Tappara’s former head coach Rauno Korpi tells what kind of sad message came before the 1986 final games.
29.4. 15:28•Updated 29.4. 16:12
Tappara has won the championship once in its history three years in a row. This happened in 1986–88, when Tappara was the head coach Rauno Korpi.
He tells about a touching moment before the Golden Jubilee in 1986. Tappara had reached the finals, and the team’s management went to Helsinki to watch Tappara’s future opponent IFK or TPS play against each other.
When he arrived, Rauno Korpi appointed the current honorary chairman Jarmo Viikarin car, and did not take the same ride as before.
– At half past one, I got a call from the hospital in Valkeakoski, and from the doctor’s voice, I concluded that something had happened.
The car in which Korpi had gone to Helsinki had crashed with a car driven by a conscript.
– Our guardian Raimo “Pappa” Paavola had died in a crash. Player Seppo Ahokainen and assistant coach Pertti Koivulahti were badly injured.
Koivulahti was often the number one center in Tappara’s super teams of the 1970s and 1980s. He formed an effective attacking duo with Seppo Ahokainen.
– Koivulahti was the coach of the tactical side because he had a long playing career.
The team decided to play for the guardian
The news of his death in 1986 stopped, because Paavola was the father figure of the team.
– It was difficult to go to the finals.
Korpi got the coach from an acquaintance From Iivari Koiso I advise you to give the players room to play.
Before preparing for the finals, the guardian’s widow Lea Paavola sent greetings to the team that “Pappa” wanted to win the championship.
The team decided to play in honor of the guardian. That season, the overwhelming Tappara took the Finnish championship and beat HIFK.
– The group chats came after the championship in the sauna, says Korpi.
Back in the 1980s, according to Korve, the best teams were like big families where everyone knew each other, including spouses and children. Joys and sorrows were experienced together.
– The situation deteriorated somewhat after hockey became a professional activity in the 1990s.
Watch the video to see what the party looked like in 1988.