Mikael Forssell, who has represented the English Chelsea for a long time, states that Jimi Tauriainen was rewarded for years of hard work.
Riku Porvari,
Mika Halonen
Jimi Tauriainen, 20, exudes confidence. He plays exactly the way a winger should in football. Tauriainen dares to challenge players and is able to pass the defender on both sides. Among other things, like this Mikael Forssell describes a young Finnish player.
– In my opinion, physically, he is a “modern modern winger”, i.e. tall, strong, fast and muscular. Very Cristiano Ronaldo -type habitus.
Forssell coached the junior Tauriai in the organization of the Helsinki Football Club. When Forssell worked as an assistant coach for B-juniors, Tauriainen mainly played in the reserve team, Klubi 04.
– When Jimi came to play the B-junior games, we knew in the coaching that now we have a real threat at the offensive end.
Forssell was only able to follow Tauriai at close range for a short time. He describes the player as a confident person.
– I think he knew even then that he was good, but at the same time, in his eyes and habit, I could see the “hunger” to want more. It was clear to me that he will move abroad at some point.
Tauriainen, who currently represents the big club Chelsea, played for the first time in the English football league in March. At the same time, he became the 20th Finnish player who has played in the Premier League.
That group also includes Forssell, who was the second Finn to play in the Premier League. He played on the Premier League pitches between 1999 and 2008. Forssell’s season with the most goals was in 2003–04, when he was Fifth in the goal exchange, scoring 17 goals in 32 games for Birmingham City.
Forssell ended his playing career about six years ago. Nowadays he works as a coach. Forssell coached A and B juniors for about four years, but now the goal is to switch to coaching adults.
– To my delight, I finally completed the Uefa Pro coaching qualification in 2023, and at the same time, at the end of the year, I jumped out of junior coaching for a while and focused on my family.
“Brought the emotions to the surface”
Forssell, who played abroad for years, moved from HJK to Chelsea in July 1998. He played his first match in January 1999. Tauriainen’s first steps on the turf of Chelsea’s home stadium, Stamford Bridge, warmed Forssell’s mind.
– The fact that the gentleman made his debut in the Premier League brought the emotions to the surface in a good way, remembering my own youth at Chelsea and Stamford Bridge, he says.
Forssell was part of the London club’s organization for seven years, but he was also on loan several times. In those years, the Finnish striker also represented the English Crystal Palace and Birmingham and the German Borussia Mönchengladbach.
– It would be wonderful to see that Jimi would be offered a role in Chelsea’s representation next season, but at the same time, as a player, the most important thing is to think about what is most important in terms of your own development. If Chelsea, for one reason or another, does not offer a role in the representation, you have to remember that loan sharks are the modern age.
In 2005, Forssell was bought by Birmingham, where he played for three years. Since then, he played in Germany for Hannover 96 and VfL Bochum, as well as for the English Leeds United. In the last matches of his playing career, Forssell represented HJK and Helsinki IFK in the Finnish Football League.
Tauriainen was rewarded for his hard work
Forssell states that Tauriainen’s Premier League debut did not surprise him. The coach believes that the young player is mentally ready to handle the pressure and expectations of top football. Among other reasons, Tauriainen can do well in the Premier League because of that.
– Herra is physically very suitable for the Premier League and at the same time has certainly grown as an academy player to understand what is expected of him, Forssell describes.
Forssell also reminds that Tauriainen has already been in the Chelsea organization for a few years. Tauriainen moved from HJK to Chelsea in July 2020.
– He has worked humbly and waited for his opportunity. It’s great to see that he is finally being rewarded for his hard work.
– Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and I want to praise Jim for making his debut in the world’s toughest football league, i.e. by far the most watched league in the world.
Chelsea is currently in 7th place in the Premier League. The club still has a chance to reach fifth place, which would entitle them to a place in the group stage of the Europa League. The sixth in the Premier League will qualify for the Conference League, but the seventh will miss out on European games.
This season, Chelsea will still face Brighton away on Wednesday night and Bournemouth at home in the final round of the Premier League on Sunday, May 19.
The Premier League Series Table can be found at this link, on page 674 of text TV.