The Finnish men’s national football team will face Austria in the European Championship final on Saturday, October 28. The live broadcast can be seen at Areena from 15:55.
The Finnish men’s national team is finally in the European Championship finals of American football. Finland has won the European Championship gold five times, but the last time the team lifted the championship pole in the air was 23 years ago.
– We have a pretty strong desire to get back to where we should be. Winning the European Championship against Germany in 2000 is one of my best memories as a player, the Finnish defense coordinator Kalle Karppinen set the mood.
Karppinen is the only member of the current team who has played in the EC final. He also played in the final in 2001, when Germany won. Karppinen says that repeating the championship would be a great achievement for this team.
– The final is a new experience for many players when they play in a televised game in an international arena. All the player watchers of the European leagues are sure to be watching, so this is a big screen place for all of Finnish Yankee football.
European tops in the final
Finland secured a place in the final by beating Sweden 33–14 (19–0) in the semifinals in August. In that match, Finland’s victory was guaranteed by a veteran quarterback Miro Kadmiry. In the final match, they will face Austria.
Finland’s lineup has been strengthened since the semifinals, because the players of the European professional league (ELF) are now with the team. Among them are Panthers Wroclaw Timi Nuikka and Stuttgart Surgen Ville Valasti.
The Finnish players of Vienna Vikings from Austria also bring important expertise. One of them is a center forward Karri Pajarinen, according to which the Austrian team is full of extremely tough athletes. In addition, part of Austria’s coaching leadership is at Vienna’s helm.
– The Austrian defense is very strongly in line with our club, so we can predict that to some extent. However, Yankee football is about fooling the opponent, which means that the playbook can change completely during the game, Pajarinen points out.
The lineman who plays for Berlin Thunder in ELF also brings international experience Christer Berg. According to him, Finland’s strength is a physical game on both the offensive and defensive ends. Also, Berg did not play in the semi-final match because of the league season.
– However, you can’t get these experiences anywhere else. The best Finnish players are here, so it’s a great atmosphere to get involved again, and to play in the final.
Luukas Eerola gets his third medal of the season
One of the names of the future of Finnish Yankee football is 18 years old Lukas Eerola. In September, the winger won the Finnish championship for the Porvoo Butchers, when he received all three of the Porvoo players’ touchdowns in the second half of the final game.
A week later, he repeated the trick in the under-19 European Championship bronze medal match, when Finland beat Denmark 28–22. Now Eerola is participating in the men’s national team for the first season. He describes the previous semi-final against Sweden as a great experience and praises the Finnish team.
– If any gang will win the championship, it’s this one, Eerola assures.
Of course, the Finnish head coach also believes in the team Mikko Koikkalainen. According to him, the player confirmations in the final bring expertise, especially in the defensive game.
– Reinforcements are able to play more cleanly in one-on-one situations. All the cornerbacks can do well against Austria’s top wingers. We will probably create more pressure just on the defensive line, where we have got a couple of really tough players. It changes how the entire game system can be built, Koikkalainen says.
Finland is the most successful country in Europe in American football. The men’s team has achieved up to 13 EC medals. Success was at its greatest in 1991–2001, when Finland won four gold and two silver medals. Since then, the medals have been bronze.
Center forward Pajarinen, 25, admits that the championship years already feel a little far away.
– I’ve been in diapers since the last time we won. The moment has passed. I will go to the final to represent with pride. In 2018 and 2021, we took bronze, so if we took the gold now, it would be a good end to this job.
Austria again rose to the top of Europe in the 2010s at the latest, when the team reached the 2011 World Cup. Austria has been in the European Championship finals twice, but has yet to win the championship.
– In Austria, Jenkkifutis has been at a really good level for a long time, and it’s quite a wonder that they have never won the European championship. Almost all of their players are professionals, while our players, for example, go to their club teams, head coach Koikkalainen states.
The importance of European Championship gold is definitely great for both teams. A winger who has played in several European Championships Mickey Can’t looking forward to playing in front of a full crowd.
– This is at least the biggest game of my own career, and certainly the biggest match of many others, in which they will ever play. It doesn’t matter if everyone in the stands is Austrian, but apparently quite a lot of Finns are also coming, Kyei reflects.
The Finnish men’s national football team will face Austria in the European Championship final on Saturday, October 28. The live broadcast can be seen at Areena from 15:55.