“There must have been a career in it”, the father of Finland’s number one star remembers his daughter’s dark times at the age of 17 – Kemi will forever be on Natalia Kuika’s skin

When Finland tries to stop world-class attackers from Germany, Spain and Denmark at the European Championships, such as the one who moved from Wolsburg to Chelsea for a record sum in women’s football Pernille Harderis the star defender of Helmarei Natalia Kuikka in a big role.

And when Kuikka steps into the Milton Keynes stadium as the guaranteed central defender of Helmarien’s starting line-up, there is a tattoo on his skin that reminds him of Kemi.

At the club level, the 26-year-old Kuikka is only the third Finnish female player in the American professional leagues Anne Mäkinen and Laura Österberg from Kalmar after.

It is a long way for Kemi, who is described on the city’s own website as a bottom-up, unyielding and a little crazy, to make it to Portland on the west coast of the United States.

Even before his actual professional career, Kuikka celebrated a university championship in the United States. Although Kuikka left for Florida State University in his twenties, he has not forgotten his home.

Parents, mother Heli Kuikka and father Hannu Suhonentold of their surprise when the daughter revealed that she got a tattoo with Kemi’s coordinates.

The parents are from Lieksa in North Karelia, but the daughters Natalia and Larissa were born in Kemi, where football played a big role.

After all, Kemi has worked his way up to the national team to be the last locks of the defense, such as the current director of sports for the Finnish Football Association Hannu Tihinen, Juha Pasoja and the goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola. Although Tihinen is from Keminmaa, the breeding club is Kemin Palloseura.

Natalia Kuika’s enthusiasm for football started at the age of a few years in the living room of her home.

– I’m not really sure where it started, but it was non-stop hitting with the ball. Just kicked with the right foot, and the boards came down from the walls. In the end, we decided not to put them at all. The hostess kind of forbade us to throw it away, says father Hannu.

– Then I said that you can kick when you kick with the other leg you haven’t kicked with. That’s the history of why he’s bipedal.

Although Kuikka can play in any role in the defensive line, when he was younger he played in midfield. In Portland, he is mostly seen as a winger, but experienced in the national team Anna Westerlund next to it on the left as a topper. Opening the game is possible with both feet.

Natalia and Larissa started playing football in Kemin Inno, which later merged with Visan Pallo to become Merilappi United.

– We always said at home that as long as you want and it feels comfortable, you can do it. There has been enough enthusiasm. We have agreed that at home food service and laundry service will play. The whole family has been involved with us, says Heli Kuikka.

The family really worked hard both in Natalia’s team and in the operation of the entire club. At that point, life was “full of football”. It was a fulfilling time, points out Hannu Suhonen, but he says that he takes his hat off to anyone who manages to do similar things.

Hannu’s father coached his daughter’s team, but says in an interview that, for example, due to his busy schedule, he was more of a self-taught coach. A particularly talented age group was on hand.

– The team was in C-junior age when I realized that these dirts are good. Now we need to get someone who can manage coaching better.

After that, he started as the team’s coach Mika Bergwhich, in Suhonen’s opinion, brought professionalism and systematicity to the operation.

However, Berg says that he paid attention to Natalia Kuika already before.

– When there was a tournament here in Kemi, I already saw that there was a knee-high girl with a ball, slaloming and scoring goals. That’s when I said he’s going to be a famous soccer player.

The parents and coach Berg say that the background of Natalia’s development into a top soccer player is coincidence and a welcoming environment.

– Terrible enthusiasm, first of all. When he went from 1st to 3rd. classes at Syväkanka school, there was, among other things, Joona Veteli, who now plays for KuPS. There were five to ten guys who were insanely good. If I passed by during recess, the guys were playing kuraka there, and there was one guy there, Hannu-isä laughs.

– When “Natu” has gone somewhere, there has always been football as bait. The environment has been good.

During Kuika’s junior years, Kemi found Junkohalli. At first, it had a gravel base, then artificial grass was added. It was as cold inside Kuplahalli as it was outside, but it was a place to train in the winter.

– It required quite a guerilla and a pain threshold. The balls were hard knockers. Of course, the risks of injury increased and we wondered whether it makes sense to train in the cold or whether we should move to one of the school halls. But neither is possible for a goal-oriented team. Those winter training sessions were quite tough, recalls coach Berg.

It is said on the city’s website that it is always windy in Kemi, but thanks to the wind, the people of Kemi have become a particularly hearty people. “Creativity in chemistry is the ability to sail against the wind and in one’s own direction.”

– Every time the girls went to practice, they said that “mom, the sauna must be warm”, smiles Heli’s mother.

Now Kuikka is preparing for the European football championships for the second time. He was already involved in the 2013 Swedish European Championships, when he was only 17 years old. But that same year, his whole career was at stake.

Kuikka played in a couple of youth national teams, was a supporting force in Merilappi United’s B youth and adult team, which at the end of the season was promoted to the main league. In addition, there was a surprising trip to the European Championships for adults. It was too much.

– After every game, I just cried when there was nothing left in my body. It’s good that I managed to walk off the field, Kuikka said in the HS story.

From chemistry to traveling to games and national team camps, it accumulated tirelessly. In the fall of 2013, the father noticed that something had to be done or Natalia would become a “nervous wreck”.

Then came the next national team invitation. The parents thought that they could not be of sufficient help – it would be good to go with the national team and talk to the knowledgeable people there. Kuikka went to the camp and received help with rehabilitation from, among other things, the team doctor Pippa from Lauka.

Also coached Kuikka in the youth national teams Marianne Miettinen remember the difficulties.

– We were in contact a lot. When he was with the women, he was hardly at all with the young people, so that the load would not become too much. We pulled the brakes and agreed that he would not be invited to the camps, Miettinen recounted in Urheilu’s story about the end of 2020.

The situation did not turn for the better immediately.

– At that point, it seemed that this might be the career, says father Hannu seriously.

– And when he doesn’t say “no”. If someone asks if you’re going to play with the girls, “yes I will”. Are you going there? “Yeah I’m leaving”. Ambition and the fact that he liked football so much, he agreed to everything and didn’t know how to set limits. Then it stopped all at once, mother Heli continues.

But eventually the rest helped. In the spring, when the snow melted, the enthusiasm was found again, the parents remember. Before that, Natalia had focused on school and distanced herself from football.

– The parents were quite worried. After recovery, I knew I wanted to continue. When I was able to play again, my parents drew the limits for me. They said which games I can play and which I can’t, Kuikka told Helsingin Sanomat’s story.

In 2014, Kuikka participated in the under-20 World Championships, but the final starting shot towards the current stardom was taken the following year. Kuikka went to Florida State University, where he received a full sports scholarship.

A year older already studied in Florida Emma Koivistowho also represents Helmarii now in the European Championships.

– That’s when you saw and knew that he would put everything into it. That Florida was a good choice. When we start talking about the fact that there are 5–10 coaches, there are GPS devices and every workout is watched on a screen… The resources are absolutely huge, completely incomprehensible, updates father Hannu.

– A very good choice for a young dirt, got to play and compete with the best in the world of his own age. Every single year was a leap forward.

Yankee universities are full of young national team players. The training is professional and the setting is great, even fun. Behind the large resources is also the equality law enacted in the United States in 1972. According to it, gender equality must be observed in education programs supported by the federal government.

Kuika’s parents also got to see the value of university sports.

– I couldn’t even get out of the shop, Hannu’s father has told Urheilu before about the situation where it turned out that the guests speaking broken English are the parents of the university team captain.

In Florida, Kuika’s playing position changed from midfield to top. Kuikka, who moved to the central defender’s position, was praised by experts and coaches. Strengths include versatility, explosiveness, understanding of the game, aggressiveness and one-on-one situations both in defense and even in attack.

When Natalia Kuikka returned to Europe and transferred to Gothenburg in the Swedish league in 2019, the first real season as a professional began.

Father Hannu says that in his first year in Sweden, Kuika’s playing was still a bit rough, but the second season was completely different. As the Swedish champion, Kuikka returned to the United States.

– In the Yankees, the first season was no longer a “sorry that I exist” mentality. Now this start of the season has been even better. It is amazing that every year there has been a small development.

In the 2021 season, Kuikka immediately established his place in the starting line-up. Portland Thorns won the league cup from the beginning of the season. The Thorns were also number one in the regular season of the NWSL, but in the playoffs, you know, in the semifinals against Chicago. The championship was eventually won by the Washington Spirit.

In addition, Kuikka was selected as the best player of the tough Women’s International Champions Cup last year. Houston and Barcelona and Lyon from Europe participated in the tournament won by Portland.

Kuika’s ambition and expectations were told by the comments during the peak season.

– I’m not super satisfied with my own season, even though it hasn’t gone bad at all. I just expect a lot from myself, and I don’t really know how to give myself mercy, Kuikka stated to Urheilu last August.

This season has also started well for Portland. For the July games, the team started from second place in the standings. There are 12 teams playing in the NWSL, the best six of which qualify for the playoffs.

Now Portland has to get by without its Finnish reinforcement for a while, because there is no national team break in the NWSL due to the European Championships.

When Finland last played in the women’s European Championship, Kuikka got into the race as a real wildcard. Now, based on international reviews, he is the number one star of Helmariten.

The Finnish women’s national football team is participating in the European Championships, which will be played in England from 6 to 31. July. will show all 31 matches of the European Football Championship live on its channels. You can find everything you need about the European Championships on ‘s competition pages here.

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