Toni Korkeakunnas will continue in the Huuhkajie coaching team alongside HJK’s head coach Pesti.
Helsinki Football Club has released the head coach Toni Koskelan of their duties. The club’s new head coach has been hired Toni Korkeakunnas.
Koskela coached HJK as recently as Wednesday evening, when the team won 1–0 against Northern Ireland’s Larne in the opening match of the Champions League qualifiers.
Koskela started as HJK’s coach in May 2019. Under his leadership, the club won the Finnish championships in 2020–2022. Under Koskela, the club advanced to the group stages in the 2021 Conference League and 2022 European League.
HJK is currently third in the Veikkausliiga. KuPS and SJK are three points ahead of the Helsinki team.
The big club’s actions have been criticized this season and the fans have, among other things, demanded Koskela’s resignation.
– The management of our club, the coaching staff and the players must now look in the mirror and raise their level so that this year too we can reach our goals, the most important of which is always the Veikkausliiga championship, CEO Aki Riihilahti says in the club’s press release.
According to Riihilahti, Korkeakunnas was chosen as Koskela’s replacement because it is believed that he will be able to implement “a change for the better” quickly.
– During the spring and summer, the team’s game performances have gone to a bad backlog. And since there was no better prospect despite the efforts, we concluded that changing the coaching was the best opportunity to improve the game performances in this situation.
Korkeakunnas already worked last season as part of HJK’s coaching. Along with the club team work, he continues in the Huuhkajie coaching team, where he has been a part of for six years.
Besides Koskela Mikko Lignell and Tuomas Silvennoinen are leaving HJK’s coaching team. Goalkeeper coach Ville Wallén and physical trainer Luis Anula instead, continue in their duties.
Korkeakunnas’ other coaching team will be announced later, according to the club.