A rarity on Escape To Suomi - this is a guest post by football tourist James Drobka. If you'd also like to contribute to the site, feel free to contact me on the tab above.
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Aulis Rytkönen. Heard of him?
Didn’t think so. Aulis was the first Finnish footballer to turn professional in
1952 when signing for Toulouse in France.
Aulis was born on 5 January 1929 in Kartulla, Kuopio and it was here where he started his
journey to in becoming a legend of Finnish football. At the age of six, he was
given a leather football as a Christmas present, somewhat a luxury as many
families could not afford footballs for their children. He was an athletic
youth and when he was 12 he joined Kuopion Työväen Urheilijoihin,
a local sports club. Aulis was intent on
playing football, however his father was not so supportive and wanted him to
play other sports as he did not consider football an appropriate sport. However
Rytkönen’s
persistence paid off when he joined his first club KuPS aged 16.
Aaro Heikkinen, then the manager of KuPS,
recognized his talent and gave him his debut against Kuopion Pallotoverit as a striker. Aulis scored both goals in a 3-2 defeat. He played a
further three games in the 1945 season, and according to him it went well even
though he was a bit lightweight. The 1946-1947 was a productive season; he
scored nine goals in the National Championship, but it was curtailed by a
season ending leg break in a game against Matfors IF of Sweden. He came
back the next season much stronger and fitter, with newspaper Urheilulehti
remarking ’18 year old business assistant, one of the best players for KuPS’.
He scored another nine goals, thus keeping his team in the national championship.
His form throughout the 1948-49 season led to an offer from Helsinki based club, Kiffen that would pay him
120,000 marks. Rytkönen refused the move and reaffirmed his desire
to play for KuPS. He ended the 1949 season in great fashion, culminating in
winning Finnish footballer of the year for the first time.
The season of 1950 started well, losing the first game of season they
went on to win the next five matches in a row. In their seventh game of the
season, they lost 5-2 to Kiffen. The game was attended by an agent on behalf of
many Italian professional teams. He would be paid 630,000 marks, however he would
not tell Aulis which club he would be playing
for. For this reason he refused to turn professional and to stay as an amateur,
and KuPS finished in the silver position that season, the first medal of his
career. He also won best Finnish player for a second year in a row.
Before the start of the 1951 season, Stade Français
made an approach to sign Rytkönen, with the club's president flying to Finland to sign
the contract that would pay him three million marks. The clubs signed the
contract, but the transfer was blocked by the Finnish FA due to their belief
that becoming professional was not good enough, and he was forced to stay in
the country. He scored 11 goals in the season as his team finished fifth in the
league. In December he married his long term partner Anneli Puranen, but was
unable to afford his wedding so the club struck a deal with him. The club would
loan him money, if he agreed to play for them in the run up to the 1952
Olympics. He agreed. Again the 1952 season KuPS finished fifth, and he scored
10 goals. Rytkönen once again won Finnish footballer of the year for a third
time, a feat that wouldn’t be broken until 1965 when Juhani Peltonen won his fourth.
The 1952 would be his last season with KuPS, and ended with a ratio of better than
a goal every other game (66 goals in 126).
The 1950 KuPS side (Aulis third from left on the second row)
The 1952 Olympics was a disappointment for Finland
as they were knocked out in the first round by Austria losing 4-3, having led 3-2
at half time. Rytkönen scored the third goal in front of a partisan crowd of
33,053 in the Olympic stadium in Helsinki.
After the Olympics, the transfer was agreed for Rytkönen to join an ambitious Toulouse side in the
French second division in December 1952. This move would make him the first
Finnish professional footballer. Shortly after moving to France, a letter arrived at his parent's house
from Atletico Madrid
with proposed contract negotiations. Rytkönen attempted to cancel his contract
with Toulouse
but the president refused to budge. He made his debut in January against Cannes and set up the
first goal. Toulouse
went on to win the league and were promoted to Ligue 1 in his first season.
With Toulouse
in the top division for first time in two seasons, they replaced their coach
with Jules Bigot. They beat title favorites Nice, containing a young Just
Fontaine, with Rytkönen grabbing both goals. He suffered a lot with injuries in
the season and only managed five goals, however his performances were of such a
standard that clubs were looking at other Finnish players. Toulouse themselves bought in two more
Finnish players Nils Rikberg and Kalevi Lehtovirta (the second and third professionals,
who only lasted one season at Toulouse
before moving onto other French sides).
Rytkönen felt that his time in France was hampering his international
career and is quoted as saying ‘It is true that I would have at least 50 more caps in the
statistics if I'd stayed in Finland, I was leaving in the opinion of some, a
renegade who betrayed the people of Finland’. He felt that his performances were some
of his best and due to playing in France, the Finnish coaches had no
idea if he was okay or not, due to not being able to attend games.
1954-55
was a good season for Toulouse, with the club touted as favourites for the league
title. However for Rytkönen, the year was hampered by injuries and he could
only make eight appearances, providing two goals for the team. Toulouse
finished in second, missing out on the title with a final day 1-1 draw against Reims. The following season was a disappointment, the
club finished seventh and he only scored twice. He was deployed as left winger
and was soon to make this position his own after overcoming his injury
troubles.
Rytkönen’s best season of his career was 1956-57, when he won his first
piece of silverware, winning the French cup. The side struggled in the league
and labored to an eighth placed finish, but the cup was another matter. After
getting through the dearth of the amateur clubs in the cup, they found
themselves in the quarter final against Sedan.
The match went to extra time, and Rytkönen scored the crucial winning goal to
win 3-2. They beat Nice in the semi and got to the final for first time in
their history, where they beat Angers
6-3 with Rytkönen getting four assists. It was this performance that earned him
the title ‘Monsieur magician’.
