Tulos: Cup draws, interviews and Japan

Been a fairly slow few weeks in the Finnish football world since the last update. Part of the joy of a summer league perhaps... Anyway, here is a little recap.

Sexypöxyt celebrate their 30th anniversary this year

The Suomen Cup fourth round draw took place on Monday, pitching some potentially very interesting ties. TamU-K will host IFK Mariehamn, PEPO play KuPS and Sexypöxyt will play Gnistan. Meanwhile, our partner club Atletico Malmi defeated NuPS to reach the fourth round for the first time, they will play the winner of JanPa and Jomela IK. I'm still waiting to hear on the availability of Malmi replica jerseys.

My boys @AtleticoMalmi are through to the Suomen Cup 4th round for the first time ever after a 3-1 over NuPS tonight! #ticotico #suomencup
— Escape To Suomi (@EscapeToSuomi) March 2, 2015

I've spoken to Dani Hatakka of KuPS and Richie Dorman of SJK, who were both very interesting and pretty open about life in Veikkausliiga. Dani spoke about his scoring prowess for the Finland U21 side, while Richie was grateful to Finnish football for the chance to become a professional, having spent time at Blackburn as a youngster. Sent a few emails for further interviews, hopefully will have some more soon.

HJK's attempts at world domination continue with rapid speed - they announced the signings of Japanese international forward Mike Havanaar and Swedish goalkeeper Daniel Örlund, who join fellow Japanese Atom Tanaka and former Nottingham Forest midfielder Guy Moussi. HJK CEO Aki Riihilahti spoke to MTV3 about the club's ambitions - while admitting that they had sold more Atom shirts in a week than any other player sold in the whole of 2014, while over forty thousand people watched highlights of the win over RoPS, while the usual figure is in the hundreds.

Aki Riihilahti has told MTV3 that they have sold more Atom Tanaka #HJK shirts in a week than any other player sold in the whole of 2014.
— Escape To Suomi (@EscapeToSuomi) February 28, 2015

Jari Litmanen's 44th birthday passed by on February 20th with the usual fanfare and ticker tape. He keeps his usual low profile, making personal appearances in pubs etc.

Happy birthday to the King - Jari Litmanen is 44 today #kuningas pic.twitter.com/rMKAR66bL9
— Escape To Suomi (@EscapeToSuomi) February 20, 2015

MYPA appear to have folded in their present form, the club administrators have applied for bankruptcy. While it's likely that the various junior clubs will continue in some form, it's a shame that over-spending and poor financial management have enabled to club to wither. Watch this space for future news.

The latest Eremenko talent, sixteen-year-old Sergei, scored twice for Jaro in their Liigacup defeat to SJK. He has already spent time training with Internazionale's youth set-up, while those ITK lot reckon he could potentially be as good as brothers Roman and Alexei.

Sergei Eremenkon 2 maalia vs. SJK #Liigacup'issa lauantaina. #FFJaro #Veikkausliiga https://t.co/ClgeXvieER
— Oskari Karppinen (@oskarikarppinen) March 1, 2015

Anyway that's it for now - I'm trying to push the ETS Facebook page a bit more these days, so make sure you like that for some more slow-time updates. Twitter is so flimsy and instant...

Interview with SJK defender Richie Dorman

The latest in my series of interviews continues with SJK's Welsh defender Richie Dorman.

With Chris Cleaver, Wayne Brown and yourself at the club, have you introduced many British traditions with the rest of the SJK family?

When I arrived at SJK in 2012, I was pretty shy and overwhelmed by moving into this small, very Finnish city. Chris was a massive character in the dressing room and really helped me fit into the team. By that point he had introduced a few traditions already with the fine system and the initiations for new signings. We added some more difficult tasks after I had done mine!! I think also the jokes and making fun of each other is mostly a British idea. Once the Finnish players learned it was all friendly and fun, they joined in too. Chris and I were fairly easy targets with my big ears and his big nose! Wayne is a bit sneaky and I always seem to get blamed for his mischievous behaviour. We had a home-made full English breakfast a few weeks back.

What do you miss most about Wales?

The family. I get home once per year over the Christmas break and it is always hard saying goodbye and leaving again in January. 

A young Richie during his Airbus UK days

You were on the books of Blackburn Rovers as a youngster, was there anyone you saw who stood out?

I signed when I was 11 and in that team there was Joe Garner and Frank Fielding who both played from that age up to the reserves. Garner now plays with Preston in League 1 and he always had such a desire to win, even when we played together. Frank is now with Bristol City, also in League 1, a top goalkeeper. Anthony Pilkington came in during my time although he didn’t stay as long as the others. He played with Norwich in the Premier League and is now with Cardiff.

SJK surprised everyone in 2014 by finishing second and qualifying for Europe – do you think you can be a serious contender for the Veikkausliiga next season?

Of course HJK have a great squad with some very talented players and coming off the Europa League group stage they will be playing even better this season. We will keep working hard everyday, doing the small things and help build this club in the direction the owners and fans want. Lets see at the end of the season and hopefully we can surprise a few more people.

 

Photograph via SJK's Facebook page

How did playing in the US college system help prepare you for a career back in Europe? What did you study while you were there?

My degree is in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting. The football side was really professional, we trained every morning and then went to the classes in the afternoon. The facilities we had were amazing and the best I have had at a training ground. It was very different than playing at home or out here in Finland, but playing there gave me the desire to come back home to keep playing and also the belief that I was good enough to do it.

What is your favourite Finnish phrase?

‘No niin.’ Translates to something similar to ‘next,’ ‘lets go’ or ‘moving on.’ It’s quite funny to use it after people say something stupid in a slightly sarcastic way. But I’m not sure that is the correct use!

Richie and teammates enjoy Finnish life in 2013

One of the criticisms aimed at young British players is that they are less likely to move abroad – would you recommend making the move?

I probably would not be playing professionally had I not left Wales. Moving to Finland really helped my career so if any young British player had the chance to go and play abroad, I would highly recommend it. At least view the option with an open mind. The culture of other countries might be different but football is always football.

Which player(s) do you watch closest to try and improve?

Growing up it was always Steven Gerrard. Now that I’m playing full back I watch Azpilicueta of Chelsea a lot. He is arguably the best 1v1 defender in the Premier League and in possession keeps it simple. 

 

Do you wear shorts in the sauna?

No!

Do you have any plans to play in other countries?

I love playing in Finland with SJK, we have a good group of lads and coaching staff so at the moment I have no plans on leaving Finland. Eventually at some point it would be great to play closer to my family so they could get to see me play more often. 

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Many thanks to Richie for his candid answers. If you want to buy an SJK jersey with Dorman on the back, you can get one here.

I'm looking to continue the series with other players and personalities - if you have any suggestions, drop me a line!