KuPS, Åland United and HJK are pre-favorites for the National Football League starting on Saturday. This story goes through the starting points for the beginning of the season.
The snow has barely melted from the ground as the National Football League spins at full speed this weekend. The season will start in a familiar command, when KuPS, which invests in the euro fields, and Åland United, which is renewed every season, will be seen with medals for the third time in a row.
One medalist instead changes as the silver team TiPS is out of the crowd. The sky of the Vantaa club in the main series ended drastically or a couple of weeks after reaching the Finnish Championship silver.
– Very sad. To some extent a catastrophe that such things happen at this level. For two years in a row for silver and then not even able to participate in the series, which was apparently the only real decision that the club will stay up at all, HJK head coach Jonne Kunnas regretted the pre-season.
HJK is considered a strong pre-favorite as the third medal team. The team of Helsinki residents also benefited from the disappearance of TiPS from the league map, as the team became one of TiPS’s key players. Jenna Topran, Joanna Tynnilän and Annika Haanpää. PK-35, one of the most promising players in Finland, arrived from the second Vantaa club PK-35 Oona Sevenius, 17, who, despite his young age, has been playing at the league level for two years. Last season, Sevenius hit 13 hits, qualifying for the third place on the paint exchange.
Of course, the team also suffered losses: Linda Sällström and Katariina Kosolaleft for Sweden and Vilma Hakala To PK-35. Carried the captain’s tape Linda Ruutu ended and the newcomer of the 2019 season, suffered injuries in recent years Pink Tuominen is likely to stay out of the playing field.
HJK is looking to return to medals after a season that has ended instead of two-fourths. The season starting for the municipality is the third as HJK’s head coach.
– I feel that our material has expanded and there are several different options. The new entrants support the way we want to play football and do well, Kunnas says.
Reigning champion KuPS also managed to grab former TiPS players: Liina Noran and Anna Nurmen in addition, they traveled to Kuopio Oona and Emmi Siren.
– There were good Finnish players available, and they were fairly evenly distributed to us and HJK. They both got the players they wanted. I think it raised the level of play for us and HJK, head coach Ollipekka Ojala praised.
The people of Kuopio already faced Åland United in the semi-finals of the Finnish Cup, and the islanders continued to the penalty shootout at the end of the thriller. However, KuPS was not left to chew about dropping out of the cup, as the team’s focus is not only on the league but also on the summer European games, in which it is now participating for the first time.
KuPS was supposed to face foreign teams already in the winter practice matches, but Korona messed up the plans. In the end, only half of the original plan was accumulated in practice matches.
The five-week European Championship break in the summer will allow KuPS to face international opponents in the summer as well.
– If only the situation allows, one or two international games to prepare would be ideal. A break allows us to practice harder.
It would be a huge disappointment for Åland United, who reached bronze last season. As usual, the team has renewed a lot since last season, and among the leavers, it has been one of the best scorers in the series. Cassandra Korhonen and a defender for Sweden Anni Miettunen.
Similarly, wholesale interesting names have arrived on the island again.
Continuing in the ranks of Åland Sarah Troccoli has attracted a striker to the team Kit Loferskinwho arrives from the University of Florida. Among the entrants is also a Jamaican national team defender Dominique Bond-Flasza, who made a hit in the first round of the history of Jamaica in the penalty shootout against Panama in October 2018.
Among the domestic names, the fallen is one of JyPK’s best Riikka Lilja, which enters a much harsher environment in Åland.
On the other hand, the team continues to be spun in Helmare, for example Dana Leskinen and the national team topper who has played the most A-national matches ever Anna Westerlund.
According to Leskinen, Åland United, which advanced to the Finnish Cup final against HJK, has a clear goal for the season.
– Now that the team has more speed, we can diversify our own rescue so that we play more evenly as a team. We have such an easy goal when the double championship, striker Leskinen lined up.
Large level differences
After three top teams in the series, it is more even: PK-35 Vantaa, FC Honka, Ilves and PK-35 all fight for the upper place in the series.
Where PK-35 Vantaa is trusted by the head coach Jari Väisänen as early as the 2014 season, Honka and Ilves will leave for the season under a new head coach. He has been piloting Honga, who has been rejuvenated since last season Rosa Lappi-Seppälä grabbed the place Omar Adlani and in Ilves bears the responsibility for coaching Juha-Pekka Berg.
The PK-35 will continue as well Rami Rantasen under the heel of. In the middle of last season’s paint cannon Amanda Rantasen The season of the PK-35, which lost to Sweden, ended last season instead of eighth.
HPS’s first league season ended with a league qualifier, in which the team defeated the NJS 4-0. Mari Savolainen rose to head coach this season and is the only head coach in the series. Last season, HPS took a few surprises when it overturned e.g. HJK and Hongan, but the team will probably see it in the lower sequel.
In the promotion rounds, the NJS, which bowed to HPS, eventually won the league through the replenishment procedure after TiPS gave up its own. The Nurmijärvi group has set itself the goal of surviving in the series, and it has to work hard for it.
Another series-winner ONS beat goals in Ykkönen, but the challenge is quite different in the main series. The last time ONS played in the league was in the season 2019. Now it is trying to consolidate its main league place with the head coach from Jyväskylä. Tuomas Jaakkolan under.
Will the European Championships also appear in the National League?
Some early season games are played indoors due to circumstances. On Saturday, for example, Honka will host PK-35 in the hall next to his home field and HPS NJS in the Tali football hall.
In mid-June, the series will take a five-week break and resume its full round immediately over the weekend following the final match of the Helmars in the UK at the start of the first series. The helmsmen in the home league will play Åland United this season Anna Westerlund and HJK Essi Sainiothe latter of whom was not in the February tournament due to illness.
Head of Development of the Football Association Heidi Pihlajan According to him, the attention received at the European Championships will also be taken into account in the matches of the National League, so that the audience can find their way to the stands. Last season, punished by Korona, the number of spectators remained quite modest, with an average of 151 spectators watching the matches.
– We are planning marketing communication campaigns. In addition, we have the opportunity to provide coordination support to some of the clubs so that we can concretely increase the number of pairs in the club community so that families with children and juniors are committed to match events, Pihlaja says.
Pauliina Miettinen, who piloted TiPS in the Finnish Championship silver last season, will visit the Sports Screen broadcast today, Saturday.