Katariina Kosola is one of the rising star players of the Finnish women’s national football team. Kosola recently signed a three-year contract with Häcken, one of Sweden’s top clubs.
Matti Lehtisaari,
Hinn Hirvonen
The Finnish women’s national football team will face Romania in the Nations League match on Tuesday. TV2’s and Areena’s live broadcasts from Bucharest start at 18:45.
Helmarit opened his Nations League battle in style. Last Friday in Turku, Finland roared to a thrilling 4–0 victory over Slovakia. One of the team’s new leaders is 22 years old Katariina Kosolawho scored two goals in the contest.
Kosola has gotten off to a good start on the Swedish greens.
– A successful year. Last year was a bit difficult, but now I’m back to my level. Right now, playing feels good. On the field, we can now see that there have been successes, says Kosola.
Kosola is now playing his second season in the Swedish premier league. The performances in Örebro aroused the interest of Häcken, one of the top clubs in Damallsvenskan, who acquired the Finn at the end of August.
– Häcken is a top team by Swedish standards. Everyday has been really professional. It has taken some getting used to when there is a lot of new things. But the conditions are great, I’ve had a good time, says Kosola with satisfaction.
– There are several Swedish national team players in the team. Kosola describes high-quality exercises, practically standard working days, right from eight in the morning.
A new environment always requires getting used to.
– It takes time to get into a new team and especially now in the middle of the season. But I’ve immediately been able to play a lot and gained confidence from the coaching, says Kosola.
A three-year contract brings security
Häcken is fighting hard for the Swedish championship. Kosola’s contract is for three years, which is still rare in women’s football.
– A longer contract brings security when you can plan your life outside of football, Kosola thinks.
The long contract says that Häcken sees a lot of resale value in Kosola. The goals of the player from Hämeenlinna are in even bigger leagues.
– My goal would be to play in one of the top leagues in Europe. There is probably no particular favorite club, as a child I was a fan of FC Barcelona. There are good clubs in England that I follow, Kosola lists.
Finland goes into Tuesday’s match against Romania as clear favourites. Helmarit is in the 28th place and Romania in the 39th place in the ranking of the International Football Association. In the training tournament in Cyprus played in February, Finland beat Romania 4–0.
– We are early favourites. We have to be strong in basic play and determine the tempo of the game. This way we are able to create goal chances and finish goals, Kosola predicts.
Ahtinen and Peltonen on the sidelines
The helmets are missing from the lineup in Tuesday’s match Tiia Peltonen and suffering from muscle tension Olga Ahtinen.
In their opening match of the Nations League, Romania lost to Croatia 1–2. The head coach Marko Saloranta believes that Finland has more energy left.
– Romania was really tough with Croatia, they fought until the end. I think they may be in a hurry to recover, Saloranta estimates.