Midfielder for Huhkaji Kairinen too got to celebrate the second championship of his career on Tuesday, when Sparta Praha he represented secured the Czech championship in an away game against Slovacko. However, Kairinen had to watch the match from the stands, because her card account was full. It was the longest 90 minutes he has experienced.
– It was terrible! Kairinen, reached by phone, parked.
– When you’re on the field, it doesn’t stress you out that much, but in the stands it can’t affect anything at all. It really wasn’t fun when you still knew the stakes of the game. When the referee blew the whistle, so much stress and pressure was released.
Sparta Prague belongs to the big Czech clubs, but the championship had been around for nine years. The club founded in 1893 had previously won the Czechoslovak championship 24 times and the Czech championship 12 times.
Kairinen, who signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club, has been with the team since January, but has quickly noticed the importance of the championship.
– When I have talked to people who have been here for many decades, they have noticed it. It’s a huge deal for the club, but also for the fans. Unbelievably great stuff.
The fans were in droves against the team on Tuesday evening, when the team arrived at the Prague training center from Uherske Hradište in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic after a four-hour drive. Some had also traveled to the venue for an away match.
According to Kairinen, the attitude of the Czechs to football is fanatical. He has noticed that both on and off the field. Although Prague is a city of millions, the Finnish player is recognized in the street scene.
– Football is life for some people, a really big deal, Kairinen said and admitted that she would not have thought that she would be recognized so often in civilian clothes.
– When you go out to eat at restaurants or walk down the street or in shops, every once in a while someone yells at you. Or to ask for news or take a picture. But it’s really warm.
A big group of friends who refuse to give up
Kairinen won the Danish championship with FC Midtjylland in 2018, but moved to Norway a couple of years later to the Lilleström team. The move to Prague was made primarily by Sparta’s coach Brian Prisken by will. Priske had coached from Kairis in Midtjylland.
Kairinen quickly noticed that Sparta Praha’s team is full of good players and that there are expectations and pressures towards the players that you have to be able to handle. That’s what he’s learned over the last few months, but he’s also learned to enjoy playing and the pressure.
– This half year has been a dream. I have remained intact, received a lot of responsibility and was able to meet expectations. Now this championship. It couldn’t have been better.
This season, Sparta Prague has won 23 out of 34 matches, played 9 matches in a draw and lost only 2 matches. According to Kairinen, the team’s unity and will to win has shown strongly on the field, as the team has been able to turn many tight games from a draw into a win.
– We have never given up, but always believed in our own plan and were able to implement it, praised Kairinen.
– It has been easy to join this team. Everything is well received. We are like a big group of friends who do a lot of work for a common goal. It’s been amazing to be a part of the team and I can’t wait for the next few years.
“I want to win more immediately”
If the championship was important to Sparta Praha, it was also important to Kairis. Although he has been able to enjoy football in several top European teams, the road to this point has not always been easy. Kairinen has publicly talked about both her eating disorder and her depression, but has been quiet with herself in recent years.
– Work has been done here for many years. There have been more difficult years and also better years. Everyone who works in the sport knows that the championship is never a given, Kairinen said.
– This is an incredibly big deal for me. Especially since I’ve been well cast since the beginning, this feels even better. Hunger only grows when you eat. I want to win more immediately.
Although Sparta Prague was able to celebrate the championship already on Tuesday, the actual celebration is ahead on Saturday, when the team plays its last match of the season at its home stadium against Plzen.
– That’s the moment everyone is waiting for right now: that the referee blows the whistle, we get to lift the trophy and celebrate with all the fans. Those parties will surely last long into the night. It’s been so long since the last championship, that it will certainly be celebrated properly and with the strength of the whole team.
The European Championship qualifiers of the Finnish men’s national football team continue in June with home matches in San Marino and Slovenia. The Slovenia game is coming up on Friday, June 16, and the San Marino game is on Monday, June 19 at 19:00. Both matches will be broadcast live on TV2 and Areena at 18:15.