The Finnish women’s national football team advanced to the EC final tournament for the fifth time, when they defeated Scotland 2–0 on Tuesday at the Töölö football stadium.
The first time Finland played in the European Championship was in 2005, when it progressed from the first group to the semi-finals in the eight-nation tournament in England. At that time, the stars of Finland were e.g. Laura Österberg Squid (formerly Kalmari) and Anne Mäkinenwho was chosen as the best player of the tournament.
Mäkinen says that he watched Helmarie’s match against Scotland with pride. Finland quickly took the lead in the match Natalia Kuikan by long shot and Nea Lehtola hit Final readings after less than half an hour.
– It was an insane feeling, and from the beginning of the game there was such confidence. It felt like there were signs that this match would be won, says Mäkinen.
An important thing for Finnish football
Playing as a professional is now possible for more and more women, as major clubs and leagues have started investing in women’s football. The public has also started to find the galleries.
Mäkinen was the first Finnish female professional to play in the United States. The sport has changed enormously since his own playing days.
For example, in 2004, Finland played the match that decided the European Championship place in Moscow to practically empty stands, and the interest in the match was rather low. There were more than 7,000 spectators in Töölö in a stadium with a capacity of just over 10,000 spectators.
– Of course, the interest has increased incredibly and the game has also progressed worldwide, but also in Finland. It’s nice that we’re still in the games. It was a really important thing for the whole of Finnish football, says Mäkinen.
Today, 16 countries qualify for the European Championships, which is half as many as in 2005. According to Mäkinen, it is difficult to say whether it is easier to reach the final tournament these days, because the level of women’s football in general has risen.
– In any case, a hard performance from Helmari. If you think about this period of explosive growth in women’s futsal from the point of view of commercialization, interest and level of play, it is really hard to be present at the games – and not just to survive, but to seek victories.
Similarities
Mäkinen sees a lot of the same in the current helmets as in the 2005 team.
In both, the key players got responsibility and playing minutes in big, foreign clubs, which also affects the national team’s selections.
In 2005, in addition to Kalmar who played in Djurgården, Mäkinen of Umeå IK, who went on to become the Swedish champion, was responsible for the team, Jessica Julin and Sanna Valkonen.
The current team includes players from, for example, the English Super League, the American NWSL and the Swedish champion Rosengård. Experienced players help others with mature performances and decision-making to win games.
– Scotland may have dominated the game yesterday, but they couldn’t score goals from places. Finland’s game gave me the same feeling that it was a very mature game performance.
– You learn to win by winning. It gives you confidence and experience in how to ensure the result.
According to Mäkinen, the Helmaris show the same teamwork and people-oriented management style that were the cornerstones of the team that played in the Games in 2005.
A winning team needs not only community spirit but also individuals who can decide matches.
– If you look at Helmarei today, there are a lot of strong individuals. And more will come from the bench. There is also depth.
Persistence
The Finnish women’s national football team has now made it to the European Championships four times out of five since 2005. Anne Mäkinen thinks that nowadays it’s okay to wait for Helmarei to get to the Games.
– Of course, the competition is getting tougher all the time. Yes, this shows that really good, professional and long-term work is being done in Finland on the girls’ and women’s side, and it is bearing fruit.
– Succeeding requires long-term work and time. It must be built sensibly, constantly be on the pulse of the times and think about what we need to do better in order to stay on board this train.
The groups of the European Championships will be drawn on December 16. According to Mäkinen, the team has to trust its own game if it wants to succeed in a tough tournament.
The head coach Marko Saloranta and Jonne Kunnasen according to Mäkinen, there is no need to make major changes to the management and development of the team.
– You have to have your own concept and create self-confidence through that. And then the ball is round, says Mäkinen.
Through the League of Nations to the Games
General Secretary of the Football Association Marco Casagrande says that Helmarit is going to tune up his competition condition with the spring Nations League games.
Finland plays in the B-league in the same group with Hungary, Belarus and Serbia. Finland’s first match is at the end of February and the last on June 3. There will be a total of six Nations League games. The European Championship starts on July 2.
– After all, there is really only a short window for camping right before the actual final tournament, which means that in practice it is quite close preparation, but that we are sure that we will get a really good program done, Casagrande says.
– In any case, a budget has been set aside for these League of Nations matches, which would have operated in these matches anyway. A few hundreds of thousands of euros will certainly go into the preparation camp.
Helmarit received 600,000 euros for the 2022 European Championship place, but the sums have been growing significantly. Next summer’s tournament money will be known in a couple of weeks after the group draw.
Casagrande doesn’t know how much the sum is, but makes an educated guess.
– We will certainly go somewhere on the better side of one and a half million euros, I hope. This is just an estimate, but I hope so. Then the players get their share, and then the union can also get a decent pot.