Miko Kailiala, 29, knows what it feels like to have a dream crumble before your eyes. His dream of succeeding in the 2021 World Cup at home had become too important.
When the team was published a year ago, the name of Kailiala, which won two consecutive floorball World Cup golds, was missing from the list.
– I had been able to prepare for that and I knew that the matches had been such that I probably wouldn’t be chosen. But it was still a tough place when the list flashed in front of my face. I famously had to jump with the head knob and deal with the matter, Kailiala recalls.
Kailiala was part of the World Cup gold teams in Riga and Prague, but in the World Cup in Helsinki he played only one match as a substitute. The TPS captain admits that the stick had been pressed too much.
– The snowball started rolling in the wrong direction. Failures fueled failures, and at some point I forgot how to play this sport in the first place. The extracts were according to it. It started to have an effect outside the field, where I didn’t really find support either. Bad performances became even worse, Kailiala says and continues:
– I started to take stress from extra things and focus on the wrong things. I went to wrestle with myself.
Kailiala didn’t have to wait long for the next opportunity to play in the prestige games, because due to the amount of competition caused by the corona years, the World Championships are now played two years in a row.
This fall, there was no doubt about Kailiala’s entry into the national team, even though he spent part of the summer recovering from hernia surgery. Relaxation in sports was found after last fall’s World Championship disappointment, and already at the end of the season the game was rolling better.
In this F-League season, Kailiala has already scored 19 goals in nine matches. League leader TPS has never lost in regular time. In mid-October, Kailiala scored five and four goals in consecutive matches.
– It felt really good when I was invited to the World Cup team again. Once you lose something and get it back, you don’t want to give it up anymore, Kailiala says.
A part-time job and a dog provide a counterweight
Kailiala is cheerfully walking through the landscapes of her childhood in Viertola sports field in Liedo. While still in middle school, Kailiala imagined that he would choose soccer as his main sport and aim to become a professional in it. However, floor bandy in the top class would really bite the youngster from Lieto, and the choice of sport was therefore clear.
Football is still a big part of Kailia’s life.
– Futis is good for good training in the summer. Golf, on the other hand, is good for the head. Golf is a nice sport and it fascinates me a lot.
Part-time work and free time with the 3-year-old dog Donatello also provide a counterweight to top sports. Difficult periods in a sports career have taught me a lot about dealing with adversity.
– When you get through difficulties, you are actually a much stronger person. Whatever the difficulties in life are, they teach you to know yourself.
If Kailiala had only been responsible for herself, she would have given up more easily. However, the captain’s responsibility pushed forward and gave strength to overcome difficulties.
– A captain and professional player doesn’t just take a week’s break from playing. A team is bigger than an individual.
“There are good additions outside of Classic”
Kailiala wants to support the national team in the same way as he supports TPS. The World Cup team has six first-timers, but also experienced players like Kailiala.
Kailiala will be joined by her experienced TPS teammate at the World Championships in Switzerland Lauri Stenforsin and a first-time goalkeeper Oskari Fälden’s. There are no less than 11 players representing the Tampere Classic in the team.
– Yes, there is leadership in the national team. The team is heavily based on Classic players, which is a good thing. From there you can get a really good number one chain and quality for other chains as well. There are some pretty good additions outside of Classic, Kailiala says.
Kailiala, who scored almost 450 goals during ten major league seasons, turns 30 in January. In his dreams, there is still the SM gold that is missing from the trophy case.
He doesn’t want to leave Turku for floorball, except possibly abroad.
Kailiala’s five-year visit to Helsinki between 2013 and 2018 must have already been forgiven in Turku. Playing in SSV gave the youngster valuable experience and forced him to become independent quickly.
– In hindsight, there was an infinite amount left in the hand. The biggest was that I moved far away from my mother’s food dams to Helsinki to a new environment. There were so many great people around that you would have to be stupid if you didn’t learn something there, Kailiala says.
Kailiala already wore the captain’s armband at the beginning of his major league career in TPS, but now feels that he is on a completely different level as a leader. The seasons 2011–12 and 2012–13 are still Kailia’s best seasons in terms of goals scored. The pace of this season suggests that the record of 37 goals will finally be broken next spring.
– It would be great if it could be broken now, Kailiala says.
Finland is chasing the World Cup gold in Switzerland
The World Cup in Switzerland starts for Finland on Saturday with a match against Slovakia. Last year, Finland, which finished in silver, is now trying to return to the gold standard. At the Helsinki tournament in December, Sweden, Finland’s worst opponent, took the world championship.
After the World Cup gold chase, Kailiala’s future is still open. So what does a bachelor of business sciences become when he grows up?
– Good question, since this has also been thought about a lot. They say that I will become a lottery millionaire, Kailiala laughs.
World Cup broadcasts (Finnish time):
Sat 5.11. Finland – Slovakia at 4 p.m (TV2 at 15:45)
Sun 6.11. Finland – Switzerland at 3 p.m (TV1 at 2:45 p.m.)
Tue 8.11. Norway – Finland at 7 p.m (TV2 at 18:45)
Fri 11.11. Finland’s quarterfinal at 7 p.m (TV2 at 18:45)
Sat 12.11. Finland’s possible semifinal at 3 p.m (TV2 at 2:45 p.m.)the second semi-final at 6:30 p.m (TV2 at 18.20)
Sun 13.11. Bronze match at 1 p.m (TV2 at 12:50)final at 4:45 p.m (TV2 at 16:30)