On the other side of the table at the Tikkurila sports hall in Vantaa sits a man who probably around a million Finns recognize just by his voice: the actor Kari Hietalahti59.
The main topic now is not Hietalahti’s TV and film work, but the burning love in Finland for futsal, i.e. the indoor form of football, which is growing rapidly. Hietalahti is one of the founders of Helsinki Football Club’s futsal division and is head coach at Kakkones playing group passionately for more than half a decade.
Now the head coach is still going through tough rounds, because the just-ended away match against VFS from Vantaa has been fierce. HJK has come from two goals behind to a 4–4 draw. According to a person who knows Hietalahti well, the equalizer was good for the interview, because the head coach takes losses hard.
– Yes, this is so important to me that I even mark this on the calendar as work and not as a hobby, says the actor, who very often hangs out at the football or futsal stadium in his spare time.
A self-directed team
Hietalahti’s calendar, which at times resembles a logistical nightmare, has been relatively painless for coaching, as HJK is a purely hobby-based team that does not meet once during the week for training. Practically everyone plays football outside the futsal season.
– Sometimes I’ve drawn a pattern on the flipchart, but it’s been more in the humor department. I have taught the players to be quite self-directed and I try to maintain a good spirit. If necessary, I will of course also talk about gaming issues.
During the VFS match, Hietalahti never raises his voice and does not comment in any way even on a couple of controversial referee decisions. His fame has reportedly been neither an advantage nor a disadvantage in coaching jobs.
– Here in Kakkones, the same faces are pretty much the same every week on the field and in the stands. In these circles, I’m already a basic jampa known to everyone.
Kakkonen is basically a low league level for the second sport of Finland’s leading football brand. According to Hietalahti, there is a logical explanation for that.
– This Kakkonen group is one where the teams have a really good time. The teams are familiar with each other, the matches are good and even and sometimes quite hot.
Long distances do not inspire
The lack of desire to move up is related to the fact that the First Division is a national league, while in the Second Division, HJK plays mostly in the capital region.
– It would be quite difficult to leave for away trips to Tornio or Oulu for both money and time. I have petitioned the Balloliitto several times, asking them to divide Ykkönen into two blocks. Yes, we would love to play somewhere in Turku or Tampere. Now the situation is that, for example, in our section in Kakkone, there are definitely several better gangs playing than some of the teams in Ykkönen.
Hietalahti, who played ice hockey in SaPKO in his hometown Savonlinna, started his passion for football and coaching activities from his own son’s hobby at HJK.
– Without a doubt, my most significant ladle merit is Jarmo Myllyksen (goalkeeping legend, world champion) team camaraderie.
Hietalahti also goes to Futsal looking for new players from football matches on the big field.
– From there, it’s easy to see who has the substance. Midfielders and defenders adapt best and fastest to futsal, because they know how to think for themselves even when attacking. In futsal, situations change so quickly. Unfortunately, many futsal coaches are reluctant to let guys try futsal.
In his film career, Hietalahti has played, among other things, the chief of the Helsinki drug police Jari Aarniota and a plane hijacker Aarno from Lamminparrabut he has also been involved in many sports-related film and TV projects, such as the films Matti and Laitapuolen höykääjä and the TV series Lahti 2001.
When you ask the actor what his dream role would be in a possible future sports film project, the answer comes in a second:
– Seppo Räty, of course. A movie has to be made about that man, says Hietalahti, who threw the men’s javelin over 40 meters in 2007 on the set of a sports-related TV program called Elixir.
The sport was taught to the actor by two world champions viz Aki Parviainen and Elastic Kinnunen.
– Sepo had to teach me pönka (hitting the support leg on the speed track), but he couldn’t do it, Hietalahti recalls with a laugh.
The newest part of the Kiveen hakatut book series (Kirjapaja) about past sports greats tells a colorful story about the Vintiöt sketch series from the early 1990s, in which Hietalahti and a colleague Niko Saarela made fun of the famous strongman duo Ilkka Nummisto – Markku Suonenvirtan conjecture about chemical coaching. “I haven’t taken anything”, was a straight-forward sentence.
– Then Markus of Selin (the producer) took us to the same event where these two were present. Niko and I were so afraid that we pretty much went along the walls there. But the guys just laughed at the whole thing and boasted that the hall and gig calendar have never been as full as after Vintio’s sketches.
Chief of State Police
Hietalahti has recently released a song called “Ei never alone”. Klaus Härön from the filming of the movie he directed, which will be released in theaters next fall. The film tells about the deportations of Jews during the Finnish Continuation War; Hietalahti plays the pro-Nazi chief of the state police Arno Anthony.
The match between HJK and VFS was watched in Tikkurila on Sunday, January 28 by perhaps 250 spectators, which is a good number in Kakkose. Hietalahti strongly believes in the potential of the sport, which also attracts a large number of immigrant players and spectators.
– Futsal is, of course, a great form of exercise, but also a very popular and compact sport where there is always something going on. I believe that its popularity will grow significantly in Finland in the next few years.
If HJK ever rises to No. 1, Hietalahti is ready for tough calendar talks in the name of the beloved coaching activity.
– Shouldn’t you already be training once or twice a week?