For Essi Sainio, who has openly talked about her mental health problems and has recovered from a serious injury, wearing the Helmareite shirt is a dream come true. Sainio is touched by the wonderful support of Helmareite supporters.
Jussi Vainikka,
Riku Porvari,
Jaakko Palvaila
Anna Westerlund sends the ball long towards Linda Sällström. The greatest goal scorer of all time in the Finnish national football team grabs the ball and runs away from the defenders. The finish is certain. Finland has just shocked Spain, one of the champions of the European Football Championship, after only 48 seconds of play.
At the same time, Helmareite’s experienced midfielder also reacted on the bench.
– It was somehow an incredible moment. I saw when that (Anna Westerlund) pass came (to Sällström) and I stood up on the bench at that point. I climbed in style through the Plexiglas onto the field and ran to the field to celebrate, Essi Sainio times in an interview with Urheilu in Milton Keynes.
Sainio was in a frenzy with his teammates about the hit that came completely from the header. When the goal was scored, Sainio shouted to the audience: “Come on!”
– It was great to see so many blue and white shirts in the audience. It was kind of amazing. When I got to walk in front of it (the grandstand), I wanted to show that supporters are needed and just make more noise.
The fall was harsh for the player who won the Finnish and German championships in his career. However, Sainio overcame a serious injury.
The climax was seen in Friday’s European Championship opener against Spain. Sainio stepped from the switch onto the turf for the first time in 13 years. For the player who fought to get himself back into playing condition, the realization of the EC dream has caused a huge storm of emotions.
– Several tears of happiness and really big outbursts of emotion have been experienced. We have been shown videos of how many people are supporting us and sending greetings. I am overwhelmed by such extreme warmth and gratitude that I get to be a part of this. The support is so strong that it sensitizes a lot. There are feelings like that too.
For Sainio, wearing the Helmarit shirt at the European Championships is a dream come true.
– I feel proud to be part of this team. Above all, however, I am really humble in front of the sport – you can never be ready here. I don’t feel pressure, I’m just really, really happy, Sainio sums up.
“We go in completely different spheres than in home games”
Sainio has seen the change in women’s football from the early years of the 21st century to today. The contrast between the first and second championships of his career is huge for a soccer player who played in the second European championship team through helmets and played in the 2009 home games. 16,819 spectators watched Helmareid’s EC opening at MK Stadium in Milton Keynes.
– Especially here in England, you notice that these games are visible and people want to come to the games. We go in completely different spheres than in home games. Now you also notice that you don’t necessarily talk about men’s and women’s competitions separately, Sainio states.
In his long and successful career, Sainio became the first Finnish player to win the German Bundesliga championship in 2009. The English competitions are still “just throwing to the top”.
– This has been such an ultimate dream that has contained an awful lot of work and disbelief. Even in difficult moments, I’ve just thought that I’ll do my best even at the risk of failing.
The team’s focus immediately shifted to the Denmark match
However, the final result was dull for Finland on Friday, despite the dream start. Spain won 4–1. Sainio says that the Spain match also taught the team something that ‘s expert Maiju Rootsalainen pointed out already during the match: Finland’s defensive play was too lax, especially in special situations.
– We have to be able to defend better as a team, and in special situations we have to play harder. Spain’s situational toughness was better than ours. We can’t defend like that – I tried to block one goal myself, but I didn’t succeed, Sainio stated.
Next, Helmareite’s eyes turn to the match against Denmark on Tuesday. The Helmaris started preparing for the match already after Friday’s match against Spain by watching when Denmark got hammered by Germany in their own opening match with a dull final score of 0-4.
– In the match, you could see that Germany has come to the games with a lot of momentum, because Denmark is not a bad team. The match evoked a lot of emotions, including positive thoughts. Denmark could be the opponent from whom points are taken and we definitely aim for it, Sainio estimates.
According to Sainio’s assessment, the Denmark match will emphasize the same things as in previous Helmareit games: strong, unified defensive play and good counterattacks.
– Maybe I would like more that when we get to the top area with the ball, we would be more patient and daring. We could trust that we have enough skilled and good players to keep the ball in attacks.
Also against Denmark, Helmarit gets extra energy from the passionate Finnish audience that arrived in Milton Keynes. Sainio wants to send thanks to the Finnish fans.
– It’s amazing that you’ve arrived here in droves and it’s amazing that you’re cheering there even from your home sofa. All support is really important to us and it means a lot. We are Finland!
Finland will face Denmark in the European Football Championship on Tuesday from 19:00. The broadcast starts on TV2 and Areena at 18:15 and on Puhee at 18:30. You can find competition games, background stories, news and highlights on ‘s competition pages.
As with all other European Championship matches, you can also bet on the opening goal scorer of the match at Ylen Futistietäjä for the match between Helmarei and Denmark.