Jutta Rantala worked his way to the top from a municipality that doesn’t have a single football field – now he plays in the toughest league in the world

Not many professional soccer players can say that they made their way to the top from a place that doesn’t have a single soccer field.

Grew up in the village Jutta Rantala however you can.

He has come a long way from Satakunta to Leicester, the best football league in the world at the moment, the English Super League.

However, the road has not only gone straight up.

There have also been disappointments along the way, such as last year’s European Championships. Rantala was the only field player who did not get a minute of playing time as the head coach Anna from Signeul.

– Yes, it left a lot of hunger. It was a big disappointment that I didn’t get to play, Rantala admits.

– Maybe in these last games it has been shown that there is hunger, I want to score goals, succeed and play as much as possible.

The one who became the head coach in the World Cup qualifying match immediately following the European Championships Marko Saloranta played Rantala for the full 90 minutes, and after the change of coach, the responsibility has come. The goal nets have been swinging and this year Rantala has scored four times in the national team shirt – as many times as the national team’s all-time top scorer Linda Sällström.

That familiar story

The story is familiar. The spark for the sport was first ignited through older brothers. Big brothers Juuso and Joonas played football and ice hockey, and the little sister got excited too.

It was ten kilometers to the nearest soccer field in Eura, which is why we often played in the backyard, in a small, rickety goal. Even the winter and the snow didn’t stop the desire to play.

At times, the yard service had to be provided by the yard road.

When a friend asked to play along, Rantala didn’t have to think twice.

– Markus Nurmi actually scouted me from the checker league to play for the girls of Eura Pallo. The girls were two years older, but they wanted me along, Rantala recalls.

In addition to the girls’ team, Rantala played with the boys.

The trip to the practice field was sometimes made by bicycle, often with parents riding. Father was often involved in training. The family received a key to the ballpark warehouse, where the ball sacks were waiting.

The small club wanted to support the future top players with all possible means. Since the road did not always lead to the biggest tournaments and leagues, other ways had to be found.

The fields were never locked, but you could always practice.

Dad went to get three sacks from the ballpark warehouse, and then he got kicked. Hundreds and hundreds of times.

The technique was also honed by the hour, which was visible at a young age in skill competitions.

Already in middle school, Rantala was taken to Pori, where he trained with the league club NiceFutis. After that, the road led to TPS, just like the other Eupakasvatti Hanna Ruohomaan too.

– Jutta stood out at a really early age. He was really skilled and had a good drive with both feet. If I was young when I transferred to NiceFutis at the age of 16 and made my debut a year later, Jutta was even younger and even more ready than I was when I left, Ruohomaa recalls.

– He has practiced a lot on his own time, which shows. It is certainly the background of success.

High school Rantala went to Turku and played for TPS at the same time. From Turku, the journey continued to the capital region: first to Honka and the following year to HJK.

The roads of Ruohomaa and Rantala met after TPS in HJK.

– Even in the HJK days, he always stayed after training to score goals.

In HJK, Rantala won the then Women’s League goal queen at the end of the 2019 season with 22 hits. After that, the games continued in Sweden: the first two seasons were spent in Kristianstad and the next year and a half in Vittsjö.

This season, he managed to score eight times in the Damallsvenskan, before Leicester bought the Finn in their ranks.

Now Rantala is taking yet another important step towards the top, because Leicester plays in the English Super League, perhaps the toughest league in the world at the moment.

– I have been well received, everyone is really nice and helpful. Game-wise, the difference to Sweden is quite big, the players come hard and the game is really physical. There you don’t see who is opposite. You have to give your all and you have to fight for playing time. The competition is pretty tough. The work is really professional and I have adapted really well, Rantala assures.

When in Sweden they practiced in the afternoons, Rantala waited for practices all day. After the exercises, meetings were sometimes held, but often the day was over by then.

In England, the day is spent at the training center. First with a joint breakfast. There is a meeting, restorative exercise, gym and lunch.

– It’s practically a working day, Rantala describes.

Linda Sällström’s almond heir?

Now Rantala is in his dream job.

The results of self-directed training are now bearing fruit. Rantala does well in small spaces and finishes well with both feet. Sällström, the goal queen of all time, is also envious of his streak.

– Every time Jutta gets the ball on the edge of the penalty area, I raise my hands up that it will be a goal. I don’t shout at that point to feed, Sällström throws.

But what does the national team champion think about Rantala becoming his successor?

– At such a fast pace, he has scored goals before the summer and in the national team this year, that I’m starting to get a bit scared of how long the goal record will remain in my name, Sällström laughs.

In this national team window, Rantala does not have time to visit his home region, even if it is not a long way from Turku to Köyliö. However, home has not been forgotten while chilling in the world.

There, free time is still spent as usual:

– In the summer when I was in Köyliö, I probably went to Eura’s field every day to kick. There are good conditions and good artificial turf.

One day, Köyliö will get its football field.

Who knows, it will be named after Rantala.

The Finnish women’s national football team will face Slovakia in its opening match of the Nations League. The match in Turku starts at 18:30 and the broadcast on TV2 and Areena starts at 18:15.