Men’s Superpesis regular season final match Joensuu–Kempele Ylen on TV2 on Thursday 10.8. at 6 p.m.
Few recent Finnish champions feel empty during the fiercest victory celebrations.
In September 2020, the players of Sotkamo Jymy will bathe with the championship trophy in the legendary Sapsojärvi, but Ville Väliahon it was hard to smile.
Väliaho played as Jymy’s locker for a large part of the season’s matches, 17 in all. Still, he felt that he had not achieved anything.
– The feeling was contradictory. Everyone congratulated me on the championship, but I’m not counting it on myself. Even though I was nominally part of the team, I didn’t think that I would have taken it to the championship, Väliaho, 26, recalls now.
The ambitious player had experienced the biggest blow of his career during the season, when the game manager Jani Komulainen on the eve of the playoffs, Jymy raised his son to the top scorer Aapo Komulainen. The 17-year-old top promise did not shy away from responsibility and led Sotkamo to the 19th championship in club history.
Väliaho was heavily disappointed and showed his disappointment.
– Changing the locker showed that I wasn’t trusted. Of course it hurt. I was also disappointed in myself: perhaps I had thought too much and done too little.
– I was bitter, but afterwards you can say that the decision was the right one. The team won the Finnish championship, so there was nothing left to worry about.
“Is this some kind of dream?”
Väliaho moved to another big club Joensuu Maila for the 2021 season. There, he locked the team into the quarterfinals, where JoMa lost to Sotkamo 2–3.
In October 2021, Joensuu’s club management dropped a news bomb. The club had signed a locker legend Top Kosonen with, which meant Väliaho’s position was seriously threatened.
When Väliaho heard about it from the club’s representatives, he tried to be matter-of-fact. However, it was boiling inside.
– I asked myself if this is some kind of dream. Don’t give a damn, will this happen again.
The club management had thought a little worried about what Väliaho’s reaction would be. In the fall of 2021, Joensuu Maila became the game director Mikko Huotari describes the situation as exceptional.
– For me, it was a rough start in the new club. At that point, confidence was poured. For me, it meant giving space, looking people in the eye and having a very open conversation.
Väliaho retreated to his own conditions for a few days. He has openly said that he has been in deep waters.
In the most difficult moments, the support of a former teammate rose to a new value. From the color spot known from Alajärvi’s Anchors Aki from Orava Väliaho had become a good friend who listened to the locksmith’s woes.
– We talked a lot with Aki about the fact that now we had to find solutions. I had been shown that I was not to be trusted. Trust had to be regained.
Known as a merciless student of the game, Väliaho started working hard. He invested in developing his weaknesses, i.e. physics and throwing hand, but above all, he was driven by a fierce competitive spirit.
– Even though I was angry at first, I liked Huotar’s Miko’s style. He was honest about things. He told me what opportunities I have and what I should do.
The work paid off last summer. Kosonen and Väliaho started the 2022 season from an equal competitive situation. To the surprise of many, Väliaho became master of the plate in Joensuu.
– Last year taught the team that this is a competitive sport. Nothing is shared here based on name, experience or the like, says game manager Mikko Huotari.
The responsibility brought back Väliaho’s self-confidence. He reached his final peace a year ago, when JoMa knocked out Sotkamo in the quarterfinals.
– I sighed that now this saga is finally over. It was proof, first of all, to myself, that we do know something here.
Today, Väliaho talks about the pitfalls of his career without the aftertaste of bitterness. Time has helped to understand other people and their solutions. According to his words, Väliaho has a good relationship with game director Jani Komulainen and the Sotkamo team.
– If we see each other, we say hand in hand and exchange messages. Jani is a good guy, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Väliaho has become one of the best defenders in the country, whose greatest strengths are difficult passes and a tactical eye for the game. There is still room for improvement in physical qualities such as the throwing hand and the search for pieces, but the development of motivation is hardly catching up.
In the future, Väliaho has a clear goal.
– I feel that I am still missing the Finnish championship. I’m not at all interested in any East-West stuff, and I can’t beat the stats when I’m not hitting hard. I’m only interested in SM gold.
Men’s Superpesis regular season final match Joensuu–Kempele Ylen on TV2 on Thursday 10.8. at 6 p.m.