Joel Pohjanpalo played a successful season in Turkey and is now looking back at the top European leagues. The owls are aiming for the biggest possible points from the June match rush hour.
Joel Pohjanpalon the season in the Turkish league was special. With a large player budget, Rizespor’s nail set on the field, and eventually dropped out of the series.
However, Pohjanpalo struck the goals himself at a hard pace and fought until the last to win the entire series of paint exchanges. Still, he started most of the games for the rest of the season on the shift side.
– Of course I was wondering the same thing, and the club got a simple answer. They wanted to give playing time to players who might stay with them for next season as well. That’s why I was told I wasn’t going to start playing any more. It was a straightforward, honest opinion from the club, and it couldn’t start to squeak. Then there would have been no minutes at all, Pohjanpalo tells Sports.
During the last ten matches, Pohjanpalo was only open twice. Despite the reduced minutes, the finish line remained at its peak and the Finn was finally fourth on the paint exchange with 16 hits.
– A very interesting trip in a positive and negative sense. As a team player, I am disappointed to fall, but personally the season was amazing, Pohjanpalo says.
Rizespor had three different coaches during the season, all of whom were very different, according to Pohjanpalo. The attacker transferred to an unknown Turkish club on loan at the last minute of the transfer window from Leverkusen, which surprised many. The fire left the suspects wrong.
– Afterwards, the decision was quite right. I got to play a completely intact season and the result came. Now is a good place to look for a club in Europe and see what is the right option, be it staying in Leverkusen, another Bundesliga club or another top European series. It is still fully open.
One clear wish for the future at Pohjanpalo is in mind.
– The Champions League has been a big dream personally. I played a couple of games there, but I want more of those games, Pohjanpalo says.
The threat of owls in the League of Nations begins on Saturday with a home game against the more familiar Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second encounter is ahead in just over a week at Zenica. Pohjanpalo admits that the lottery could have been brought in against some other country in between.
In previous World Cup qualifiers, Finland scored five goals in the Bosnian net in two matches. With the Northern Fire and the whole team, there is enough hunger to continue on the same path.
– We’re going to the match with the same weapons as before. We know exactly their weaknesses and strengths and are going to strike at them.
The League of Nations will be played in the June national match window for as many as four games. The exceptional situation is likely to cause more line-up changes between matches than usual.
– I have to admit that the situation is a bit awkward. Four long matches after a long season is quite risky in terms of injuries, but this has been decided and you can’t start squealing. We’re focusing on getting 12 points and applying for an A-league promotion. That is our goal, Pohjanpalo says.
After the national matches, Pohjanpalo will get married, so a memorable summer is coming anyway. The man’s bachelorette party was celebrated last weekend in conjunction with the Monaco F1 race.
– It was an amazing trip. I had never been to a look at formulas before, and what better place to follow them than in Monaco.
The Finnish men’s national football team Huuhkajat will meet Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, June 4, at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The broadcast will be available on TV2 and Areena from 18.00. The match itself starts at 7 p.m.