Ari Lahti, the chairman of the Finnish Football Association, states that Helmareide’s poor game performances were the main reason that Anna Signeulin’s run at the helm of Helmareide ended already now.
The Finnish Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday morning that Anna Signeulin the contract as head coach of the women’s national football team has been terminated. The Swede had a contract lasting until the end of the year, but according to the press release, the contract was terminated in cooperation.
Signeul, who has coached the Helmaris since 2017, piloted the Helmaris to the EC final tournament, but the game performances in England remained muted. Finland lost all their matches and was out of the playoffs.
– Anna and I had discussions about Finland’s performances in the EC tournament. On the other hand, we still have a small seam before the World Cup, and we wanted to ensure the best possible preparation for the team for the upcoming matches, the president of the Swedish Football Association Ari Lahti told Urheilu.
According to Lahti, the continuation of Signeul was already discussed at the stage when Finland was still participating in the EC competitions.
– We discussed the situation earlier in the board of the Football Association. Anna and I went through the situation very openly and decided by mutual agreement that the contract would be terminated, Lahti explained.
Was Palloliitto proactive in terminating Signeuli’s contract?
– We raised the issue, Lahti answered.
Finland got into a rock-hard group at the European Championships, so the losses were expected, but the team’s game has not developed as hoped for a long time.
– Game performances in the European Championship were of great importance. We wanted to ensure the best conditions to go to the upcoming qualifiers. The development of my own game during the EC tournament did not meet expectations, Lahti said.
“The commotion definitely affected his work”
Lahti admitted that criticism of Signeuli’s methods of operation influenced the decision to terminate his contract. Former member of the Finnish coaching team Maiju Rootsalainen criticized Signeul’s management during the European Championships and claimed that the head coach did not approve of her motherhood.
– The uproar surrounding Anna has definitely affected her work. Anna herself admitted that it has an effect. The noise was one factor, but the game performances weighed more, Lahti stated.
How to ensure that in the future everyone will be fine and the values of the Finnish Football Association will be respected?
– Yes, we all need to look in the mirror and try to work even more carefully around such things. That’s what this commotion clearly taught. When talking about elite sports, success also has an important value, but all other values cannot be exceeded, Lahti emphasized.
In the coaching group, the doors were closed, but in player selection, Signeul relied on the same trusted players year after year. It was difficult for new players to get into the national team.
Led by Marko Saloranta to the World Cup qualifiers
Finland will face Ireland and Sweden in the World Cup qualifiers in September. The temporary head coach of Helmareit has been piloting the under-17 girls’ national team Marko Saloranta. Saloranta is also responsible for coaching during possible further qualifiers in October-November.
Saloranta has coached girls under the age of 17 twice to the European Championships and once to the World Championships. He has expressed that he is interested in the duties of Helmarie’s head coach.
– The management of the Swedish Football Association is surveying Hannu Tihisen management options for head coach. We will also keep a close eye on how Saloranta performs in the World Cup qualifiers and possible further qualifiers, Lahti said.
According to Lahti, the nationality of the head coach does not matter. Haus has the best coach, whether he is from home or abroad.
– Nationality does not matter. We are trying to get the best possible coach. This also applies to Helmars. I would imagine that we can inform about things in late autumn, Lahti assessed the schedule.