Helmarit continues the EC qualifiers with matches against Holland on Friday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 4. shows the matches live on TV2 and Areena.
Jutta Rantala immediately shone in his opening season in the English Super League Leicester. He won his team’s goals and assists and won the player of the year award in his team, which is rare for a Finnish soccer player.
As a counterbalance to the Finnish striker’s convincing season, the club’s season was difficult, even chaotic in parts. Leicester gave their head coach To Willie Kirk fired at the end of March at the end of an internal investigation.
Kirk was considered to have been in a relationship with a team player and thus violated the club’s operating principles. The relationship scandal was heavily featured in the media even before Kirk was fired.
Rantala says directly that the firings and the subsequent changes messed up the team’s deck.
– It’s a shame that the coach got fired, because he signed several of our players to the club, Rantala tells .
After the Scottish coach was fired, the assistant coaches took over the coaching responsibility Jennifer Foster and Stephen Kirby. Foster was nominally the team’s head coach for the rest of the season.
– It confused a lot. They still brought something new to the action, so it was difficult. However, we pulled through the situation with honor, Rantala says and hopes that next season the team can forget about it.
The event series also has a silver lining
Rantala scored six goals and provided five assists in the Superliga. In addition, the 25-year-old striker played in all 22 league matches. Leicester was ranked tenth in the series, with a total of 12 teams participating.
Even though the team did not win a game after the end of March, according to Rantala, the firing of the coach brought the players closer together.
– It even felt a bit sad to leave Leicester, when we became such a close group, he describes the end of the club team season.
A glimmer of light in Leicester’s season came when they progressed to the semi-finals of the traditional FA Cup. Rantala scored the lead goal against Tottenham in the semi-final, but in the end Leicester lost 1–2 in extra time.
– It was really sad for a long time, because we led the match for a long time. I can still be proud, because we advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history, the Finnish striker smiles.
In his debut season, he scored 10 goals and provided 7 assists in all competitions.
The skilful striker played in all of Leicester’s matches. In addition to teammates, supporters also awarded Rantala as the club’s player of the year.
The recognition of teammates in particular means a lot to a striker.
– They see how much I work in everyday life. I appreciate the awards very much, he muses.
In addition, the American media ESPN promoted Rantala to the so-called second star opening of the season.
Rantala himself says that the season went well. The glory streak did not come as a surprise to Rantala, who moved to England from the Swedish premier league club Vittsjö.
– I am satisfied with what I achieved. I went into the training season with an open mind, and I wasn’t surprised that the responsibility came so quickly, he analyzed.
Development in one matter in particular
Rantala admits that the leap from Sweden’s first level to the world’s toughest women’s league is big. It took some time to get used to at first, because things are done and handled differently in different countries.
– Everything from training and facilities is different, Rantala reveals and praises how he got support from his teammates in the beginning.
The skilled attacker says that he improved the most in one-on-one situations during the Superliga season. In England, opponents come hard and aggressively into situations, so that is also required of Rantala.
Next, it will be required against Holland, when Helmarit continues the European Championship qualifiers on Friday in Rotterdam. Opposite is the 2017 European champion and the 2019 World Championship silver medalist. Meeting the top team ignites Rantala.
– I believe that we have good seams to take the points. The win in Italy gave a lot of self-confidence, Rantala refers to the 2–1 home win by Helmareit at the beginning of April.
Holland has a lot of injuries and the team bowed out to Italy in the previous qualifying window. Each team in the qualifying group has three points after two matches, as Norway beat Finland.
Helmarit will also face the Netherlands on Tuesday in Tampere. The Dutch star player brings extra charge to the matches Lieke Martens the decision to end his national team career.
– Great career. I hope I get to change my shirt after the game, Rantala laughs.
Helmarit continues the EC qualifiers with matches against Holland on Friday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 4. shows the matches live on TV2 and Areena.