record it.

Kasper Hämäläinen’s elevation to a starting place tonight is the boldest move Finland have made for a while, but then again, Germany are blooding youngsters too and the game is otherwise meaningless. Here is Finland’s team:

Jussi Jääskeläinen

Veli Lampi-Sami Hyypiä-Markus Heikkinen-Niklas Moisander

Tim Sparv-Roman Eremenko

Kasper Hämäläinen-Jari Litmanen-Roni Porokara

Jonatan Johansson

Hämäläinen has a massive week ahead, with tonight’s game against Germany followed by TPS-Honka on Saturday, that could decide the title. After that, he hopes to move abroad.

“I think I’m ready now,” he told NFN after the Wales game on Saturday. “I’ve been at TPS for five years now, and I’ve learnt a lot, but it’s time to move on. Last winter I filled out a lot after working in the gym, and this gave me a lot of self-confidence, as well as helping me play as an anchor man.”

It will be fascinating to see how he, Porokara, Moisander and Sparv do tonight in front of 55,000 in Hamburg. They were the standout players on Saturday, but Germany are an order of magnitude better than Wales, and the atmosphere will be slightly more intimidating.

Obviously it would be naive to draw too many conclusions from a single game. But be that as it may, the injection of vitality in the aged limbs of the Finnish national team rekindled a kind of joy and enthusiasm (at least in me) which has been missing throughout the campaign. And that is reason enough to celebrate. The re-building process has been long overdue but now it is in motion at last. There is a future in Finnish football after all.

It is justifiable to claim, without even going overboard, that Roni Porokara, Tim Sparv, Niklas Moisander and Kasper Hämäläinen were the better performers for Finland, outshining the older hands they are to replace. They didn’t just tag along for the ride, hiding behind the shadow of experience but, on the contrary, the quartet took the initiative and made it their game. Porokara put in a man-of-the-match performance, scoring the first and setting up the second with a good all-round effort. Sparv played a balanced and almost flawless game, improving and taking more responsibility in the role of Finland’s attacking initiator as the game wore on. Moisander looked assured defensively, provided decent attacking options on his wing and scored a beauty with such understated grace you could mistake him for a world-class forward, if you didn’t know better. Hämäläinen came on in the 67th minute and immediately took the game in his stride with his active approach in the Finnish attacking third and got close scoring his first goal for Finland.

The quartet gave a fine presentation of the attributes that Finland need from its players in order to be successful in the future: good all-round technical skills, physical versatility, pace and dynamism, a touch of adventurousness and, above all, quality basic playing. Instead of world class players (let’s face it, it’s useless to daydream about them in this northern periphery), Finland require a steady flow of quality footballers whose overall attributes are in tune with the demands of the modern game. This doesn’t mean that Finland should start breeding players in a prescribed mould but it is simply a fact that since modern football is increasingly defined by pace and physicality (in all their manifestations, with and without the ball), players must be more and more complete as athletes in order to succeed.

For years the discourse on youth football in Finland has been governed by an over-emphasis on players’ individual technique. Of course, ball skills are of primary importance in football but it is no use talking endlessly about technical qualities unless these skills are incorporated into a broader perspective of football learning. Finland simply do not possess the mass from where to pick talents; to every exceptional young player found in Finland, nations like the Netherlands or Spain will produce five. Instead there should be an equal emphasis on the physical/ athletic qualities of Finnish youth players. The U21 match between Finland and the Netherlands on Friday was a painful but an important lesson on the importance of physicality.

At the Finnair Stadium, the Dutch brushed past a feeble Finnish squad and, although, Finland lost only 1-0 (thanks to a couple of excellent saves by Lucas Hradecky in the first half), there was such a huge difference between the readiness of the two teams that at worst it was like watching a cat toying with a mouse before putting it to the slaughter. Needless to say, the Dutch were technically much more efficient but they were also faster, stronger and more alert, winning most tackles and headers with considerable ease. It was indicative of Finland’s weaknesses that Toni Kolehmainen, the key player in centre midfield, was out-skilled and out-muscled in every respect throughout the match.

Finland were always going to lose in terms of the players’ individual skills but had Finland been capable of competing in the physical contest, they would have had a chance. What it boiled down to now was that Finland were lacking the athleticism to play effectively and coherently as a unit both in defence and attack. The visitors roamed freely in midfield as Finland could not muster any consistent and collective pressure, always being a step of two behind the Dutch. When in possession, rarely could Finland make an effective transition between defending and attacking. This was due to the lack of controlled defending since the midfielders were constantly drawn away from the positions from where they were supposed to launch a counter-attack when Finland got the ball. As a consequence, Finland’s attacks were mostly limited to individual efforts by Riku Riski and Teemu Pukki who were at times taking on three or four defenders without any back-up.

In the second half, Finland were more positive though. After the introduction of Jonne Hjelm, Akseli Pelvas and Aleksei Kangaskolkka, Finland started to get some shape and control in their game. The substitutes brought in exactly the kind of qualities Finland need to compete: physicality, directness and pace. Whether or not the players mentioned are good enough as individuals is not at issue here, what is at issue is that they represent the type of physical and dynamic players Finland should look for in the future.

The approach that was lacking, or at least belated, on Friday, was the key to Finland’s victory on Saturday. The new players are not world class by any standards but their collective qualities were enough to make the difference between two equal sides. Finland should not kid themselves, in terms of quality Wales represent exactly the kind of a team Finland must start beating consistently in the future in order to take a step forward.

Baxter has, of course, already dabbled with the re-building process but now the transition has to be implemented in practice. The Scot selected four former under 21 players in Tim Sparv, Perparim Hetemaj, Berat Sadik and Kasper Hämäläinen in the squad, but the real issue will be whether or not Baxter has the courage to use them in key roles to which they need to adapt before the Euro 2012 qualifiers. If he dares not commence the process fully in the match against Azerbaijan and especially Liechtenstein, what chance is there that he’ll do it against Wales and Germany in October?

The Finnish football media and fans have shown peculiar patience with Baxter despite the slow progress he has been able to make in terms of results and the re-building process; a character virtue most did not showcase when Roy Hodgson was in charge. This brings us to another more symbolic significance of the Azerbaijan match. The game functions as a possible re-enactment of the event that perversely came to define the whole period under Hodgson’s management: Finland lost 1-0 in Baku after a drab performance two years ago.

After the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign ended with a goalless draw in Porto in November 2008, leaving Finland out of the tournament by the narrowest of margins, it didn’t take long for most Finns to forget how successful the Hodgson era actually was: Finland were A SINGLE goal away from the biggest achievement in the history of the Finnish national team. Close but no celebrations in Senate Square and so the Mora knives were out and collectively stuck in the back of the Englishman as quickly as he turned it on the Finnish national team in order to pursue more realistic and appealing prospects elsewhere (he seems to have thought that saving Fulham, who were doomed to relegation in the late stages of the 2007-2008 season, was a more realistic task than dragging Finland to South-Africa from a group which includes Germany and Russia. And as it turned out, it was). Hodgson’s pragmatic tactics, the Azerbaijan match usually cited as key evidence, were branded as “anti-football” and “repulsive”.

True, Hodgson’s football wasn’t pretty and yes, he should’ve at least employed his full-back more in attack especially against weaker opponents. But prettiness doesn’t really come to the equation, especially to his equation. The point was that Hodgson’s Finland were at most times effective and his tactics were true to the most fundamental thesis in football management: utilise the qualities of your squad to the maximum. In other words, maximise the strengths of your team. Defence was the only real strength Hodgson’s Finland had and so he used all his organisational skills to make the Finnish defensive third a fortress. And for achieving this, Hodgson was chastised.

So far, Baxter has failed implementing a coherent playing style that would provide results as well as consistent performances; something that Hodgson delivered. There hasn’t been any feel-good victories like the Belgium game. No shock away triumphs like the Poland match. And no instances when Finland have held on to a victory by nail and teeth. Baxter’s Finland have been impressive at times but hardly ever a unit that fills you with confidence. Until now, only the Wales match has provided evidence to the contrary. Already after six games, qualifying hopes, that were alive until the final whistle of the last match in the Euro qualifiers, have been shattered as Finland have been able to collect only ten points. As yet only a few voices in the media have criticised the national team but now critical, demanding voices are beginning to be heard.

After Hodgson, the Finnish media and most football followers were more than happy to welcome the well-spoken Scot. And who can blame them? Baxter straight away gave the impression of being much more positive by nature and more involved in the over-all development of Finnish football than the serious and laconic Englishman. Baxter came across even as a bit of a romantic in his footballing ideology. In truth, however, when compared to his old-school predecessor, he is –in the absence of a better word– a modern pragmatist. Baxter likes to talk about the importance of creating a Finnish footballing identity and about building a new national squad by using the experienced players as a bedrock in the process. And he is right of course. Finland need to understand what they are about in footballing terms; to become conscious of their collective strengths and weaknesses, to increase the former and decrease the latter as effectively as possible. And oh yes, Finland must build a new national squad. He is also right in saying that it must be a disciplined and gradual process even though there are some very promising players coming through. This is all very well in theory but to implement these novel ideas in practice now when change has become a necessity, radical measures need to be taken. This is a dilemma Baxter is having trouble solving.

In terms of the overall picture of the national team’s and Finnish football’s progress, it is essential that the process is started well before the next Euro qualifiers for the simple reason that the new players will get experience from tough qualifying matches. In other words, it simply won’t be enough anymore that a couple of youngsters are included in the team. The re-building process is long overdue despite Baxter’s flirtations with a couple of inexperienced players such as Roni Porokara and Sparv. There are only four qualifying matches to go so there really is no more time to nest up-and-coming players on the bench. Baxter explained the slowness of the re-building process in Helsingin sanomat on 27 August by stating the obvious that there is a huge gap between the standards of the established players and the young players who are coming in. However, this is also the oldest explanation of a coach who is afraid of putting faith in youth. It is self-evident that young players are seldom tactically and/ or mentally ready to take the leap from the U21 team to the full national squad straight away. They need to adapt not only to the team’s tactical plan and the footballing requirements of international game but also to the customs and habits of the national team and because of this they should be gradually nurtured into the team. And all this naturally takes time. But time is something Finland have already wasted quite enough of, and so the process needs to start now, regardless whether the players in question tick all the boxes in Baxter’s definition of ‘being ready’.

So Baxter is in a tight spot. If he wants to be the high-priest of development he so keenly preaches about, he has to start hacking down some of the dead wood in the squad, even at the risk of deteriorating results. However, his courage might fail him when push comes to shove and he might trust in the old hands (meant not only in literal terms) to pull off the umpteenth one last hurrah (which in this case means a third place in the group, so hip hip hurrah indeed!) before the transition process is finally initiated. The romantic in him would probably take the hard way and wield the axe but the pragmatist seems to be too cautious to deliver what he has promised.

The case of Jukka Raitala

After the Euro U21 tournament, many people were demanding for a straightforward inclusion of many of the “Pikkuhuuhkajat” players to the full national team. With some (like Jukka Raitala, Hetemaj and Sparv) the calls were well-founded but with others (for instance, Teemu Pukki) they were, unfortunately, still premature. Baxter selected Sparv, Hetemaj, Hämäläinen and Sadik in the squad for the next two qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, as already mentioned. Statistically this is a great achievement, presuming that all of them become national team regulars. Four players coming through form one U21 team at the same time is basically a statistical anomaly. But then again, when one considers that the players will turn twenty-three or twenty-four before the start of the next qualifying campaign and when the fact is added that they share a total of nine full appearances between them, the statistics somehow do not impress that much any more. Even Italy, perhaps the most conservative of football nations, who are in a similar re-building process as Finland, have an equal number of ‘new’ players who were still qualified to play in the U21 tournament last June (the youngest of which is only eighteen). And mind you, the young Italians are in contention of being selected to the World Cup squad, not to a match against Liechtenstein.

Although in theory Baxter is right in saying that raw players need to learn to swim before throwing them in the deep end, with some players his protectiveness only fails to disguise his cautiousness. It is very questionable whether a friendly (like the Sweden match two weeks ago) or a qualifier against Liechtenstein would result in a figurative drowning of a player who has just taken the Euro U21 championships by storm and has a total of nineteen U21 caps . In Jukka Raitala Finland have a natural player for the troubling left-back position. The always uncomfortable but surprisingly efficient Toni Kallio made the position his own during Hodgson’s term but now his number seems to be up in terms of the national team selections.

Baxter is likely to use Niklas Moisander (a centre-back by trade at AZ Alkmaar) at left-back for the rest of the qualifiers and consequently deny Raitala the chance he unquestionably deserves. However, I certainly don’t mean that Moisander should be dropped. What I mean is that since, by any logic, Raitala will be Finland’s left defender for years to come, and should claim the position for himself already during the next qualifying campaign, he should at least be included in the squad. Moisander should play in the centre which would serve best the development of both the national team and the player. One cannot dismiss the experience Hannu Tihinen brings to the squad but it’s time for Moisander to step in. The U21 team won’t do any services to Raitala’s progress any more, that much we all saw in the U21 Euro Championships; and in the worst case, it could hamper his development.

A lack of respect for the Veikkausliiga

One of the biggest losses of this kind in Finnish football in the last few years was losing a huge talent in Markus Halsti. It fills me with a deep melancholy that the Malmö FF player, who was perhaps the most talented Finnish centre-back of the players born in the eighties, has not become a regular in the national team. It is almost impossible to say what causes a young player not to reach the pinnacle of his potential (with Halsti there were, for instance, injuries at crucial stages of his career and Keith Armstrong as coach at HJK, a coach who isn’t exactly renowned for his capability to develop young players). Whatever the reason, the selection policy used in the national team did not do him any favours either.

By looking at the selections of the Finnish national squad during the last couple of years, one can draw the conclusion that the national team coaches do not appreciate the Veikkausliiga as much as they should. Instead of selecting promising young Veikkausliiga players, there has been a predisposition to include players who play in Norway or Sweden (Juha Pasoja comes to mind). This begs the question: does a transfer to some mediocre club outside Finland really make you a better player? If a player is not good enough for selection when playing in the Veikkausliiga, does he become eligible, as if in a wave of a magic wand, when transferred abroad. Even though there have been hints that this trend might be changing (Joni Aho’s inclusion in the Sweden friendly was a positive surprise), there still remains a lingering feeling that Veikkausliiga players are overlooked by the Finland coaches.

Obviously any national team’s selection policy favours players who can instantly be fitted into the playing system without drastic changes in tactics. Therefore, the inclusion of a player like Pasoja can be justified because he is a like-for-like replacement for Tihinen (looks a bit like him as well). He’s rubbish perhaps but nevertheless a similar type of player. When looking at the big picture, however, in the case that there actually is a rare talent in the Veikkausliiga who is knocking on the door of the national team (like it was with Halsti and is with Raitala, who technically still is a Veikkausliiga player although he went on loan to Hoffenheim), it just escapes all meanings of the word ‘development’ (a word that Baxter, for one, likes to use) that they are overlooked.

To come back to the present situation, now that Finland have such an enormous, rare and ready talent like Raitala, they simply cannot afford to wait for the player to ‘come good’ before giving him a chance on the big stage. The big stage is exactly where a player like Raitala would show that. Finland are not Italy who can miss out on a couple of age-groups worth of talent without even making a dent in the squad. And if it should come down to it, I’d rather see Finland ‘losing’ a promising player every now and again by taking a gamble on him than by wasting age-group after age-group by categorically declining them opportunities to impress. It is obviously a huge responsibility for the coaching staff to make these kinds of decisions but hardly ever is a player’s career destroyed in a single game; I would like to think that the scouts monitoring a player’s progress are not dumb, and that the mentality of a young Finnish player is not that of a terrified and insecure teenager who will collapse after the first sign of failure.

If Baxter fails to provide the results in Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, and more significantly if he doesn’t have the courage to start incorporating the fresh faces into the Finnish team, the patience shown by the Finnish fans and media must seriously start to drain out. If changes are not made before the next home match in October, the hard-core fans at the Olympic Stadium should not continue chanting “Baxterin johdolla” in a unanimous chorus of support. It is time to act but, unfortunately, there is a growing sensation that Stuart Baxter is all talk. The Azerbaijan game that came to define the Hodgson era, may do the same for Baxter. Hopefully, this time, in a positive light.

It’s an odd situation when fringe players like these turn down the opportunity to represent their country, but that may be a consequence of the unmoveability of the senior players in the side. That said, Baxter has spoken of a desire to include Tim Sparv and Roni Porokara, so maybe we’ll see something new and interesting.

NFN got the team for the Wales game right, in large part thanks to a pre-posting discussion with Janne Oivio. It seems there is a lot to be said for staying at home and guessing, as Robert Laul discovered when naming the correct Sweden side before their match in Portugal. Unfortunately I’ve got absolutely no idea for this one, so you’ll have to wait and see. Feel free to laugh heartily at this when the team is announced, then:

Bahne

Pasanen Tihinen Kuivasto Kallio

Eremenko Jr Heikkinen Eremenko Porokara

Litmanen

Kuqi

The Finnish squad have been cautious in their public statements so far, emphasising that Finland must first and foremost avoid defeat in Cardiff. Respect has been paid to the young, vibrant Welsh team they will face, and with Tim Sparv called up to replace Tainio, it looks as though Finland will try to show a youthful face too. Stuart Baxter has stated that he does not want to include under-21 players in the squad if they don’t have a role to play, so it should be assumed that Sparv will be involved at some point on Saturday. With left winger Joonas Kolkka also out, the Finns could field a very youthful midfield by their standards.

The Finnish squad have been giving interviews about their progress with their various clubs, and memories of Wales. To recap: Forsell remembers scoring against Wales, Shefki Kuqi has defeated Colin’s attempts to force him out at Crystal Palce and will take a coaching course next summer, and Petri Pasanen knows that Wales are a dangerous team and that Bellamy will want to score in front of his home crowd. Eremenko has been talking about the need to avoid defeat, a theme touched upon by Litmanen too.

The Welsh squad are talking about the game as a must win, by contrast, but they have struggled to shift tickets for the match. Just 15,000 have been sold, and the Welsh camp have admitted that the atmosphere will not help their team:

“We have to make our own atmosphere. Much has been said about it. We can’t drag people in the stadium. We have got to do it by results,” said (Wales Assistant manager Roy) Evans.

“We feel we have improved over the years now and we are getting competitive even against the top teams which is decent.

“But like anything you have to start winning games and qualifying for these big competitions.”

Evans added: “It doesn’t help. I have to say that, going out into a massive stadium with a small crowd.

“But we have to be professional about it. The only way we are going to change that is by being successful.”

Baxter has talked a lot about Finland’s identity as a footballing nation, and now is the time when he really has to show his hand. In their last big game Finland failed miserably against Russia, but the time before that an up-tempo and aggressive Finland gave Germany several frights and really should have won. It probably will not pay off to sit back and defend on Saturday, but without Väyrynyn to lead a pressing midfield and break forward quickly it could be hard to reproduce as vibrant a performance as the one Finland put in against Germany last September.

Roman Eremenko has really come of age in central midfield, and the 20 year old will anchor Finland’s attacks for many years to come. He is a very classy player, and should not be moved around to accommodate others – the experiment of playing him out wide against Portugal failed miserably. That him and Heikkinen have solidified their place while older or more established players have been injured is testament to their determination, but the question is always who is going to play around them.

The Finnish defence looks creaky. Up against Bellamy, they will need to use all their experience to nullify the Welsh attack’s pace, and avoid sitting as deep as they did against Russia. That just invited pressure, and allowed Arshavin to exploit the space, gaps and uncertainty in the Finnish defence. Jason Koumas is likely to sit deeper behind Bellamy, and although the Wigan man is not in Arshavin’s league, he will have watched the Russia-Finland game with interest. Wales will start with Evans, Ramsey and Cotterill waiting to come on and run at tired Finnish defenders.

If Litmanen does not start the game, Eremenko Jr could take his place and Sjölund come in on the left wing. Otherwise, this is how I expect Finland to line up:

Jääskeläinen

Pasanen  Tihinen  Hyypiä  Kallio

Johansson Eremenko  Heikkinen  Eremenko Jr

Litmanen

Forssell

Incidentally, Baxter’s return to Britain has prompted some coverage of an unually cosmopolitan character, for a British coach. Here’s one such piece from the Guardian.

“The important thing is that we don’t lose the game,” Eremenko told journalists, in a speech clearly inspired by Winston Churchill. “If we lose, it gets difficult – then we’d have to beat Russia.”

He then went on to state that a draw wasn’t the objective and they wanted the three points, but when Finland try and play cagily they usually mess it up, and it is to be hoped that the plan is not to sit tight and play for a point. It’s not going to be easy though:

“I’ve seen a couple of their games on video, they’re not a hopeless team,” continued Eremenko. “They played well and dominated in their last game against Russia. They defended well and were good on the break. We definitely can’t afford to lose, but of course we will aim to get a win and the three points.”

On his own situation, he was diplomatic over his exclusion from the squad.

“The coach decides when you play and when you don’t play,” said the former HJK striker. “It’s not up to me. It’s up to the coach. He’s the boss and decides who, when and how.”

“Everything feels good at the moment,” Eremenko continued, when asked about his own fitness. “I’ve gone through the pre-season without a problem, have been in every training session and played a couple of matches. Hopefully I’ll play on Saturday too.”

“The two first league matches were tough for us. I played as a forward, and against CSKA I nearly scored. Against Zenit the pitch was in a useless condition. I sprained my ankle twice.”

Tim Sparv’s call-up looks to be more than a stop-gap measure, as Mika Väyrynen discovered today that he will be out injured for 6-8 months after an operation, and Finland lost another midfielder to a less serious knee injury. Teemu Tainio’s ongoing injury troubles have prevented him from taking part in Saturday’s game at the Millenium Stadium. Although he has been training with Sunderland, Tainio is not yet match fit and has decided to train with his club in the hope that his knee will improve.

The under 20 team lost 3-2 to Cape Verde after leading 2-0 on Wednesday in Madeira.

Replacing him in the under-21 squad will be FC Lahti midfielder Eero Korte, and withdrawing from that squad is Sevilla striker Teemu Pukki, who has an ankle injury.

“It’s really bad news, but we were expecting it after our discussion on Friday,” said Finland under 21 coach Markku Kanerva. “The preliminary estimate is that he’ll be out for a few weeks.”

Korte has not played for the under-21s before, but Kanerva believes he will fit right in.

“Tim’s elevation to the full squad has opened up a spot for Eero Korte,” continued Kanerva. “Korte should have been involved with the squad before, but injuries have gotten in the way. Anyway, it’s great to see Tim with the Eagle Owls and Eero in La Manga.”

One more addition to the Finland Under 21 squad will be announced later today.

Albin Ekdal has withdrawn from the Sweden Under 21 squad, and will be replaced by Elmin Kurbegovic.

EDIT: The player called up to replace Pukki in the Finland under 21 squad is FC Honka striker Aleksandr Kokko.

All but Pukki have been involved in the under-21 team’s qualification campaign, and will play in the European Under-21 championships in Sweden next June. Added to the under-21 team were Markus Halsti, Jari Litmanen, Jussi Kujala, Toni Kuivasto, Roni Porokara, Niklas Tarvajärvi and Kari Arkivuo; a mixture of old pros and Scandinavian based journeymen.

The goals came thick and fast, starting in the 15th minute when the slippery striker Shinji Okazaki got away from the Finnish defence and finished coolly into Maanoja’s bottom corner. Tim Sparv hit the bar on 26 minutes, but apart from that Finland mustered little threat. The second Japanese goal was almost identical to the first, according to the Finnish FA’s report, and pretty much finished the game after just 30 minutes. Okazaki got two and Kagawa one in the first half, then Porokara pulled one back before Nagazawa and Yasuda completed the rout.

Japan used the game as a warm-up for a World Cup qualifier against Australia next week, and Okazaki was not really satisfied with his two goals.

“I’m just glad that I was able to score. I was able to get past defenders in the first half very well, but my performance was not good enough in the second half,” said Okazaki.

“I want to keep the momentum to beat Australia next week.”

Japan coach Takeshi Okada was also looking for further improvements.

“This is a test match. But Australia are a stronger team than Finland and we still have some more days to improve,” said Okada.

“First of all, we must eliminate their chances off set-piece plays. Hopefully, we can play our best football next week,” he added.

“Sure, it’s difficult to find anything positive to say after a result like that,” said Finland coach Stuart Baxter. “We tried to give the players a familiarity with the full national team’s system, because after this qualification we are going to need some new players. We also got to know Finnish players better, and nine of them made their debuts.”

Finland’s full national team plays Portugal next week. Finland took an interesting approach to the winter friendlies, calling up European based players while their clubs have league games and flying them halfway around the world. Norway and Denmark did not play similar ‘B’ internationals, while Sweden utilised a squad composed entirely of players at Scandinavian clubs for their American tour.

Baxter will name his squad for the Portugal match tomorrow.

Finland: Tomi Maanoja; Joni Aho, Toni Kuivasto, Markus Halsti, Tuomo Turunen (54. Jukka Raitala); Kari Arkivuo (84. Perparim Hetemaj), Jussi Kujala (46. Mehmet Hetemaj), Tim Sparv, Roni Porokara; Jari Litmanen (67. Teemu Pukki), Niklas Tarvajärvi (76. Jarno Parikka).

The Salminen household might not be that harmonious tomorrow. Juha’s Dad was at the game, until the 75th minute, when Juha’s sister had to go to dancing practice. Having not seen much to indicate it would be worthwhile staying, Salminen senior headed off to do his fatherly duty. Five minutes later, and Jussi Vasara made a game of it. 10 minutes after that…..

I’ll stop before this gets too cruel. What a game though! Finland were rubbish until the last 15 minutes, lacking composure, passing, pace and finishing, at various points. Austria looked comfortable (or arrogant, as Job Dragtsma said afterwards), and were happy winning their silly little freekicks with silly little dives around the halfway line. Stankovic was incensed just before the equaliser, when his dive failed to get its expected reward. Serves him right.

Kanerva came into the press conference brandishing a sign that had been hung in the dressing room reading ‘the sky is the limit if your heart is in it’. Corny as hell, cod psychology, but after a game like that he can print off t-shirts bearing the slogan. Sparv and Turunen were the calm heads Finland needed, Joni Aho grew into his role, and Vasara was explosive when he came on. I suppose I should comment approvingly that some of the best players were from the top two teams in Veikkausliiga, but the best thing was the support.

It sounded like the Inter fans were sitting in our side when Furuholm came on. FU-RU-HOLM! FU-RU-HOLM! FU-RU-HOLM! was coming from behind us. When we turned round, it became obvious that this was actually the Inter squad, with Gulliano Grot in particular getting into the ‘Suomi’ chant. Furuholm responded, and came over to celebrate at the end, punching the air and pointing at his team-mates. That’s team spirit, that is.

Lots of talk about ‘heart’ after the game from Kanerva and Vasara, and interesting that Vasara wasn’t actually supposed to come on so early, but when Mehmet Hetemaj got injured it became necessary. Masterful management, and brilliant self control from Vasara to stick to the game plan and wait till the last ten minutes before beginning the comeback.

Austrians are nothing like Germans when it comes to penalties, btw. They were awful.

Great chant from SMJK, too: ‘Conquering Sweden with a great pumpkinhead’, referencing Kanerva’s nickname there. I’m off to get drunk now.

Speaking to journalists after the game, Tomi Petrescu (who scored the game-winner) expressed his delight at the number of fans.
-I’m glad the fans have interest in our U21 team too. I loved hearing their chants and support, Petrescu said.

I was most impressed with Hakola, probably because he plays for FC Flora in Estonia and I’ve not seen too much of him before. It was his flick that set Mehmet Hetemaj free for the opening goal, and he seemed to scare the Danes whenever he had the ball. Turunen and Portin were the pairing in central defence and were rarely troubled until the final minutes, when Finland’s midfield collapsed to the 18 yard line, and the exclusion of an in-form Joni Aho shows the strength in depth at this level.

Head coach Markku Kanerva singled out Hakola and the central defenders too, but first and foremost he wanted to give credit to the whole team.
-We knew it was going to be a tight affair, but the whole team wanted to win. I am very proud of my players.

I would have no qualms about this team being promoted to the senior squad en masse, if Finland fall out of contention for the World Cup. They are not the finished article, but they never will be if they don’t get a chance at the top level.

Stuart Baxter, head coach of the national team, went down to the dressing room after the game and personally congratulated the team.

The Danish side, on the other hand, are out of the play-offs. They were seemingly frustrated after the game, and goalkeeper Kasper Smeichel even did his best to redecorate the dressing room area.

Finland will play an away game in Slovenia on the 9th. The play-off draw will follow three days later. Kanerva did not want to speculate on the draw yet.
-No matter who we play, we have two difficult games coming up. I don’t want to speculate on the opponent. Regardless of who we will be playing, we have enough time between the draw and the first leg to find out as much as we can about our opposition, Kanerva told the journos.

• EDIT* All the quotes come from Juha, who was actually at the game. I just watched it on telly.

The hosts started the game well, with Tomi Petrescu, Perparim Hetemaj, Berat Sadik and Tim Sparv all causing trouble to Finland’s western neighbours – who, after all, started the scoring. In a sudden wave of generosity, Joni Aho of FC Inter kindly donated the ball to Emir Bajrami. Tomi Maanoja, who was Finland’s keeper in the first half, went to great lengths in order to cancel out Aho’s mistake, but was powerless to resist when Bajrami got another chance from the rebound.

“We started the game well but got too complacent, and it backfired when Aho made the mistake”, commented head coach Markku Kanerva in the post-match press conference, adding that Aho recovered well enough to put in a solid performance after all.

Perparim Hetemaj had to be taken off just before the referee signalled an end to the first half as he suffered what is hopefully a minor injury. More changes were made during half-time: Maanoja made way to Anssi Jaakkola of AC Siena and Aho, Tuomo Turunen, Tomi Petrescu and Berat Sadik accompanied the new AIK signing in the shower.

Among the incoming players was Jarno Parikka, who was released by Mehmet Hetemaj three minutes into the second half. Parikka’s strike saw Finland back on level terms, and no goals were yet to be seen. Sweden were slighly in control for the remainder of the night, but had to face one of the key issues involved with every football game: ball possession does not win matches. They did not cause a remarkable threat, owing in part to the linesman, whose interpretation of the offside rule frustrated Ola Toivonen to the extent that in the end he put the ball in the net despite hearing the whistle blow.

Finland’s first half formation, 4-3-3, clearly worked better than the formation of four midfielders and two strikers they switched to before the second half. However, Kanerva could not be drawn into assessing his tactical decisions. “I am more concerned about who I select for the team and who I leave out”, he assured, declaring that he still has not decided who will be the team’s goalkeeper in the upcoming qualification fixtures against Denmark and Slovenia.

HIFK had a tough time of it, as Kontu gave as good as they got and went 1-0 up before Alimany Jamoah got the equaliser. HIFK pressed, but couldn’t find the winner, and it does look like they will find it difficult to lead from the front this year. They also drew last night, 1-1 with HyPS, and are rooted in mid-table four points adrift of the leaders.

This is Otto Puranen, who despite his slight paunch posed plenty of problems for the HIFK defenders. He made up for his lack of pace with a few wily tricks, and more than held his own. In the HIFK line-up, defender Ojembe Olatuga showed his class on a few occasions, but took a couple of risks he maybe shouldn’t have done. He’s pacy, skillful and strong though, and too good for Kakkonen. 20 years old, he signed for HIFK from Atlantis, and clearly has the potential to play at a much higher level. Likewise Alimany Jalloah can go on to greater things, but I guess the reason both players are where they are is a lack of concentration and consistency.

Yesterday I was at Tammela for PP70-FJK. PP seem to be going for promotion, and outclassed a young Forssa side. FJK are still to score a goal this season, and it already looks like a long hard struggle for them to stay in Kakkonen. Thankfully Joni Lehtonen (and his beard) are still playing for PP70, although I failed to get any good photos of him. PP won 2-0 and look to be battling with Pallo-Iirot for promotion.

Most of the PP players seemed to be taller than their Forssa counterparts, who were very young for a senior team. This is Jani Nyblom for PP (in red) and Kalle Kuivalainen. Kuivalainen was a very niggly player, slapping PP right back Markku Hokkanen in the face at one point, but he provided the main threat for Forssa in the first half.

The Forssa keeper Toni Virtanen was very loud, though. Kept going throughout the game, chivvying and encouraging his team mates. I hope he can keep that up through what might well be a long, hard season for him.

In other Kakkonen news, Norvalla FF beat TUS 10-0, with the last goal being scored by goalkeeper Mattias Kullbäck from a penalty. Norvalla are coached by Liverpool’s Finnish scout Tor Sparv, so we can assume they have a very good youth system. Tomas Nygård got four goals, and Oleksandr Androschuk got a hat trick. It’s hard to tell what went on there, as TUS might have turned up without a goalkeeper or something ridiculous like that, but I’ll try and keep an eye on NFF for the rest of the season.

Incidentally, Tor’s lad Tim Sparv is currently on loan from Halmstad to VPS, as he recuperates from a debilitating illness and recovers some match fitness.