– Would you play on this field?
Hope Powell kicks the artificial grass with the tip of his shoe to test if the playing surface is still frozen or if the sun has done its job.
He doesn’t feel the ground with his hands, because he’s not quite sure if he’ll be able to get back up again. The years of playing have taken their toll.
The moment is absurd. Powell is internationally one of the most recognized icons of women’s football – the first woman to hold a Uefa Pro coaching licence, England’s first full-time head coach and the first woman in the role, which she took up at the age of 31 immediately after a successful playing career.
And he enjoyed the job for a long time, namely fifteen years.
During that time, women’s football in England made huge strides. Powell built the foundations for the success that the England women’s national football team is enjoying today as European champions.
A trailblazer, then, or as England’s National Football Museum puts it: synonymous with women’s football for more than a decade.
And that’s where he stands now, on Paloheinä’s artificial turf, pondering together with the head coach of HPS Mari Savolainen with, could the training sessions for the opening match of the National Cup be held outside instead of the bubble hall.
Powell is not in Finland by chance. He acts as a mentor to Mari Savolainen of HPS, who plays in the National League, in the mentoring program established by UEFA.
Savolainen describes the application process as long. There were many written applications and interviews. In the end, ten mentees were accepted, one of whom was Savolainen. Mentors in the program include the head coach of France Corinne Diacrewho also coached Huuhkajak Hans Backewho piloted Norway in the European Championships Martin Sjögren, Former head coach of Helmarei Anna Signeul and Powell, who piloted the WSL club Brighton until October.
– Yes, I had a bit of an absurd feeling, leaving small Finland to work with coach Hope. After all, it was a wonderful opportunity for me, Savolainen formulates.
The two have been together for a couple of years now. At first, cooperation was hampered by the corona virus, which is why the first meetings were held remotely. They met face to face for the first time in Switzerland a year ago, but now Powell is with Savolainen in Finland for the first time.
– And you invited me here at the coldest possible time! Powell laughs and pulls his top jacket tighter and tighter. On top of the hoodie, he still has a jacket suitable for the cold weather – the English pilot with Jamaican roots is not the best friend of winter.
Six degrees below zero feels freezing, even though the sun is shining.
Of course, Powell is not in Finland for the first time. In 2009, she walked away with silver medals after leading England’s women back to the medal stand at the European Championships.
But it was still reasonably warm in September.
Now Powell has been with HPS since Thursday. The clubhouse located on the border of Paloheinä and Pakila already feels cozy – as usual, Powell walks into the kitchen and inquires if someone else might like the cocoa.
The goalie coach quickly runs after and offers to prepare the drinks for the distinguished guest, but Powell waves his hand: he’s perfectly fine doing it himself.
Although the football legend has been awarded the third highest title of the Order of the British Empire, it is impossible to find the antics of a world star in Powell.
Conditions at Powell’s most recent coaching stop, WSL club Brighton, were quite different to those at National League side HPS.
Brighton’s women had many of the same conditions as the men’s Premier League team: the opportunity to train on two pitches, a well-equipped gymnasium, meals and housing provided by the club and, among other things, two physiotherapists, two coaches, two psychologists to ensure that the players are as well as possible… Not to mention that the players got paid for playing.
– The conditions made it possible for them to be in the best shape possible, and technically and tactically they were able to play in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
Only the day before, HPS has been training at the Tali football hall on the field it has shared half with another National League club HJK – that is, the team it is scheduled to face in the Cup in two days.
But what does Powell think about the conditions in Finland?
– Well, they are quite different. I think the game is here in Finland where we were in England about 10-15 years ago, Powell begins.
He says that he also talked a lot with Savolainen about the circumstances and highly praises the work of his protégé.
– She has tried to create a professional environment, tried to change the culture and done a lot of things that move women’s football forward. We were in exactly the same situation in England, the players were amateurs or semi-professionals and then the number of players started to increase.
The football legend is not surprised by the conditions in Finland. Powell was born at a time when women were still forbidden to play football in England. During Powell’s club team years in the 70s and 90s, women still played far from the limelight.
– I studied while playing and when I graduated, I went to work and then to practice in the evening. We had to pay to play. We bought our own game equipment and washed it ourselves, Powell enumerates.
In Finland, he believes that one of the biggest challenges is related to the weather. Of course, the WSL also has challenges with the weather – match transfers still happen due to icy fields. Only a few weeks ago, Chelsea and Emma Koiviston represented by Liverpool the match between was suspended after six minutes (you will switch to another service), when the players slipped on the icy field. Chelsea, whose men’s representative team bought players in the January transfer window for 320 million euros, cannot afford to heat the home field of the women’s representative team.
But in London, the weather rarely drops below freezing.
– In Finland, it is probably more about the lack of decent fields. We practiced on half the field yesterday. It is a major league club, but they have to share the field. It’s a challenge, but on the other hand, every challenge also comes with opportunities. If the good work continues and more and more investment is made in the sport, I see no reason why the sport will not start to flourish.
Powell likes to talk about the importance of conditions: at Brighton, for example, he considered the conditions to be a prerequisite for players to succeed in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
HPS would also like to train better in the winter, but in Helsinki there are hardly any shifts available for the women’s main league team.
That’s why Savolainen and Powell have just the day before thought together how to train in an hour and a half in a small space as efficiently as possible.
– We had a four-hour discussion afterwards about how the exercises could be better in the future, Savolainen laughs.
Powell has not come to Finland just to drink cocoa. When Savolainen plans the afternoon practice, Powell is happy to share his thoughts: what if that practice was done like this.
If this player did go here, what if we tried like this.
Savolainen follows closely and nods.
– We haven’t done this before, but why not, let’s try.
Savolainen is a rarity in the National League. She was the only female coach in the women’s major league last season and is the same this year.
– It is unfortunate that every time my colleague takes on a similar role, for some reason they always quit. I would hope that there would be continuity, so that women would remain in the roles. Above all, it is important to support and make it possible for women to be offered work and responsibility, Savolainen reflects.
Powell is on the same lines.
– I think it’s about opportunities. There are many quality coaches. I think it’s kind of a challenge for women to work in such a male-dominated environment. But as more and more women come into the industry and see people like Mari working in the majors, they see them as an inspiration. Hopefully it will encourage more and more female coaches into the field.
Savolainen now receives first-class support from Powell. He has received not only concrete suggestions for training and games, but also shared thoughts with Powell about leadership, teamwork and football in general.
The support is valuable, as Savolainen’s goals as a coach are high. Or as he himself puts it: the journey is just beginning.
– There are as many dreams as possible. My habit is to work hard and hope that the work will be rewarded. But yes, I would like to go abroad. My dream is that one day I will coach somewhere outside the borders of Finland.
Powell’s merits still have a long way to go, but the first steps have been taken.