Friday, July 27, 2012

The 1912 Finnish Olympic football team

Before World Cups and European Championships, Olympic football was the only major international competition which could determine the world's best team. But before the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, the Swedish Olympic Committee had to be convinced to include football in the first place. The Swedish FA put up the funds required to stage the event, with the Olympic Committee taking 25% of the gate.

The football tournament had already concluded prior to the opening ceremony, where eleven teams competed over a week, and the tournament even featured a spin-off consolation tournament for teams eliminated in the first and second rounds.

 The Finnish team at the 1912 Olympic opening ceremony

Finland entered the Olympics in some controversy. Still part of the Russian Empire (they were a Grand Duchy), the Finnish team entered the opening ceremony in Stockholm with no flag, in a bid to distance themselves from their Russian counterparts. Hannes Kolehmainen, winner of three gold medals for long-distance running, even went so far as to say he almost wished he hadn't won, after seeing the Russian flag lifted when he received his medals.

 The official football team photo

Finland's first match was in Traneberg against Italy, in front of around 600 people. The weather was described as unsuitably warm, and almost unbearably hot. The first half saw two goals for each team, but a goalless second half saw the game go to extra-time, the Finns playing with ten men after an injury in the second period. A goal in the tenth minute of extra time by Bror Wiberg clinched the win, and saw Finland through to the quarter finals. Italy had to console themselves by moving directly to the consolation tournament, where they beat the hosts before losing to Austria. The official report of the fifth Olympiad cited travel-related tiredness as the main reason for the Italian's defeat, due to them having the furthest to travel (all eleven nations competing were European).

Finland (dark shirts) v Italy, 29th June 1912, Traneberg

Finland's reward for their victory was a tie with Russia, maybe a blessing with regards to the future controversy between the two nations at the opening ceremony. The match kicked off less than twenty-four hours after the Finns' earlier match, whereas Russia had received a bye. It turned out that Finland actually started better, Artturi Nyyssönen scoring the only goal of the first half. The second half saw Russia wake up, and equalise, before a late winner from Jarl Öhman, the man who would become Finland's first full-time manager. Between 200 and 300 people got to witness the victory, unfortunately the lowest attendance of the main tournament. The Finns reached the semi-finals with the win, while Russia went on to lose 16-0 to Germany in the Consolation Tournament, where Gottfried Fuchs scored ten goals.


The opponents in the last four were Great Britain, who had won the previous tournament in 1908 staged in London. Like Russia, Britain had received a bye to the second round, where they faced Hungary, and defeated them 7-0, featuring six goals from one-time Arsenal forward Harold Walden. The British were anticipating a victory, resting forward Arthur Berry, and were keen to avoid any further injuries after losing Ted Hanney in the quarter-final. From the start, Jalmari Holopainen put a Sharpe cross into his own net, and another goal from Walden but the Brits 2-0 up after just seven minutes. The team in front could even afford to miss a penalty, before sealing victory with two goals in the final fifteen minutes, to entertain the 4,000 attending the Olympiastadion. The holders would go through to the final, while the Finns would face the bronze medal match against the Netherlands.

Finland try to prevent another British attack

The third place match was a one-sided affair. The Rasunda stadium hosted the meeting between the Finns and the Dutch, in front of an audience of a thousand people, but it seemed as the Dutch were expected to win at a canter. That they lost 4-1 in their semi-final to Denmark seemed to make little difference to the predictions, as that match had been described as one of the finest ever. The Finns only made one change in attack, but it was defence that perhaps required a rest - the Dutch scored nine goals without reply, including five by Jan Vos. The Finns had to make the short trip home, while the Dutch received bronze medals for their efforts. As a reward for their achievement, the Swedish FA presented the Finns with silver medals bearing their logo, also the prize award to the Hungarian winners of the consolation tournament.

For the Finns, there was no shame in losing to the eventual champion. The official report provided interesting opinions on the tournament as a whole, and with a hundred years of history and stories, seems quite timely to mention now. The British style of play was described as relying on science, combination and agility, whereas Finland were lumped in with Germany, Austria and Hungary as playing with speed and hard rushes, and without brain work, accusations that would have been herecy against future German and Hungarian sides. Finland went on to qualify for three further Olympic tournaments, including the 1952 Games in which were held in Helsinki, but never made it past the first round. 

The Finns

Memorable sports teams are made as much by the characters within as the results, and not just a collection of blue shirts swarming towards the goal. The most famous of the 1912 vintage was Algoth Niska (below), the left winger in the Finnish attack. Not only did he represent his nation at the games, but he became known as a bootlegger during the prohibition era. Bringing alcohol into a dry country became an adventure, meeting Estonian and German ships in international waters before heading back to satisfy the urges of the Helsinki elite. But it wasn't just alcohol he smuggled - he claimed to rescue over 150 Jews from Germany prior to the second World War, using stolen passports. Niska even found time to fight in the Winter War of 1939-40 against the Soviets. Niska died in 1954, yet he still goes by the names of the Gentleman Smuggler and the Moonshine King - and will always be the name that is synonymous with that Finnish side that came so close to an Olympic medal.

 Algoth Niska

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Money, money, money - European prize money 2012/13

Let's be realistic. It will be a long time, if ever, before a Finnish club lifts one of the big European trophies. As I touched upon in the piece about the Road to Wembley/Amsterdam, it's all a great big dream served with a healthy dose of realism. There is some glamour to be had, with HJK taking on former European champions Celtic in the third qualifying round, while current Veikkausliiga leaders Inter Turku came away from recent Dutch champions FC Twente with a draw and an away goal.

But these days, football clubs need to be run as businesses as much as clubs. In order to be competitive, they need to earn money. The chance to be involved in games where a single goal could be worth millions of euros. European football is a huge earner. The arguments can rage on about it separating the rich from the poor, but at the end of the day, it's a prize.

All about the Benjamins

With five Finnish clubs still involved in European football (at the time of writing), here is a breakdown of what they have already earned, along with the potential bounty on offer. (These figures are based purely on the prize money that UEFA have indicated will be on offer for the 2012/13 season.)

Champions League

HJK have benefitted from Finland's standing within the game enough so that as Finnish champions, they enter the competition directly into the second qualifying round, and receive a payment of 200,000. Their prize money for that round is 140,000. As a result of they 9-1 aggregate win over KR, they will go through to the third qualifying round against Celtic. So far, a tidy little sum of 340,000*. Defeat to Celtic would see HJK receive another 140,000.

The next step however, is huge. If they were to defeat the Scottish champions, then they would receive around 2.1million just for reaching the play-off round. After that, a win takes them through to the lucrative Champions League group stage (no Finnish side has gone this far since HJK in 1998/99), where a defeat would lead to direct entry to the group stage of the Europa League.

So in total, losing to Celtic would earn HJK 480.000, while losing in the play-off round would earn them around 2.44million. Quite the difference.

(* if HJK were to qualify for the group stages, they would then lose the 340,000, although the participation bonus, including matches played, for reaching the group stage in 2011/12 was 7.2million, so I'm sure they wouldn't lose any sleep.)

 Chelsea received an estimated 59m (including TV money) for winning last season - figures via Swiss Ramble

Europa League

The supposed poor relation of the Champions League, the Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup etc) is still a fair provider of funds, and the four Finnish participants will be looking to earn some big bucks, along with extra co-efficient points and air miles.

The distribution of funds is slightly more straight-forward in this competition. KuPS, JJK and MYPA have all earned 100,000 for winning their first qualifier ties, while Inter Turku lose out. The prize money for winning both the second and third qualifying ties are also 100,000, so qualifying for the play-offs alone will earn them 300,000.

In addition, the sides that lose in the Europa League play-offs will take home another 100,000. Although the winners don't earn any extra money, they do enter the group stage directly, which last season had a participation bonus of 1million.

The pure sums are that qualifying for the group stage will earn 1.3million for reaching the group stage (Inter would earn 1.2million as they entered the second qualifying round).

2011/12 winners Atletico Madrid won around 6million in prize money

It seems like a soulless thought, the prospect on entering a competition purely for money. But clubs are seeking to gain a legal advantage over their rivals, and it's likely that APOEL, BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzeň will benefit hugely over their domestic rivals by virtue of their recent group stage participation.

Does success breed success? Yes. Does it stop clubs dreaming of the big away ties in the play-offs to the likes of Internazionale, Liverpool or Marseille? No. The board can count the pennies, but the fans will have the memories.