The joys of the league dynasty HJK’s 2024 season were found elsewhere than in the standings. CEO Aki Riihilahti does not comment on possible personnel changes.
16:00•Updated 16:05
The Veikkausliiga dynasty club Helsingin Jalkapalloklub’s season will not culminate in a fifth consecutive championship, but bronze medals will be hung around the players’ necks on October 19. CEO of HJK Oy Aki Riihilahti commented on Tuesday to Urheilu after the end of the Veikkausliiga’s ongoing season in the Conference League and announced that he would raise his hand.
– A really challenging season. There were a lot of mistakes on many levels, and we got what we deserved. I congratulate KuPS and Ilves (the top two in the Veikkausliiga). Ilves’ new stadium has been a wonderful thing for the whole series.
HJK’s season 2024 will be remembered above all for the cabinet circus of winter and spring, which is worthless for a club of this level. Sports director hired in September of last year Vesa Mäki could not for some reason confirm that the head coach was hired Ferran Sibila would be qualified for the job in terms of education, i.e. completed a Uefa Pro level coaching qualification.
In May, the club sent both Mäki and Sibila, who nominally worked as an assistant coach, on their trips. At the same time, the one who led HJK to the championship returned as head coach Toni Korkeakunnasand the nominal head coach during Sibila’s time Ossi Virta became a member of the coaching team.
How about an extension contract?
All this and the strong player traffic during the season could not help but affect the result, as Korkeakunnas stated on Sunday after Haka claimed three points from HJK’s home field.
The head coach has an extension contract, the fate of which has of course been discussed in football circles in this situation. Riihilahti does not comment on the matter.
– As CEO of HJK, I have never spoken publicly about the company’s personnel matters. In itself, it is natural that sometimes overly simple cause-and-effect relationships are sought for events, even if the mechanisms involved are a bit more complex.
HJK has had enough things to be happy about outside of the domestic main league.
– Audience average record (6363), the financial year has already had an operating profit for a decade (730,000 euros for the financial year ending on November 30, 2023). We are playing again in the group stage of the Conference League, and this season’s performance opens up good opportunities for us to do the same next year as well, says Riihilahti.
Speed endurance sport
– But since the main goal was to win the Veikkausliiga, the main feeling is of course disappointment. It is of course great that the club is financially in a situation where the difficulties of this season do not weaken our chances of achieving top results next season. Team management is a speed endurance sport, and HJK has done well in that. The club is built with a 20-30 year vision.
Although HJK had won all the championships in 2020-2023, Riihilahti is careful not to talk about a superior dynasty.
– Three of the four championships came in the final rounds. In general, I think that our teams have not been able to get the most out of their skill potential at a sufficient level in recent years. This is a clear development target.
HJK will soon appoint a new sports director to polish this diamond. According to Helsingin Sanomat there would be work provided by VPS Petri Vuorinen. Riihilahti says that hundreds of applicants were interested in the global process. An external consultant has helped HJK with recruitment.
Not to the Olympic Committee
The wood sign of the new sports director can only be partially found on next season’s team, as the number of contracted players is already large. 18 national team players and 20 young academy players have an extension contract. However, the team is not ready.
– Qualitatively, we are still confirming it.
Urheilu reported at the end of September that representatives of the major team sports federations were looking To Tapio Korjus counter-candidate in the race for the chairman of the Olympic Committee. Meritorious as both an athlete and a sports director, Riihilahti is certainly a name that has at least been thrown around. However, there is no interest.
– I might not be at my best in the operating environment of the organization world. I might be a slightly impatient change leader there, Riihilahti laughs.