Helmarit will face the Netherlands in the European football qualifiers on Tuesday, June 4. at 19:00. The broadcast on TV2 and Areena starts at 18:30.
In the stands of Rotterdam’s Sparta Stadium, the European Championship qualifying match between Holland and Finland is intensely watched by a familiar figure.
Niklas Tarvajärvi represented Huuhkaji in four matches in his career, in addition to which he accumulated 16 games in the youth national team.
He went out into the world in his twenties and stayed on that path. During his ten professional seasons, Tarvajärvi had time to spin in Holland and Switzerland and Germany.
However, a home was found in Holland.
– This is where I stumbled, Tarvajärvi laughs in an interview on the grass of Sparta Stadium.
He washed hard
After the end of my own professional career, switching to coaching was a natural continuation.
Tarvajärvi, who completed his Uefa A coaching license, has worked as a coach for Juniors of different ages at the SC Heerenveen Academy, as the head coach and junior executive director of the amateur team VV Heerenveen.
Last season, Tarvajärvi was involved in the coaching of SC Heerenveen, which plays in the men’s main league.
However, new challenges are now ahead. Finnish coach was named head coach of the Heerenveen women’s team.
– I think it is important to move from the men’s and boys’ side to the women’s side. It tells about the appeal of women’s football at the moment, Urheilu’s expert Essi Sainio comment.
There are not too many Finnish coaches on the women’s side in top foreign clubs: Åland-based Caroline Sjöblom coached the Kansas City Current in the US NWSL last season before becoming technical director of the Swedish Football Association.
Helmet assistant coach Jonne Kunnas is part of the coaching team of Linköping, which plays in the Swedish Damallsvenskan.
The case of Tarvajärvi is not unique. For example, the head coach of the French women’s national football team was the one who coached the Saudi Arabian men’s national team at the World Cup Herve Renard.
However, before receiving the washing machine, he wanted to do his background work carefully. Tarvajärvi picked up the phone and called Sainio, whom he had known for years.
Tarvajärvi wanted to know if there are any issues on the women’s side that should be taken into account.
– Group dynamics are important, 25 women is sometimes a challenging equation. Menstruation also affects performance and injuries, and there is too little research on them, but I recommended taking an open attitude and using tools, says Sainio.
For example, in HJK, which was the last club team of Sainio’s career, the menstrual cycle was monitored regularly.
– I told Nike that as long as he is himself, shows the players that this is important and appreciates them, there is nothing to worry about. Very basic stuff: you have to dare to demand, but also get to know the players carefully.
After that phone call and careful background work, Tarvajärvi was convinced.
– Women’s football is growing rapidly in both Finland and the Netherlands. After my research work, I excitedly accepted the job, we are now going to build a really good season. Like many other Eredivisie clubs, Heerenveen invests more and more in women’s football, says Tarvajärvi.
Last season, Heerenveen was tenth in the 12-team league. Now the goals have been set higher.
– Now we want to be in the top six.
In the team, a lot of attention is paid not only to mental well-being, but also to strain – especially knee injuries have become more common in women’s football with the explosively growing load.
Three of them happened in Heerenveen during the preseason last summer.
– We have talked a lot about how to build stress and what kind of strength training supports joints, for example. We have paid a lot of attention to these things.
Like Finland, the average age of the players in the Dutch premier league is also young: even in Heerenveen, in their early twenties. The building of the team for next season is at a good pace, but some more reinforcements could be included.
– It would be nice to see a Finnish player in the team as well. I have tried to cast nets into the waters, where I could find a promising player with a good eye for the game, Tarvajärvi laughs.
Mother still sends rye bread
Tarvajärvi has not forgotten Finland: even the raincoat is from a well-known Finnish brand. The weather in Holland is unpredictable and you should always carry a raincoat or umbrella with you.
What Tarvajärvi misses the most is his family and friends from his homeland. He travels to Finland three to four times a year.
– Mutsi still sends rye bread every month. And once a month I try a sauna, Tarvajärvi laughs and says that there are a few different saunas in his current hometown.
The connection to Finland has also been preserved from father to son.
The Niilo boy, who plays in the famous Ajax Academy, recently made his debut in Minihuuhkaj.
− Kaitsu (head coach Kai Nyyssönen) and it was already talked about that Niilo could join Minihuuhkajie. He has also been with the Dutch national team, but now it was a good time to go with Finland to Slovakia. It was nice to see the boy in a blue shirt, yes, Faija was proud in the stands, Tarvajärvi laughs.
I have to ask: who would a father want his son to represent?
You don’t have to wait long for the answer.
– It’s nice that he is with Ajax and gets to measure himself against the best of his Dutch peers. I hope that he would get so far in his career that a choice would have to be made and I hope that it would be Finland’s shirt.
Tarvajärvi has helped his two sons on the path of a soccer player and has trained both of them since they were little.
– We have practiced a lot together and are still practicing with Niilo. I also try to help in other matters of the spirit world, which I have studied a lot and where I have made many mistakes.
In an interview with Helsingin Sanomat at the beginning of the year Tarvajärvi told about his difficult years colored by injuries.
He revealed that he did a lot of training in secret, which likely led to injuries. Tarvajärvi says that he needed external support, which he never received.
Now he wants to share it with his coaches.
Helmarit will face the Netherlands in the European football qualifiers on Tuesday, June 4. at 19:00. The broadcast on TV2 and Areena starts at 18:30.