Green green grass of UEFA EURO 2020

from Metropolitan Times 1/2020

Into the woods and out to the sea

pho t o: M ar kk u U lander / L eh t i k uva Teemu Pukki of Finland (10) celebrates with team mates his equalizing 1-1 goal during the men's football UEFA Euro 2020 European Championships qualifying match Finland vs Italy in Tampere in September 2019.

TEAM’S LONG JOURNEY INTO THE PROMISED LAND Green green grass of UEFA EURO 2020

November 15th 2019 may have been a small day for mankind, but it was a giant leap for Finland. On that day the Finnish national football team ensured its place in the UEFA Euro 2020 by defeating Liechtenstein 3-0 in a home match. It was a miracle equalling to Lordi’s Eurovision Song Contest win in 2006 and Finland’s first Ice Hockey World Championship in 1995.

Written by Matti Mäkelä Translated by Anna Eloaho T he road to the promised land had been long and rocky for the ”Eagle Owls”, The Finnish Men’s Football Team. (It is important to remember that the cause for concern in Finnish sports has for decades been the men’s national football team, the women’s team has made it to the European games several times; in 2005 they even took the divided third place). Yet the very beginning of that road was promising for men as well. The national football team took part in the Olympics of 1912 in Stockholm and made it to the semi-finals by defeating such countries as Russia and Italy. At the time Finland was the Grand Duchy of Russia, so victory over the suppressing mother nation was especially sweet.

An indication of what was to come was seen in the 9-0 loss against Holland after a somewhat decent 0-4 result against England. In a bronze medal game the entire Finnish team was tired, and according to a legend, also suffering a hangover. The next century was marked by more and more bitter, even humiliating defeats. Finland could but envy and observe the success of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Even tiny Iceland has had its moments of glory in the eyes of the world. A sign of these desperate times can be seen in a 1977 Finnish Football yearbook, where Kai Haaskivi’s goal against Italy is touted. The fact that Italy scored six goals against Finland in that match was left to lesser attention.

Finnish national football team in the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games.

Finnish football team did take part in Helsinki Olympic Games of 1952 as well as Moscow in 1980. Yet the value of these achievements is somewhat diminished by the fact that as the hosts we qualified automatically to the first event and the widespread boycott towards the latter improved our odds remarkably. There was hardly any success, in Helsinki Finland dropped out during the first round and in Moscow during the group stages.

It is a fact generally acknowledged that the genuine tournaments of substance are the European Championship and the World Cup, where the Finnish team’s chances have usually been that of a snowball in hell, despite the bittersweet fact that a couple of times we have been close to the dream becoming true. In 1997 Finland was already on its way to the last round of World Cup qualifying games, but an over-time own goal silenced the crowds at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki and sent Hungary forward. In 2007 against Portugal Finland was only one goal short to ensure its place in European Championship tournament. One precious goal that never came.

In the past sources of joy for the Finnish football fans were mostly some lone and successful individuals. For example, Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypiä were world-class players and their success in European leagues shed light on Finnish football, but even their input in the national team was never enough.

In the previous World Cup qualifying games Finland qualified fifth in its group, next to last, and got a mere nine points in ten games. The miserable outcome caused Finland to drop below all other Nordic countries and even Faroe Islands in FIFA ranking (in 2017 Faroe Islands had a population of 49 920, which means that during a major influenza epidemic they would have problems to even assemble a team). After that disaster only the most devoted optimists had faith in Finland’s chances in the European Championships, despite the fact that qualifying in European Championships is much easier than in World Cup. Then everything changed. Markku Kanerva became the head coach and Finland started winning. The success in the Nations League (winner in their group) was followed by UEFA Euro qualifying games, where Finland was second in their group after Italy. Left behind was, among others, the 2004 European Champion Greece. The incredible change was explained by the functional playstyle, the improved self-esteem after the wins in Nations League and of course by Teemu Pukki who was the fifth best striker of the whole qualifying round with his 10 goals (out of Finland’s 16 goals). Pukki was also the best striker in England’s Championship League in the season 2018–2019. Last January Pukki, who is now Premier league player of Norwich, was elected the Finnish Athlete of the Year in 2019.

Although the rise of the National Football team may seem like an incredible dream, yet it is a logical step in the change of Finnish society and sports as a whole. For a long time Finnish narrative had been an epic telling of the achievements of the lone and silent heroes. Then came the teams, collaboration and team players. First ice hockey, then basketball and volleyball, finally football.

What is going to happen to Finland in the European Championship games? Many think that the biggest accomplishment is just to be there and that our chances against Denmark and Russia are extremely slim, let alone Belgium. Maybe so, but the history of football is full of miracle stories about victorious underdogs with no prior pressure or expectations whatsoever. A prime example is Iceland in the previous European Championship games. Iceland made it’s way to the quarterfinals and unhorsed the mighty England with 2-1 (match which was played four days after the Brexit vote, which perhaps explains the English team’s total confusion). Being the runner up suits Finland. Let’s not forget the Winter War or our 2019 winning Ice Hockey World Championships team, a team that was considered to be the worst in history by many sports writers before the games. s The Finnish players celebrate a goal in the UEFA Women’s Euro qualification match against Albania in Vaasa in October 2019. photo: Timo Aalto / Lehtikuva THE INCREDIBLE CHANGE WAS EXPLAINED BY THE FUNCTIONAL PLAYSTYLE, THE IMPROVED SELFESTEEM AFTER THE WINS IN NATIONS LEAGUE AND OF COURSE BY TEEMU PUKKI. LAST MINUTE INFORMATION: UEFA has postponed Euro Championships until 2021.

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