Huhkajat will meet Portugal in Lisbon on June 4. at 21:45 and in Glasgow, Scotland on June 7. at 21:45. shows the matches on its channels.
The head coach of Huahkaji Markku Kanerva on Tuesday named his players for the June international matches against Portugal and Scotland.
Kanerva, who piloted Finland at the end of 2016, could make his last Huuhkajat selections.
The Football Association has not yet decided who will coach Huuhkaji in the next competitive matches, i.e. in the Nations League in the fall. Kanerva has not hidden in interviews that he would like to continue in Huuhkaj.
President of the Football Association Ari Lahti previously confirmed to STT that Huuhkaj is coached in the Nations League by the same name who will pilot the team in the World Cup qualifiers starting in March 2025.
– Discussions have taken place. In the longer term, the process is still open for the Nations League and World Cup qualifiers. Everything is possible, Lahti said.
At Tuesday’s media conference, Kanerva was asked what kind of signal Lahti’s latest speeches gave.
– Well, how do you interpret that now, Kanerva smiled and then quickly turned his speech to the June matches.
In her answer, however, Kanerva also returned to the past.
– Even though we got the second best achievement in history, i.e. we made it to the EC further qualification, it was a bit of a let down and there is motivation.
– There is a strong desire to continue. I feel this is an honor since I have been here for so long and if I can continue. Motivation is at its peak.
The discussion about Kanerva’s position intensified last fall, when Huuhkajat lost a direct place in the European Championships with three consecutive losses.
The discussion got completely new rounds in March, when Huuhkajat collapsed as a guest of Wales in the European Championship play-off.
After the Wales disappointment, Ari Lahti said that he will sit down with Kanerva right after Easter.
– The goal is that we try to make a decision very quickly in one direction or the other.
So there is no decision yet, but we went through three scenarios, one of which will be realized by the fall.
1. Markku Kanerva continues
– In light of the result, Kanerva is the best A national team coach in Finnish history, Urheilu’s expert reminds at the beginning Antti Pohja.
That doesn’t mean that right now might not be the right time for a change. Huhkaji’s game has not developed anymore after the historic European Championship place. At that time, Huuhkajie’s style of play worked, the defense held and Teemu Pukki blazed at the tip.
Now, in the most recent European Championship qualification, Huuhkajat strangely lost its grip in the middle of the matches, was error-prone and especially the defense of concentration and special situations was horrible.
– There were a few matches with big stakes, and Huuhkajat clearly failed in them. Game-wise, there has been no upswing. In that sense, it could be a very logical option to switch, says Pohja.
Then comes the big IF.
– If the association’s management has found a coach who is suitable for Finland in this situation. Changing by changing is the stupidest thing of all.
– All eyes turn to the recruitment organization of the Football Association. What kind of process is going on there? What kind of understanding and willingness is there that what kind of coach is needed and what kind of coach is the best possible to move Finland forward?
In the past, Huuhkajat managed to turn even struggles to their advantage and make up for the shortcomings of their material, when Kanerva’s game plans and preparations for the matches went to the button.
The last European Championship qualifiers saw failures in critical places, such as a 0-3 loss in Slovenia and a 1-4 loss in Wales.
In the same breath, there is realism that overachieving is the only way to the prestigious competition, when you look at Huuhkajie’s player material. Two Finns play in Europe’s top 5 leagues, i.e Lukas Hradecky and Fredrik Jensen In the Bundesliga.
Expert Miika Nuutinen pointed out earlier that after the summer 2021 European Championship, Kanerva has not found a fully functional game template, as evidenced by numerous changes to the game system and lineup.
On the other hand, statistically, no sharp downturn has been seen. Nuutinen felt that the discussion about Kanerva’s position is understandable, because there have been clear weaknesses in his playing. On the other hand, he hoped for realism in the considerations.
– The fact that Finland will play in prestigious competitions in the future requires super success and getting a competitive advantage from the team’s collective action, Nuutinen emphasized.
2. Domestic head coach
The football association has been mapping out coaching options for a long time, just to be sure.
At least the sports director does the work Aki Hyryläinen and research and development manager Ville-Pekka Inkilä. In addition, the general secretary participates in the recruitment work Marco Casagrande and Ari Lahti.
Knowledge of Finnish football, player path, player material and Palloliitto’s coaching line speaks for a domestic head coach. Of course, this would also favor the continuation of Kanerva.
– Now it’s about the fact that Kanerva has been involved for a long time and there have been failures in big screen places, Antti Pohja says.
The expert emphasizes that every coach has his own way and attitude towards football. Everyone is at their best when it comes to coaching a certain kind of game.
– In that sense, you always have to compare what the Finnish player material is like now and five years from now. What kind of football should Finnish players play, and then, is “Rive” the guy who knows how to coach that material best?
– There are so many questions. Could it be another domestic option? Yes for sure, but what type? What kind of game ideology does the coach want to bring? That is the biggest question.
Among domestic options, five names mainly come to mind: Toni Korkeakunnas, Toni Koskela, Jani Honkavaara, Simo Valakari and Mika Lehkosuo.
However, Korkeakunnas just left his position in the national team and signed a contract with HJK until the end of the 2025 season. Koskela is on the free market. Valakari pilots Riga FC. Honkavaara’s KuPS contract expires at the end of this season. Lehkosuo is already at the job of the association, as the head coach of Pikkuhuahkajie.
Pohja believes that this five can definitely be found on the lists of the Balloliitto, because the association has been doing mapping work for a long time.
– Surely Finland’s hottest names are on the lists. Then you have to do a good analysis and interview. How will they be able to convince the management of the Football Association that this is the right way forward?
3. Foreign head coach
There are also foreign options on the league’s lists. It also has its problems, such as money.
In 2022, Kanerva earned 213,000 euros, while the Swedish head coach’s remuneration was said to be around 380,000 euros and the Norwegian pilot up to 500,000 euros.
Also, many club teams, even in the Nordic countries, pay their head coaches bigger sums than Huuhkajat can offer.
Another question is what kind of foreign alternatives might be interested in the challenge that Finland offers.
Looking for a new rise in his career Roy Hodgson succeeded and took Finland within a goal of a place in the European Championship, but he also had better player material at his disposal than Finland currently has to offer.
Stuart Baxter and especially Hans Backe are cautionary examples in the minds of Huuhkajat fans.
Coaches who have proven their level pay a lot and are rarer to see in smaller national teams.
Antti Pohja reminds us that football culture is also international in Finland.
On the other hand, during Kanerva’s time, the players have often emphasized how great it is to join the national team. Good spirit and familiar patterns are important in national teams when training time is short.
– The Kanerva national team has become very strong, like a family, a little bit like a club team. In that sense, it is perhaps more challenging for a foreign coach to be able to create an atmosphere that is exactly as strong. Of course, it’s not impossible.
For a foreign head coach, it is easy to develop threats and opportunities. However, Huuhkaji has been used to the same formula for a long time.
– You don’t have to blow everything up, but when something new and justified comes along, something else can be achieved.
– The biggest responsibility lies in the recruitment process of the Finnish Football Association, so that what kind of coach is needed has been analyzed first. After that, we’ll see who they might be. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you are Finnish or foreign.
Huhkajat will meet Portugal in Lisbon on June 4. at 21:45 and in Glasgow, Scotland on June 7. at 21:45. shows the matches on its channels.