Markku Kanerva’s position is being heavily debated. Ari Lahti, the chairman of the Finnish Football Association, said that, according to him, the Huuhkajie head coach’s place is also a desired place in the eyes of foreigners.
The head coach of the Finnish men’s national football team Markku Kanervan there is currently a lot of discussion about his continuation.
The weak decision of Huuhkaji’s European Championship qualifiers both in the qualifying group and in the further qualifying stage caused a discussion in which Kanerva’s position has been questioned.
The contract of Kanerva, who piloted the men’s national team to the European Championships for the first time in the history of Finland, expires at the end of the current year. The length of the contract has caused astonishment, because Finland will play in the Nations League in the fall, while the World Cup qualifiers will already start in the spring of 2025.
In addition to Huuhkajie’s game performances, the change of coach has come up precisely because of these moments. If Finland decides to apply for a new head coach, in the eyes of the experts, it would be better to guarantee as much preparation time as possible with the World Cup qualifiers in mind.
President of the Football Association Ari Lahti commented on Kanerva’s situation during Tuesday’s match against Estonia in the break studio of ‘s TV broadcast. He was also asked about the possibility of Finland looking for a head coach from abroad.
Is Finnish head coaching an interesting job in the world? Is it possible to catch a so-called big fish here?
– Yes, this is certainly of interest to the world as well. The starting point is that we have not limited this search for coaches to any nationality, Lahti answered the matter.
– In exactly the same way as the head coach selection of Helmareit. International candidates participated in it until the end, but we ended up doing it Marko to Saloranta. At that time, mainly because we knew that the team needs new players, so there must be a coach who knows the junior stock.
The group to be mapped together
The mapping of a possible new head coach brings its own factors into the picture. If Kanerva was not allowed to extend his contract until the end and had to leave soon, the Football Association should speed up the recruitment process.
Lahti said that, in general, the head coach of the men’s national team is in charge of the sports director of the Finnish Football Association Aki Hyryläinenresearch and development manager Ville-Pekka Inkilä as well as their team. In addition, Lahti and the general secretary of the Finnish Football Federation decide on the head coach Marco Casagrande.
– Now, as far as the head coach is concerned, the situation is such that we have mapped out the options well in advance. So we haven’t talked to anyone outside, but we have done this work within the framework of our sports organization, Lahti said.
Also, what kind of future head coach the Finnish Football Federation could get for the job is a chapter of its own. It is determined by the available money and the resources provided by Finland, and of course the Huuhkajie’s own material.
Smaller number of trays
Urheilu’s football expert Miika Nuutinen addressed the matter in a recent episode of the 11 Friends football podcast. In his opinion, Finland does not need to change its head coach now, but should improve its playing. If it is decided to change the Huhkajie head coach, then the decision should be made now.
The change is not simple. You can pay an extraordinary amount for a good coach, and even then there are not unlimited options.
Convincing foreign coaches are not a familiar sight in national teams, especially in football countries like Finland, which are not giants.
– It would be particularly interesting if you opened up this market in more detail. Because the absolute top coaches coach club teams, not national teams. The cavalcade of national team coaches is smaller, Nuutinen points out.
He also emphasizes that because of this, the same names are often used in, for example, smaller football countries.
– The whole recruitment process seems very different than in club teams anyway.
Listen to what you think in the latest episode of the 11 friends podcast about Markku Kanerva’s continuation and how badly Huuhkajat is currently underperforming.