Topi Keskinen21, the transfer abroad from Veikkausliiga was long awaited.
The winger, who excelled in the Helsinki Football Club, dominated the Finnish premier league sovereignly at his best.
Kesken’s qualities also rose rapidly under the magnifying glasses of clubs in bigger leagues. Especially when he had only had time to play in the Veikkausliiga for one whole season.
Mikkeliäikasvatti finally ended up in Scotland and its main league traditional Aberdeen. The transfer that took place in August brought MTV Sports and according to the Scottish media, HJK received a transfer fee of almost one million euros.
When Keskinen got on the field in Scotland, the momentum didn’t slow down. The youngster scored a goal in his first game for Aberdeen. Since then, Keskinen has scored twice in the five games he has played in the Scottish Premier League.
Niskanen’s first hit in Scotland in the embed below.
– The football that is played there suits me better than, say, the Veikkausliiga in HJK. The tempo is different and in Aberdeen you don’t always have to play against a low playing defence. More end to end, Keskinen tells Urheilu.
– Even small things ignite in Scotland, successes. For example, I like how every goal is celebrated. There is more passion in celebrating game performances than in Finland, which I like. Even if a 34-year-old guy loses a duel, he’s also annoying, he describes the state of mind of his teammates.
When the game is played in the club team, responsibility is also expected in the national team. Huuhkajat are in dire need of goals after the team went without a hit in their first two games in the Nations League.
“He’s not finished”
There is one person with very strong ties to Scotland in the Huhkaji coaching group. Goalkeeper coach Antti Niemi had a great career in the shirts of Glasgow Rangers and Heart of Midlothian.
– Topi wasn’t even born when I went there in 1997, Niemi lightly teases Keski, who is sitting next to him.
– I liked and still like Scotland, I have warm relations there. I think the people there are nice and have a very good sense of humor.
Niemi feels that the level of Scottish football is higher than people realize today.
– In my opinion, the country suffers from the proximity of the English Premier League. Everyone ends up comparing it to England. The Scottish Premier League is a tough league with really big clubs, he reasons.
The Scots also love Nieme. In five years and over a hundred games for Scotland, he became a cult player, thanks to one prank call in particular.
From the 2002 acquisition of Talksport, a British sports radio station From a call from a Hearts supporter has become an evergreen joke in the football world.
The statement, “He’s not finished”, which is a play on words in the English language, has also become familiar to Keski.
– Yeah! I hear it all the time, he flashes.
– Well, I see. When I wrote the contract with Aberdeen, quite a few comments read: “Why did you sign him, he is Finnish. He’s not finished, he’s only 21”.
Afterwards, Nieme’s cult status has been preserved. The Scottish Football Association asked the Finn to join for a stylish team announcement video before last summer’s European Championships. In addition to his cameo role, the Finn got to throw in a classic statement himself.
– They sent me an email and I gladly went along. It was a nice shooting day in Glasgow. Of course, if someone doesn’t know that phone call, they won’t be able to connect it to why I’m in that video, Niemi says.
“I’m just myself”
If Nieme has a cult status as a player in addition to his handsome game performances, Keskinen wouldn’t have a long way to go to achieve that either.
The skilled winger has impressed on the field, but his tattoo also immediately attracted a lot of attention internationally. Fishing Wayne Rooney decorated with statues from the Japanese Naruto series, it was a fun and memorable tattoo for many.
What does Topi Keskinen himself think, will the journey lead to cult player or star player status?
– I haven’t thought like that, I’m just going to be myself, Keskinen says firmly, but with a smile on his face.
Keski can’t be colorless, his skills on the field take care of that. The young Finn stands out with his exceptional running speed, his ball skills in a small space and his sharp finishing ability.
Antti Niemi is particularly impressed by the first mentioned feature.
– If as a player you want to reach the top of the world, you always have to have some exceptional quality that you can build on. Topi is exceptionally fast in Finnish terms and that is a really important feature in modern football.
– But it’s hard to build a really hard career on just one feature. It all depends on the work you do for other skills.
Niemi points out that Keskinen is still on its way to the top despite its promising starting points. There is room for development in every area, and this is also emphasized by Keskinen himself.
– Antti said it well, I don’t think I’m a ready player in any area yet. I played in Ykkö (now Ykkösliiga) in Mikkeli two years ago, so I can’t even imagine that I would be.
You should have time to fish
The competition is fierce, the higher you go.
Keskinen has also enjoyed being able to challenge himself in a new, tougher environment.
Niemi describes how, once upon a time, in Scotland, the fierce competitive situation and high-intensity training sometimes turned into fights between teammates.
Keskinen says that there are still conflicts and disagreements, but the teammates remain friends despite the competition.
– Those twists are then forgotten right away, as it should be. I think it’s okay for that to happen. In Finland, such fights are made into a much bigger deal than they are.
– Everyone takes the competition so seriously, so it would be a miracle if there weren’t any bad words or the like.
The devilish culture of the Scots has also become familiar. We talk about everything, but sometimes we go deep.
– It doesn’t matter how ugly you say it, it can be acknowledged there. Even if it is acknowledged, there is often some truth in it. It’s a lot of fun and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
Otherwise, Keskinen’s life in Scotland is starting to settle down. He characterizes that the jump has been easier than in the past from Mikkelin Palloilijoi to HJK. A man who likes fishing should be able to fish anyway.
– I should have visited, but I haven’t had the time. I went to say something about my hobby in an interview, and a couple of fishing experts have posted a message. I was supposed to go to the camp before, but I never got around to it, Keskinen regrets.
If Scotland now connects the Central and the Cape, so does fishing. Niemi also likes to spend his free time at sea. But who is the tougher fisherman?
– We’re just as good, Niemi replies diplomatically after the two quickly compare their fishing backgrounds.
The central one seems to take the win, at least in terms of pike. The biggest catch is 9.9 kilograms.
Football Nations League match between Finland and Ireland on Thursday at 21:45. Live broadcast on TV2, Areena and app from 21:00.