fanzine 1/2014
English
Jos Hooiveld Timo Furuholm Joni Kauko Dominic Chatto Tero Mäntylä
Ultraboyz-fanzine 1/2014 You’re reading the first Ultraboyz-fanzine of 2014. We aim to publish more of these during 2014 when we get enough ideas for stories to report.
Ultraboyz-fanzine 1/2014 Editor Ultraboyz/Jarmo Photos Ultraboyz/Rise
Send feedback: slo@ultraboyz.net
Graphics Ultraboyz/Iippa & layout www.kristiinaerkko.fi
The Ultraboyz player of year 2013 is Magnus Bahne. The trophy was handed over by Sirpa Nummela and Jarmo Koivula. 2
what is Ultraboyz? Ultraboyz supporter’s club was founded in 1999 to gather all supporters of FC Inter together under the same flag. We work towards enhancing the support base of a topflight football club in Turku and strive for making FC Inter more recognizable in Finland as well as gather people who are passionate about football and FC Inter together to support our club home and away in Finland and abroad. Ultraboyz keeps in touch with the Finnish FA and other top flight football clubs in Finland and their supporter’s clubs. Ultraboyz acts as a host for supporters who travel here to support their club in international cup matches. We gather for other cultural happenings outside playing season several times per year in Turku and the surrounding area. All right, enough stiff upper lip already. Let’s relax a bit and put this in a much simpler way: Ultraboyz is a group of people who share love and passion for football and especially for FC Inter. We have people from all walks of life end everyone is welcome regardless of age, gender, marital status, religion, nationality, skin colour, profession, looks and body shape. All that matters is a black and blue heart, that´s all you’ll ever need.
Info about membership fee, how much and why? Every member pays a membership fee at the beginning of each calendar year. The fee is 20 € for people who are 15 years old or older and 5 € for people who are younger than 15 years old at the begin-
ning of the calendar year. You get to travel cheaper to away games than those people who are not members. The logic behind a membership fee is that we put together a small buffer fund, which we use to cover for the rental fee of a bus for travelling to away games. Sometimes the busfare we collect from people travelling to an away game doesn’t add up enough to cover the rental fee of the bus we use and then our buffer fund of ours comes into play. We use our buffer fund for paying for our website, costs related to supporting activities such as material for banners etc. The point is that everyone pitches in with a little membership fee to ease things moving forward. A member of Ultraboyz gets access to our webforum´s Members Only-section, where the best and most tantalizing stories and rumours are.
Info about travelling to away games, how do I get on the bus? We inform well in advance the price of a next away game in our webforum and once the price is put out in the open it doesn’t change so you’ll know exactly how much you have to pay for the bus fare and the game ticket. It’s one price for the bus fare and the game ticket, there’s no additional cost. Ultraboyz members get their away game package typically 5€ cheaper than non-members. To recap, everybody gets to travel to an away game with us regardless of Ultraboyz membership. All you have to do is to dig a little deeper into your pocket than us, that’s all. 3
The most convenient way to sign up for an away game is through our webforum’s Vieraspelimatkat-section or by dropping a message to vierasmatkat@ultraboyz.net. The starting point for away games is from the parking lot right next to our home stadion in Kupittaa and this is the place we return as well. We pick up people from along the way as well if needed
and if your pick-up point happens to coincide with our natural route from Turku to our destination. Consuming of your own getting in the proper supporting mood beverages is allowed. Just make sure that you master the fine art of balancing your input with your output.
Fan product sales season 2013 We set up a small table behind the Olympia section of the stadium and we sold a selection of Inter’s fan products and some Ultraboyz products as well. The business was even better than we perhaps expected and the total tally of Inter’s fan products was 1024 €. We gave it all to Inter and didn’t take a cent for us. We gave an account to Inter after each home match with the money from the sales of that particular match. Thank you to all of you who purchased Inter’s fan products! You guys are great. A big thank you to Inter’s Jenna and Sanna for the trust you placed in us!
Hillsborough 1989 One of sporting world’s biggest and worst tragedies happened on the 15th of April 1989 on Hillsborough stadium. 96 Liverpool FC supporters lost their lives that day in that horrific accident. 2015 commemorates the 25th anniversary of that dreadful event and Liverpool FC has asked all members of the footballing family to donate a scarf and a short note for the families as an additional sign of support from the global community. Each scarf will be laid out on the pitch at Anfield on the day of the annual Hillsborough memorial service in the shape of the number 96. After the service all the scarfs will be donated to charity to support several local good causes. Ultraboyz has sent our latest model of scarf and a short note to Liverpool to support those families who lost so much 25 years ago. We are all one big footballing family in moments like these. You’ll never walk alone. 4
ULTRAS Notorious Belgian hooligroup got together at Bar Kuka. They spread sheets onto the street and snapped photos for souvenir. Traffic stopped. A police car rolled by the bar. On the way to stadium they yelled out their songs. Devil’s hand sign was showed from an ambulance. The show went on at Vapari. The bar maid went into overdrive. ”You can’t get belgian beer from this bar”, I taught them,
”Karhu, Koff and Olvi are good.” Their leader Rafael Pilotto said: ”We don’t fight with those who don’t want to brawl with us.” During the match they lit the pyros and detonated a bomb. ”We have to take our shoes off at the gate In Belgium, taking stuff into stadium in your groin works”, said one of Genk’s good guys.
© Tapani Kinnunen (translation Jarmo) 5
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jos hooiveld UBZ: Have you had any surprises in England? Jos: There werent too many surprises, most things you know already about english football. And life isnt too different of the rest of Europe. How does the football scene over there differ from the Finnish football scene? Biggest difference is the amount of people who come to watch and the intensity they watch it with. How do you see your future in your club? The future is always difficult to guess in football. Luck plays a big role in life and also in football. You need to be on the right moment on the right place, amd ofcourse quality brings you there.
memories about the fans travelling up to all the far stadiums to support us. And helped us bringing the title to turku. Best things i remember outside football is the enormous amount of support I got from the people of the club. From Sanna and Carita to Job and Stefan. Everyone carried me a warm heart, so I could develop as a player. And as a person. Do you remember any good stories about your team mates with Inter? I remember lots of great stories about the teammates at inter, but its better to keep them to myself! Do you think that you could be involved in football after your playing career? I can see myself working in football after my career.
What is the greatest success of your career? And in your life? In football my biggest succes has been all the prices I won. Thats the best feeling there is, and in life my biggest succes is that wherever I went I make new friends and that people appreciate the person I am amd what I stand for. Which player has been your role model? I never really had a role model as a footballer, maybe my brother and father. What is your best memory of Inter outside of winning the titles? Really enjoyed the finnish summers and the life outside football. Very well organised. I really much enjoyed the year we won the title and liigacup, have great 7
Derbymemory Jarmo: Just finished translating your interview into Finnish. I have to say that reading your story again and translating it brought back a flood of memories. Especially that part where you thank us and the people of the club and remembering everything almost put a tear into my eye; it really touched me. I can’t thank you enough of those great memories and feelings you gave me and all of us. One of my fondest memories is that derby where we beat the b&w bas‌..s by 4 goals to 0. There was this one incident in that game: their striker got the ball halfway on our side go the pitch and he realized that there was just one defender between him and our goal. He started running with the ball like a madman and then he looked up and saw that the sole defender was you. Right at that very second all steam just evaporated from him and he was defeated even before you took the ball form him as easily as taking candy from a little baby. I was screaming of laughter and immense joy because you dominated him totally. Thank you. Jos: Hahaha! I remember that day, how good was the feeling when we beat them!! That year we beat them every time we played them. Amazing, also when we beat them in the final of the liigacup. I hope so much that inter will win something again soon. It will stay forever in peoples memory the feeling of winning a title. And of course the celebration in blanko. That was a good party as well, next time we need a bigger venue though ha! In Finland I got the lpve for football back. Travelling in that old rockstar bus was amazing as well. Amd the boys eating icecream before the game, was unbelievable as well. So relaxed and yet so nice! 8
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Timo Furuholm UBZ: Have you had any surprises in Germany? Timo: Germany has been a surprise after another, both good and bad, but I still have good wibe going despite minor disappointments. How would you compare playing over there and in Finland? A It’s difficult to compare. The fact alone that there are some 6 million football players here makes the competition much more brutal. This is especially true in training sessions where everyone wants to take a big role. The training sessions here can be pretty wild sometimes. There is a much more clear pecking order between the players. The level of games in Finland is good but the training is sometimes a little ”nicer”. How does the football scene over there differ from the Finnish football scene? A When 6 germans talk about football they have at least 10 opinions. Maybe not everyone goes to the stadium but everyone knows what’s going on in the local team. It’s sometimes hard for a player to imagine how much a victory or defeat means to supporters here. Its just work for me and you just can’t win every single time. How do you see your future in your club? My contract is until summer 2015. I like the city a lot but if you don’t always know what’s going to happen in life, then you don’t know even that in a football player’s life. Let’s take things easy and see what happens.
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Where do you think you are in 5 years’ time? At Veritas Stadium. Ojala puts the ball inside the box. I score. Paajanen comes to celebrate with me. We’re playing against Tottenham in the Europa League. You have to have dreams, a little playful if not anything else. What part does luck play in different parts of a footballer’s career? The best quality a player can today have is a great agent. When you once get your foot between the doors to bigger clubs it’s possible to build a better career for yourself. You have to be a good player after that happens, of course. I know many players who are better than me but they haven’t been as lucky as me. What is the best in a footballer’s life? Pressure. Challenges. Emotional roller coaster going everywhere. What is the greatest success of your career? Rising back to be a seriously taken football player after many long injuries. What is the greatest success of your life? My daughter. Which player has been your role model? My role models come from elsewhere than football. Do you think that our national team could have a use for you? I have to play better so they could have. I don’t stress about it, though. The best players have to be selected.
What is your best memory of Inter outside of winning the titles? Growing together from boys to men. Myself, Ojala, Nikkari, Paajanen, Aho, Sanevuori, Gustafsson, Mäkitalo etc.
Everyone was OK with that and some even played paper; at least me and Kiiko. Once we realized our stupidity after a while, it wiped out every bit of my intelligence I had been able to accumulate so far.
Is there something you didn’t do when you played or Inter which you still think you should have done? I’m certain there is. A few goals at least.
Do you think that you could be involved in football after your playing career? Maybe. I think though that there are a lot more things in life which are worth exploring besides football. If I have the time and enthusiasm after my career then why not.
Do you remember any good stories about your team mates with Inter? I remember once when we played rock-paper-scissors about something which I can’t remember any longer. Since we had too many players playing I decided to propose that let’s drop the rock from the game.
Is there something you would like to say to people with a black and blue heart? The team needs its supporters. Especially in difficult times. Support Inter and enjoy football.
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Dominic Chatto UBZ: Have you had any surprises in Sweden? Dominic: Well I would say no surprises, I don’t remember any in Sweden. How would you compare playing over there and in Finland? There is more competition in the swedish league and almost every team is as good as the other, there is more quality in play and it is more physical than in Finland. How does the football scene over there differ from the Finnish football scene? There are lots of spectators, referees are more advanced, nice atmosphere in some games. In Finland, I only enjoyed the derby with TPS. How do you see your future in your club? At the moment I have moved on to a new club in Norway, I don’t know much about the football here but I am expecting to see a lot of more physical football and a little more like the football in Sweden. Where do you think you are in 5 years’ time? I can’t predict my future for now, I will just keep on working hard and hoping for the best. What is the best in a footballer’s life? Healthy life and a happy family.
What is the greatest success of your life? Got married and having a beautiful baby. Which player has been your role model? Zidane & Peter Odemwingie. Do you think that your national team could have a use for you? Yes. What is your best memory of Inter outside of winning the titles? Hanging out with Jos Hooiveld. Is there something you didn’t do when you played or Inter which you still think you should have done? Bring my younger brother who plays the same position as me to Inter :) Do you remember any good stories about your team mates with Inter? Martin Mutumba I will never forget haha.... Do you think that you could be involved in football after your playing career? At some point YES. Is there something you would like to say to people with a black and blue heart? I really appreciate their support in the 2 years I was there, memories of 2008 I won’t forget in a hurry! Mamamamama.... I N T E R!!!
What is the greatest success of your career? Training with premier league club Blackburn Rovers in 2004 and Dynamo Kiev 2005. 13
Joni Kauko UBZ: Have you had any surprises in Germany? Joni: The fact that a lot of people don’t speak english was a surprise. How would you compare playing over there and in Finland? The tempo is higher and the game is more physical. How does the football scene over there differ from the Finnish football scene? Football is the biggest sport here and it shows in the passion that people have about football on the stands, everywhere outside the stadium and especially in the media. How do you see your future in your club? It’s good. I’ve been playing a lot even in my first season and that means the coach sees me as a dependable player. Where do you think you are in 5 years’ time? In 1. Bundesliga, the Championship or the Premier League in England.
What is the greatest success of your life? My girlfriend. Which player has been your role model? Jari Litmanen and Sergio Busquets. Do you think that our national team could have a use for you? I believe that I could help our national team with my contribution. What is your best memory of Inter outside of winning the titles? When I saw a supporter wearing Inter’s jersey number 24 and the name Kauko for the first time. Is there something you didn’t do when you played or Inter which you still think you should have done? Winning the Championship and playing a big part in winning it.
What is the best in a footballer’s life? The fact that my passion is my job as well and being able to see the world, meet new people and make new friends.
Do you remember any good stories about your team mates with Inter? We were doing a supposedly funny interview with Mankku and Mankku played the know it all reporter. We were just shooting the breeze and finally Mankku asked without realizing it: ”ok, now tell me Joni Aho what will be the result of the game?” That fit the bill since the media guys screw up the names now and then, too. I dropped completely but finished the interview any way. Mankku realized only afterwards what he had said when he asked me why I dropped that way.
What is the greatest success of your career? Winning the Finnish Cup title. My first transfer abroad.
Do you remember any good stories about your team mates now? A dinner with a couple of my team mates and our girlfriends was fun!
What part does luck play in different parts of a footballer’s career? I don’t believe in luck. Everything happens for a reason.
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Do you think that you could be involved in football after your playing career? Absolutely. That might even be my meaning.
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Is there something you would like to say to people with a black and blue heart? Dreams come true when you just believe in them. Keep on supporting harder than ever before. Greetings and success!
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tero m채ntyl채
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UBZ: Have you had any surprises in Bulgaria? Tero: I’ve had my share of surprises. The first apartment which I moved into was completely renovated and everything was supposed to be in order. Well, the first rainy day came and both the windows and the ceiling leaked. How would you compare playing over there and in Finland? The tempo is higher in Bulgaria in my opinion. The stadiums aren’t the same standard than in Finland generally speaking but there are some exceptions, of course. How does the football scene over there differ from the Finnish football scene? There are more fans and football is more popular. There are pyros on the stand quite often and so on. How do you see your future in your club? Good. I’ve played a lot this season and I still have one more year of contract left. Where do you think you are in 5 years’ time? I’m dreaming of the Premier League. What part does luck play in different parts of a footballer’s career? Luck does play a part. Injury at a bad time right before important matches or equally playing well in big matches can have a tremendous effect on things. What is the best in a footballer’s life? Matches and winning. What is the greatest success of your career? Qualifying for Europa League’s top 16 clubs.
What is the greatest success of your life? Outside of football I’d say graduating from high school. It took me 5 years to accomplish that. Which player has been your role model? Sami Hyypiä. Do you think that our national team could have a use for you? The head coach selects the national team so my job is to play as well as possible in my club and earn my spot that way. What is your best memory of Inter outside of winning the titles? The silver medal. Is there something you didn’t do when you played or Inter which you still think you should have done? My first goal at Veikkausliiga. Do you remember any good stories about your team mates with Inter? Mankku Bahne’s stories and pranks. He’s one of the senior members of the team but one of the youngest at heart. Do you remember any good stories about your team mates now? I can’t think of anything publishable just now. Do you think that you could be involved in football after your playing career? Probably, but I don’t know at which capacity. Is there something you would like to say to people with a black and blue heart? Thank you for my time at Inter and good luck to next season in Veikkausliiga!
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Mit freundlichen Grüßen aus Hannunniittu Hans Snabb’s matchdiaries can be read on Ultraboyz web pages.
The Finnish broadcasting company YLE excelled in September last year by airing two (count ’em, 2!) documentaries about domestic football within one week. They were about Guessleague clubs FC Lahti and HJK. The Lahti document had a nice home movie feel to it, interviews were laid back and the people didn’t speak cautiously at all. Peculiar. There was one scene which has been on my mind every now and then. The most intense fan who was working in a bank or somewhere wondered out loud why pitch invasion is outlawed. Fines, for what reason? He wasn’t altogether wrong. Why not indeed shouldn’t a supporter and to be his duty, in fact, to go and celebrate with the players he’s followed after witnessing a great success of them? And yes, on the pitch. But no, this is outlawed for security reasons. Domestic supporter culture has been tried to muffle more or less deliberately any way. I can understand that everything that bangs is outlawed but that you can’t throw even confetti to the pitch, que? Even when we cleaned the confetti from the pitch after we secured the silver in 2011. The HJK document was more stylish, the interviews were held in a studio with proper canvas back ground and TV make-up on and everything. does a big club always have to have a certain look, always presentable and a little plastic as well. Where’s 20
the true joy of life? Can it be shown only at the end of October after raising the cup who knows how many years in succession? What comes to Inter’s image, it’s sad that we can’t find any new players like the other clubs do but we just count on players returning to us to produce goals. I doubt that #17 is going to lead our club towards relegation, let there be the championship, but I still wouldn’t forecast any great glory for this season. We can’t get rid of the coach before the end of 2016. Then, at the very latest is time for a domestic choice. The new breeze which is blowing in the marketing department is hopefully a first stage in building a new Inter. It’s a biological fact that our club’s President can’t exemplary steer our ship forever. This group of business men who tried to get one domestic boxer’s contract for them could invest in Inter and take us into their portfolio. There is a fear that the same happens as to the sausage heir Salonoja or CEO Ari Lahti.
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NONNA
A Woman in the Supporters’ Section Nonna Touru has been a supporter of FC Inter since 2005 and she has been a member of Ultraboyz since 2010.
Going to the supporters’ section to watch a football game is nothing new to me anymore, but I am still sometimes being reminded that it’s not, at least in these parts of the country, that normal for a woman to do so. But there, among fellow supporters, those comments rarely come to mind. It is those people who don’t usually go to (Veikkausliiga) matches who consider a woman’s passion for football strange.
And also Ultraboyz especially welcomes women among us!
I’m not a radical feminist, and I think that gender roles can even be a good thing if they encourage one to do something enjoyable. But it is a shame if they prevent one from doing something. Years ago, for example, when football bets were mostly made in kiosks I felt myself, as a woman, a bit out of place. Luckily I came to my senses and realized that even if I am a woman, it doesn’t prevent me from betting and being interested in football. And in my opinion, no one should be shy of the supporters’ section because of their gender, or their age, weight, race, etc.
Watching and understanding football is, however, quite easy even for a beginner and the basic rules of the game are not difficult to learn. Although sometimes it may be easier if the person explaining the rules to a woman is also a woman. I remember one time in a bar when I explained the offside rule to a female friend with the help of different sized drinking glasses, and her boyfriend was astonished that I had succeeded instantly in something that he had tried many times without success. Sometimes when watching women playing football, I wonder if they also understand football better than men, for at least they seem to be better at staying on their feet…
Luckily FC Inter Turku appreciates their female audience, of which for example their women’s day greetings or cheaper tickets for women some years ago are a good example. (Although I have heard such a theory, that women actually get more value for their ticket than men, for they have, in addition to the game, other interesting things to look at as well.) 22
It might be partly because of the cultural reasons that women are less familiar with football than men are. Although sadly it seems that many men are also unfamiliar with football, at least if one looks at the attendance numbers of Veikkausliiga matches in recent years.
I wish good luck for the whole FC Inter Turku organization for the upcoming season, and welcome all you people to the audience and to join Ultraboyz in both home and away matches!
How does an Ultra survive a paralyzingly long and miserable winter? That’s the unavoidable question which springs into mind right after the gutwrenching shock caused by season ending in the autumn. It seems to take forever and a day till spring and numbing darkness threatens to last like there’s no hope left in the world. There has to be as many ways to survive as there are us suffering from cold turkey. Someone hibernates all winter long and you won’t see him at all until the first Veikkausliiga match of the season. Some medicate themselves with getting a channel package which allows them to watch mosquitoes’ breeding rituals (fascinating stuff!), DIY home improvement shows and egg boiling competitions and even some european football matches as well. Others register themselves to an online betting company’s website and get the right to eyeball from a laptop screen several countries’ premier tier football. All this eases the hardest pain in one’s soul a little bit but nothing beats standing by the pitch, hearing comments from the pitch and the dugout as well as relaxed jaw-jack with friends. I’m talking about watching the games of our oldest youth team A. It’s great fun to watch these games for a number of reasons. You don’t have to be quite as hold-heartedly in as in the first team’s matches and that means that the old ticker can sigh from relief but you get to enjoy watching our own guys playing the beautiful game. It’s great fun to try and spot the next new talent on his way to the first team in the near future and seeing them succeeding in the youth team on a
regular basis gives you a nice trust in the future of our club. So why then there are so few of us watching the youth team matches? The answer is obvious; all you need to do is to glance at the thermometer and when everyone knows that it’s always windy at Kupittaa and that’s all you need. The cold (no pun intended) fact is that to survive two hours of football watching on a fresh winter afternoon you need to wear a real shitload of clothes or you’re screwed big-time. The kit you’ll need to survive two hours by the pitch in winter is pretty much as follows: undies and long johns, interim pants, thickest pants you can find, two sets of socks (at least), a T-shirt, a turtleneck, a pullover, a fleece west and a coat. To cover your dandruff you’ll need a woolly hat, gloves and mittens and you’re ready. With this kit you’ll survive two hours of standing pretty still without immediate fear of freezing solid. Needless to say but you can well forget about going to john to relieve yourself since you just can’t dig out that piece of meat without considerable effort so why bother. I just have to comment those guys who say that the Finnish football season should be longer and form both ends, no less. Have 23
these guys lost their sense completely? Have they ever stood in the snow by the pitch in March for two hours in -5 centigrade weather in a refreshing and so revitalizing breeze? I can tell from personal experience that both us spectators and subs huddling aren’t really laughing. Rise and I wondered during an youth team match once that are we really this excited or are we just plain dumb. You can contemplate an answer to that one but please keep it to yourself, thank you very much.
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The winter has been very mild this time and that suits me and the grass at Veritas Stadium just fine. Let’s keep our fingers and toes crossed and hope for winter not striking back. The spring should come as quickly as possible and temperature rise rapidly at least 10 degrees to make the waiting for season start a little bearable. It’s a long way to summer yet but we’re going to the right direction. Keep up the spirit, fellow sufferers!
Thoughts about the Coming Season Last season was quite a disappointment for all of us but that’s that and let’s look into the future. Our team has strengthened with three players Moukku, Masse and Kiiko who have come back to the black and blue environment. Little Stefu aka Stefan Marinkovic has arrived from the Ajax organization to strengthen our left flank especially in defence. The young guns Juusto, Solmu, Kile, Jere, Demba and Allu have yet one more year of experience under their belts and the expections are that much higher this time round. No pressure guys but expectations are higher from us and undoubtedly from you as well. There are rumors about further new players coming in but let’s wait and see if there’s any truth in those rumors. Since the team has changed a little bit from last season it will take some time before the roles and team play are up to the par. We all have to be patient and understanding although it will surely be hard for us. We always hope and expect our team to march from victory to victory right from the very first match. Every one of us admits surely that this might just be a tad too much to expect but what can you do - the hunger for winning and success is big.
Inter’s organization has strengthened as well for this coming season with two persons to the marketing duties. This is long awaited and now we want results and fresh ideas. Ruut and Jim, no pressure but expectations are high. We have had the questionable pleasure to read about some club getting lots of big names in, some clubs are screwed financially and the traffic has been oneway pretty much only. This makes speculation about the relative strength of the clubs just that - speculation. Big names in the roster don’t necessarily make a strong team and never heard-names in the roster don’t necessarily make a losing team and that’s the very essence of football. Because of reasons mentioned above and some others as well, the very poor man’s oracle who wrote this story can’t possibly predict the relative strength of the clubs for the coming season but one thing is certain. This is our season. Jarmo
Nothing warms a black and blue heart like a victory, except a landslide victory. And from the b&w wankers especially. 25
FORZA INTER!!!