The Men’s World Floorball Championships will be held in Malmö, Sweden, from 7 to 15. december shows all matches in Finland on its channels. The broadcast of the match between Finland and Sweden starts on Tuesday, December 10 on TV2 at 19:45.
MALMO. When you go up the stairs of Hyllie train station and start walking towards Malmö Arena, it quickly becomes clear that the floorball world championships are underway. The wall of the arena is decorated with an advertising poster in which a young man wearing a Swedish shirt is pointing a finger at the viewer.
He wants everyone to watch the host chase the men’s indoor basketball gold once again. The young man whose face will sell the tournament is Gabriel Kohonen20 years.
The sports legend of all time, who has appeared 11 times in the World Championships, won four gold medals and was voted the world’s best player five times Mika Kohonen son.
The solution of the marketing machinery says something about the expectations for the younger Kohonen’s career.
– It feels a bit strange actually, and I think it’s a bit of a wrong choice, Kohonen laughs.
– There are so many good players in the national team, and yet they have ended up introducing me. Other players are more interesting than me.
When you think about it, especially from a Finnish point of view, Kohonen is definitely one of the most interesting names of the Games. The super-talent, who lived in Sweden all his life, went to the under-16 national team camps in Finland as well, but the horizontal cup of the child of a Finnish father and a Swedish mother turned in the direction of his country of residence.
The decision was not easy, and father-Kohonen, who will end his career in 2021, has said that at the time it sparked discussion even among his acquaintances. Some were of the opinion that the son should definitely represent Finland like his father.
– It was not as clear as everyone thought. I played for the youth national team in Sweden’s shirt because I knew we had the best chance to win. Regarding the A national team, the feeling was contradictory, and I also talked with the Finnish coaching staff, Gabriel Kohonen opens.
Kohonen has spent a lot of time, especially in summer, in Central Finland in Vaajakoski and Jyväskylä. Finnish roots mean a lot, and that weighed heavily in the weighting.
– The more time passed, the more certain it began to feel to choose Sweden, but after that the feelings came again that I have dear relatives in Finland. I think I made the right choice in the end and my relatives still love me.
Winning character
Having collected 2+3 points in his first two World Cup matches, Kohonen’s path to becoming the advertising face of the adult games and the winger of the first five of the Swedish national team has not been easy. He has had to suffer because of his famous last name, and over the years, there have been shouts and sneers from opponents, their parents, and the judges as well.
The youngster has had to learn to handle pressure early on.
– It was difficult when I was younger, but then I just let it be. It’s not a burden to me. What have I done, who is my father?
– I should just be proud of what he has achieved. He has helped me a lot in how to just not care about other people’s opinions.
Kohonen says he loves every moment on the court, and he exudes the same passionate competitor’s character on the rink as his father and uncle, another former top player On Mikko Kohose has been
According to Mikko Kohonen, he has never seen anyone with the same passion for winning as his nephew. Although the achievements of Mika Kohonen, who was elected to the Finnish sports hall of honor in January as the first floorball player, are unparalleled, the boy’s goals are even higher.
– I never get tired of winning. Dad has taught all these years that why win once, twice or three times when you can win countless times.
– I’m just as crazy about winning as he is, and I’d love to win even more than him.
At my father’s school in Uppsala
Father and son also interact daily in the club team, as Mika Kohonen coaches Gabriel Storvre at IBK in Uppsala. The first season together brought the Swedish championship, when Storvreta knocked out Pixbo in April’s Superfinal in front of more than 18,000 spectators.
For Gabriel Kohose, his father has always been the biggest role model, not only on the rink, but also in life in general. The two talk daily even during the World Cup.
The cooperation in the daily life of the club mainly goes well, but not completely without friction.
– He demands a lot from me, as he has done all these years. This year, I’ve started to speak my mind more, and he might have gotten a little upset about it.
– Then it was just worth sitting and listening, because he is the one who decides and who always thinks only of my best with all his love.
Isä-Kohonen was a center who played with his left hand down and a playmaker, whose head shot was always sharper than anyone else’s in the rink. Poika is a right-handed winger who also sees the rink exceptionally well, but whose shot sows more destruction.
The two have the same elements, but also differences. It’s understandable, because the father, who tamed playing equipment in many sports at a younger age, started floorball at the age of 17, while the son has been playing all his childhood.
Gabriel Kohonen considers himself above all a scorer.
– I can score points, and I try to be close to the ball all the time. I’m a good guy with the ball, but I also try to help in my own end.
– Above all, Gabriel is a dangerous player on the offensive end. He goes straight for the goal and has many strengths, but also a lot of things he needs to improve on in the coming years, continues Niklas Nordénanother of Sweden’s head coaches.
“Solo goal in overtime”
On Tuesday, Kohonen plays for the first time at the adult World Cup level against Finland. The match will decide the victory of the first group, and Kohonen knows that there may be a little pressure from the Finnish players.
– There may be some shouts, but sometimes I shout back. They are straight guys off the pitch, but on Tuesday and going forward it will be an all-out battle against them for three times 20 minutes.
– I’m always in the rink to win, and I’ll do everything it takes to win.
If Kohonen could decide how the WC gold will be decided on Sunday, the answer would be ready.
– My dream would be that the final against Finland would go to extra time and I would settle it with such a small solo goal, Kohonen grins.