The King's Cup 2013 preview

Hidden away in the football calendar, competing for attention with the African Cup Of Nations, the King's Cup returns this week in Thailand. Not usually seen as a hotbed of football, this long-running tournament returns for it's 42nd edition on Wednesday.

This year sees a similarly Nordic-Asian line-up as 2012, with Finland, Sweden and North Korea lining up against the hosts (2012 saw a Danish league XI, Norway and South Korea). The format has changed however - returning to the knockout format, away from last year's round robin. The opening match sees Sweden take on North Korea (kick off at 9am UK time), followed by Thailand against Finland (12 noon in the UK).

The tournament is held to honour his Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and will be held at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai.

The 700th Anniversary Stadium, looks recently renovated

Finland have taken a squad of players mostly based in the Nordic leagues, making do with the fact that the tournament doesn't fall in the FIFA international calendar (however FIFA have ratified the fixtures). Some old faces return to the squad, including recent HJK additions Teemu Tainio and Mikael Forssell. Perhaps the biggest surprise yet was announced on Tuesday night, when coach Mixu Paatelainen revealed that young Fulham stopper Jesse Joronen would start against the hosts.

Mikael returns to the blue and white

Something for fans of the obscure - the opening match is also billed as a match for the Unofficial World Championship. The tournament originated from the first international football fixtures between England and Scotland back in 1872, and has been calculated all the way to the current day, where North Korea are the current holders. A win for Sweden would bring the title back to Europe, where it hasn't been held since Argentina beat Spain in 2010. By definition, if Finland were to win both of their matches, against Thailand and the winners of the other game, they would be (Unofficial) World Champions! Finland's last effort at the title was in 2008, where they lost 2-1 to Greece.

Hughie, the mascot for the UFWC

For more information on the UFWC, visit their website here.

Thailand's coach Winfried Schäfer certainly has a tournament pedigree, he won the Cup of Nations with Cameroon in 2002, and lost narrowly in the final of the Confederations Cup in 2003 (overshadowed by the death of Marc-Vivien Foe). Sweden are hamstrung by the same squad limitations as Finland, with only four players with more than ten caps, and missing Ibrahimovic. North Korea surprised some in the 2010 World Cup by giving Brazil a decent game, and won't be pushovers either.

 Thailand (in yellow) take on South Korea in 2012

This promises to be a pleasant break in the pre-season plans for Finland, and should give a different challenge for Mixu's players. He claims the advantage over Thailand on the basis of the larger players, but we'll see if size really matters...

Follow Finland's attempts to become World Champions with the Escape To Suomi Twitter site.

Veikkausliiga 2013 - the key fixtures

Top division football returns to Finland in April, and the lopsided nature of the fixture list becomes a talking point again. However, now is merely the time to plan for the trips, moan about scheduling, and look forward to the matches that could decide the title, European places and relegation.

Matchday one starts with one of the big fixtures, champions HJK starting the defence of their title with a trip to Turku, at last season's runners-up Inter. This game is on Monday 15th April, live on Kutonen, but has caused some grievance. HJK fans Klubipääty are upset that they only have one away game (so far) scheduled for a Saturday, and the game is still due to clash with the tie between JJK and Jaro.

 

Klubipääty (and other HJK fans) vs Turku in 2012

Week 11 will see the first clash between two teams who are likely to be at the lower end of the table. Jaro entertain the returning RoPS on Saturday June 1st. Both teams have gone through a lot of change already, Jaro have lost Jussi Aalto and Heikki Aho while RoPS are trying to strengthen for their return, including signing Antti Okkonen from HJK. The fixture list means that Jaro get a slight advantage - the teams play three times, and Jaro are at home twice.

New RoPS man Antti Okkonen has to travel to Jaro twice

Troubled Honka start their Europa League campaign in the second qualifying round on Thursday 18th July. By a quirk of fate, their next opponents are at home to the team they beat in the 2012 cup final, KuPS. Honka's close season have seen the potential to be kicked out of the Veikkausliiga (and Europe), and their captain and star midfielder arguing about breaches of contract. Tammilehto is due to move to TPS, and the club have been very quiet. KuPS have seen several changes too, losing key defenders but bringing in Gambian internation Omar Colley.

Less Finnish Joey Barton, more Finnish Derek Zoolander

The return to domestic action after the early September internationals will feature Lahti's visit to Inter. Lahti ended 2012 in fantastic form, almost challenging for a European spot after their return to the top flight. They have made some splendid signings, including the coup of Joni Kauko from Inter after his contract expired. Lahti will have minimum ambitions of a top finish, and even Europe. The trip to Inter will be a big test of their medal credentials.

 Signing of 2013 so far?

The final day of the season will be played on Saturday October 26th (unless one of the European representatives makes it to a group stage, in which it'll move to Sunday 27th). It's heavily tipped that HJK will be crowned champions in their home match against KuPS - unless things get very interesting. HJK's transfer dealings have seen them prioritise experienced Finnish players, bringing back Mikael Forssell and Teemu Tainio. As noted in a previous blog, a fifth consecutive league title will be a minimum. The Sonera stadium will be almost certainly the place to be...

Will HJK be leaving KuPS behind to claim the gold?

A full list of fixtures is here, with potential changes and major events (Europe, internationals). I'll compile a more user-friendly version prior to the start of the season.