Nations League match England–Finland on Tuesday at 21:45. Live broadcast on TV2 and Areena from 21:10.
– 23 years and 25 kilos ago!
Monday’s birthday hero, former player of the Finnish national team and current CEO of HJK Aki Riihilahten the reaction is hilarious.
It’s time to start reminiscing about his favorite topic: the Finnish men’s national football team’s latest match with England.
Huuhkajat will meet on Tuesday in the second match of the Nations League at England’s Wembley stadium.
Matches against the “mother country of football” have been a rare treat in Finnish national team football.
All in all, Finland has faced England 11 times.
The “Three Lions” have won nine of them, the Huuhkajat have grabbed a tie twice. The blue and white men’s national team has marched to the legendary Wembley only twice before, in 1976 and 1984.
The last time the two countries met was England in Liverpool at the Anfield stadium on March 24, 2001 in a World Cup qualifier.
The moment that defined Riihilahti’s career emerged from that match and the entire period surrounding it.
– I had signed a contract with Crystal Palace the day before the start of the national team camp. I hadn’t played in England before, so it was a strange situation for me to go to a new country, he says.
Playing against England was special for several players in the team. Riihilahti describes that, in his opinion, English football, which has achieved a special status in Finland, is culturally the closest to the Finnish football ethos, apart from the Nordic countries.
– We had grown up in Finland very attached to English football and its culture. Oh, that’s a big deal for us, despite how tough players were in our team.
The Finnish A national team of that time was the famous “golden generation”. Several trusted players from Europe’s top leagues, the biggest stars, played in the team Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia.
Goalkeeper: Antti Niemi (club team Hearts)
Defense: Petri Pasanen (Ajax) – Sami Hyypia (Liverpool) – Hannu Tihinen (West Ham) – Harri Ylönen (SK Brann)
Midfield: Mika Nurmela (Heerenveen) – Aki Riihilahti (Crystal Palace) – Jarkko Wiss (Stockport) – Joonas Kolkka (Panathinaikos)
Forwards: Jonatan Johansson (Charlton) – Jari Litmanen (Liverpool)
“Beat it!” and quiet Anfield
That game on Saturday was also very important for England. The team had started their World Cup qualifiers in a historically bad way, and the head coach Kevin Keegan had previously been fired.
Sven-Göran Eriksson was in Liverpool for the first time as England’s head coach.
Finland sensed its opportunity.
– (Antti) Walled instructed me before the game that my main opponents in the midfield are young people Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes. He also hoped I would help David Beckham’s keeping on edge.
– I said “okay, no problem”. Somehow, there was never a moment’s feeling that we couldn’t get a result from it. We had an open-minded team.
At Anfield, the house was full, but not only from the English. More than 2,000 Finnish supporters were present at the match.
The blue-and-white corner got something to celebrate in the 26th minute of the match, when the white-shirted Finland startled the home supporters.
Finland received a corner kick, which Joonas Kolkka stepped forward to give. Panathinaikos’ winger’s right-footed cross soon flew towards the penalty spot.
– Rio Ferdinand played against me in that corner situation. I had to do it Hannu Tihinen screen, but I guess I forgot the titles on that screen in my eyes, Riihilahti jokes.
The new Palace player’s header went towards the goal and was deflected by a Manchester United defender Gary Neville’s from thigh to finish.
– Yes, it immediately felt special to score a goal at Anfield, when all of a sudden the only thing heard in the stadium was the shout “Hakka on!”. The roar could only be heard from one direction and all the English were silent. Yes, it felt pretty good.
Working in HJK’s coaching group Mikael Forssell soon acknowledges from the side of the Töölö football stadium’s bench that the goal was not Riihilahti’s but should have been marked as an own goal.
– You saw it from the bench! At the time, Riihilahti was pining for Forssell, whom he got in Crystal Palace as his new teammate in 2001.
See Urheilurutu’s story about the match at Anfield below.
The game finally turned to England.
Michael Owen scored in the first period Jarkko Wissin with his shot from the leg. At the beginning of the second half, the red shirts David Beckham shook the 2–1 hit that was the winning goal with his outside edge.
For a long time, Finland did not even miss a draw. “Kuningas” Litmanen, who played to the end of the match with a broken wrist, was able to score Chef Kuqin sent from the center ball from the top position, but the goalkeeper David Seaman saved the home team.
“Riihlahti, f***ing bastard”
Riihilahti emphasizes the value of English games for Finnish football in many ways.
It is a measure for Huuhkaj as a team, but also an opportunity for every player on the team to test themselves against the world’s best. It is the best possible place for a professional athlete, he describes.
But matches against England are also a different screen for the individual footballer. According to Riihilahti, it is due to the British football culture.
– Regarding England, it is good to understand that a lot can happen there in a short time. There, stories are built quickly, big stories even based on one game. My career changed right there in that match played in Liverpool.
The hit that bounced off Gary Neville’s leg caught the eyes of the English football people in Riihilahti.
Riihilahti was no longer just one Crystal Palace acquisition among others.
– After the England game, there was suddenly a big quote on the back page of The Sun “Riihilahti, f***ing bastard, but thank God he plays for the Palace”
Big Crystal Palace fan and Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman reacts directly to the Finn’s game.
– The club’s store ran out of I’s on jerseys, when my shirts were bought at such a fast pace. And I hadn’t even been to Palace’s training at that point, Riihilahti muses.
– I don’t know if my career in England would have been as good without that qualifying match, he also admits.
My career in England turned out to be great. Riihilahti played a total of 157 matches in the English league in the shirt of the London club, scoring 13 goals in them.
The current CEO of HJK sees that the players of the current Huuhkajie have equal opportunities to open a new page in their career by succeeding against England. There is now a screen slot available.
– When a player plays one good game in England against the English national team, stories are born quickly. Suddenly, a Premier League team or another big club can sign you.