Huuhkajat on the verge of history

Twenty-one World Cups. Fifteen European Championships. One hundred and twelve years of Finnish football.

Finland have never qualified for either of the two major tournaments they are eligible for. A few Olympic Games appearances (including a fourth place in 1912) have popped up, but that is thirty-six tournaments that Finland have not graced.

On Friday November 15th 2019, Finland will almost certainly qualify for Euro 2020.

Teemu Pukki scoring against Armenia in October 2019

Victory against Liechtenstein in Helsinki will see the Finns reach the finals. The visitors are ranked 181st in the current FIFA rankings (the Finns are 55th), while the records in Group J show that they've two points from eight matches. Even if Finland don't win, it would take an unlikely set of events to prevent qualification - a draw would suffice if Bosnia fail to win in Italy. Even if Finland lose, a Bosnia defeat and Armenia failing to defeat Greece would do. And... There is still an away game in Greece on Tuesday if required.

Interest in Finland's expected triumph has attracted media from all over the world. The BBC World Service's excellent World Football programme has broadcast from the camp, featuring interviews with SPL sporting director Hannu Tihinen and defenders Leo and Sauli Väisänen; while the Guardian featured an interview with captain Tim Sparv as part of their coverage. Even the Daily Mail featured a complimentary article about a group of foreigners.

I wrote in a separate post on the Finnish Football Show website about how Norwich City have jumped on the bandwagon, hanging onto the coattails of their striker Teemu Pukki by opening a pop-up shop in Helsinki and hosting a club night after the match.

”There’s many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip”. We’re not taking anything for granted. We’ll prepare ourselves mentally, physically and tactically so that we’re 100% ready on Friday. In football, as in life, nothing is given to you for free. You have to earn it. pic.twitter.com/VKtOuXI3Kv

— Tim Sparv (@TimSparv) November 12, 2019

There have been elements of caution - mostly from the players themselves. Finland have come close before, in 1997 and 2007. Yet even the footballers are still people. Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky talks about enjoying a beer after the game, while Pukki promised to media that Finland would win the match.

The enthusiasm from Finland supporters has been infectious and a treat to observe. Tickets for the match are being offered on auction sites for over a thousand Euros each, competitions to win tickets are pounced upon. It's impossible to predict how many fans will travel to the finals, especially as we won't have an idea of the venues for a couple of weeks at least. Who knows, plenty would even go to Baku if required.

A lot has been made of the supposed golden generation of Litmanen, Hyypiä and Forssell. Hopefully the next generation will seek to emulate the glories of Pukki, Sparv and Hradecky.

"I hope to have a beer in my hand" 🍺

Bayer Leverkusen and Finland GK Lukas Hradecky is ready for Friday, when Finland have the chance to secure their place at #Euro2020... pic.twitter.com/C0ALptxZC3

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) November 13, 2019

Hero.

Top five - Huuhkajat needing a transfer

Another guest post from Mark of FC Suomi - this time looking at the five Finland players in need of a transfer... Five players at various stages of their careers.

Tero Mäntylä

By the end of 2014, Tero's stock as a ball playing centre-back was on the rise and with the number of games under his belt increasing both domestically and in European competition, the then-22 year old looked like in Ludogorets and the Bulgarian top flight, he'd managed to take the road less travelled to the big time. As qualification to the Champions League became more likely, however billionaire owner Kiril Domuschiev decided to throw money into the first team. After playing his part in the qualifiers to get them to football's top table, Tero found himself at the back of the Ludogorets queue. With game time looking scarce, Tero made a bold move to mutually cancel his contract, packing his six winners medals (two leagues, two cups, two supercups) and heading north to Aalesunds. The 2015 season started well enough for Tero, playing behind then-captain Sakari Mattila; though Aalesund with a lack of firepower struggled in the league. Harald Aabrekk was sacked, Trond Fredriksen came in and Tero's role slowly diminished. and in 2017 is yet to make an appearance for the Tangoshirts. At his best, Tero was seen as an understudy to Niklas Moisander, composed and a good reader of the game who relies more on wits than strength. The promising youngster is now 26 and may be well served with a return home, to (for example) a former champion looking for composure and calm after a disruptive start to the campaign.

Mehmet Hetemaj

This may be tough for SJK fans to hear, but Mehmet Hetemaj is too good for the Veikkausliiga. Through the highs of Simo's transformative reign and the pain of the Boström experiment, Mehmet has been a constant throughout. Mehmet often provided the extra quality needed (see the Finnish Cup Final last year, and semi-final this year) to drive the team forward. His three years in Seinäjoki have taken him to the ripe old age of 29 meaning it may be unlikely there's still one big move left in him, but a good showing in European competition could be all he needs.  

Thomas Lam

Mark Warburton is a fighter. He was installed at Nottingham Forest to avoid yet another crisis, so he rallied the troops around simple, direct tactics and the kind of tackling that wouldn't be unusual outside of a nightclub at four in the morning. While it's true Thomas Lam may need to toughen up his edges, their styles in play and approach to the game may be too broad to bridge. Warburton and his assistant David Weir have no time for "luxury players", yet seem to define such players by the thickness of their accent and are no strangers to falling out with people. Throw in the inevitable chaos and confusion that is the once mighty Nottingham Forest, and you've got one of the intelligent prospects of Finnish football potentially being taught the art of the concealed Glasgow kiss, the cheeky nut-grab or the hoof. With many admirers still back in Holland and a host of Championship managers also aware of his poise and calm, it may be best for all concerned to simply agree to disagree.

Tim Väyrynen

The Veikkausliiga player of the year in 2013 left Finland with high hopes, three cup winners medals and a burgeoning international career. Since then he's had a series of impressive false starts, despite scoring on his Borussia Dortmund II, Victoria Köln and Dynamo Dresden debuts. Köln in the German regional leagues was the only place he got a run of games, scoring 11 in 15 and lifting the Middle Rhine Regional Cup at the end of the 2015 season. Other postings have seen Tim limited to sub appearances, which for a developing player with his potential was less than ideal. Like others in this list though, he is no longer a young player. Now 24 with roughly around ten appearances a season (mostly off the bench) for the past four seasons, at four different clubs, Tim needs consistency, that means games, which usually brings goals.

Berat Sadik

Two years ago, Sadik was in the prime of his career, banging goals in for a resurgent FC Thun and causing Mixu Paatelainen problems by carrying his scoring form to the national team with a goal against Northern Ireland. With plaudits from every corner, European competition beckoning and Mixu on his way out; the summer of 2015 looked decidedly rosy. Football is however complex, a mistimed tackle (in Finland's win over Greece) and misguided transfer to newly promoted Krylya Sovetov in the Russian Premier League combined to give Berat just 17 appearances in the last two years, only four of them starts and grabbing no goals. This turn of events is made all the more galling considering Krylya simply don't play with wingers or to a target man, like Berat, they were relegated last season. Still only 30 and with rumours that he is to fill an Alfredo Morelos shaped hole at HJK, Berat is still a powerful target man who has shown that a regular run of games ends up with goals. You just can't help feel that whatever agent took him to the Soviets (literal translation of "Sovetov") should pay back his 15%.

Congratulations must be lauded also on Petteri Forsell (number 1 in the draft of this article), who is clearly too good for the Polish first division and should make a real impact in Krakow next season. 

Many thanks again to Mark for this stellar contribution. You can follow his works on FC Suomi and on the Finnish Football Show podcast.

Finnish Football Show episode 3

This Wednesday, January 20th, we will record episode 3 of the Finnish Football Show. As before, it will be recorded on Blab, which is a live video platform with a forum for questions. Our podcast wizard Mark will then do his bits with it and release it for listening soon after.

Episode three will cover two themes - the Finland national team's new era (after the friendly defeats to Iceland and Sweden) and also the transfers involving Finns and Finnish clubs.

Please join us on the link below at 7pm GMT (9pm Finland) on Wednesday.

Link to #FFS3

If you'd like to follow my co-hosts, Mark Wiltshear is the host of the Explore Finland radio show, while Mark Hayton writes for FC Suomi, about the Finnish national team.

As before, I'm running a poll to decide what football shirt I'll wear during the recording... Join in!

Time for the poll to decide which football shirt I'll be wearing during the show, house renovations permitting...

— Escape To Suomi (@EscapeToSuomi) January 17, 2016

Finnish Football Show episode 2

Monday 14th December sees myself, Mark and Mark return to our respective hotseats for the second episode of the Finnish Football Show. After the surprisingly good reception of the first episode, we will be looking at the Finland national team, with new boss Hans Backe due to start in three weeks time.

As before, we will be recording using the Blab platform, so it'll be a live video broadcast (effectively a video call) before the edited recording hits your podcast devices later in the week.

Please join us at 7pm GMT (9pm in Finland), where you can help contribute messages and tweets using the hashtag #FFS2 - see what we did there?

Subscribe to this link - Finnish Football Show episode 2

See you then!

The Finnish Football Show podcast

I've been threatening this for a few months now...

There's going to be a Finnish football podcast starting this week! I'll be joined by Mark Wiltshear of the Explore Finland Radio Show and Mark Hayton of FC Suomi to talk about the various goings on in Finland and beyond. Seeing as we're all English, but with various links to Finland, we'll be speaking our native tongues.

But it's not just a podcast - there is also an interactive element. The show is being hosted on Blab, which means that while we're recording, we can also reply to questions you ask during the show. So, if we mention something you'd like us to clarify, or you have some fresh feedback, join in! At least this could be a two-way street, something different from your usual podcasts.

On the first podcast, we'll be focusing on the 2015 Veikkausliiga season and the current state of the Finnish national team. We're aiming for a new podcast every 4-5 weeks, lasting around 30-40 minutes.

So if you'd like to join in, subscribe to our Blab feed from 7pm GMT on Monday 16th November (9pm Finnish time) and help us help you. Don't forget our very catchy hashtag #FFS!

We need you!