The Lentis women’s debutantes experienced a wild rite in the christening dress – this is how Finland plans to grab a historic second place in the European Championships

The European Women’s Volleyball Championship will be played from August 15 to September 3 in Estonia, Belgium, Italy and Germany. shows all matches live on TV2 or Areena.

The Finnish women’s national volleyball team will play for the third time in a row at the European Championships starting this week. Finland’s EC opening will be played on Thursday. The place for the final tournament also opened in 2021 and 2019, but before that, Finland had not been seen in the prestigious competition for as many as thirty years.

The background of the upswing was influenced by the coaching wizard who piloted the national team for eight years Tapio “Tase” Kangasniemi. Under the former top volleyball player, the Finnish women’s national volleyball team rose from the bottom to become a regular visitor to prestigious competitions.

Read more: The Finnish coaching wizard conjured up an amazing Cinderella story in eight years – this is the secret of Tapio Kangasniemi’s success.

Although Kangasniemi’s successful period as the team’s head coach ended, his legacy still lives on.

– Tase always liked to say that we are serious, but not serious. Relaxation and humor must be preserved and enjoy this time when we get to be in the national team, chopper Maid Korhonen remembers Varala’s sports college at the beach sauna in Tampere, where the national team was preparing for the EC tournament.

The game philosophies of the apprentice and the mentor are close to each other

A new era began in the national team at the beginning of the year, when the Swiss Nicholas Buser was named in January as the new head coach of the women’s national volleyball team on a two-year contract.

Buser has been coaching in Finland since 2020. He worked as a training center coach in Kuortane for a long time and was also involved in the 2021 European Championships as an assistant coach.

– The balance put Finnish women’s volleyball back on the European map. Advancing to the European Championships for the third time in a row is a massive achievement, Buser praises his predecessor.

Before coming to Finland, Buser worked as a coach in his home country of Switzerland since 2005. He coached in Germany in the 2011–2012 season and in the United States in 2014.

According to Buser, under Kangasniemi, the national team changed its game to become more modern and faster. The coaching style adopted by Kangasniemi fit perfectly with Buser’s own game philosophy, who traveled the world.

– That’s certainly one of the big reasons why I was initially recruited here in 2020, Buser laughs.

The passar, which is part of the national team’s standard equipment Kaisa Alangon according to the new head coach is an excellent choice to continue the foundation created by Kangasniemi. Buser has gone into more details, but otherwise the coaches are very similar.

– “Nik” is really empathetic and wants to create a safe atmosphere. He is open to discussions and wants communication to work between coaches and players, says Alanko.

Finland has a challenging starting block

Finland’s EC season starts on Thursday against the attacking power of Slovakia. The group also includes the pre-favorites Holland and France, Spain and one of the hosts of the games, Estonia, which is the only country in the initial group D in the tournament ranking behind Finland.

Finland’s first group is intense, as there are five matches in seven days. The best four advance from the initial group of six countries to the next round, so Finland must grab at least two victories. It would be historic, because Finland has never advanced beyond the first group.

– After the two pre-favorites (Holland and France), there is an even and genuine chance for every team. If everything goes well, we can even advance from the group in second place. It is also possible that we will lose all the matches and come last, Buser reflects.

He sees Finland’s strength as above all the team spirit that Kangasniemi has been building for a long time. The new head coach wants to see a team that dares to take risks in tight situations.

– If we go to secure, we won’t win anything. To win a volleyball match, you have to score points. The minimum goal is that everyone gives their all on the field, Buser says.

The first timers were able to take a bath

Buser named no less than five first-timers of the prestigious championships to the team, through which more physicality was sought.

– I wanted to bring more firepower to the team so that we are not too undersized. Now we can also score points with the help of team size, and not only with technical solutions.

Passari Kaisa Alanko says that the new faces of the national team have come in cheerfully and got to show their nails. The traditional rite has already been performed.

– We organized a traditional baptism for the new national team, where the first-timers got to jump into the swimming pool wearing a baptism dress from a height of three meters, Alanko reveals.

– Fortunately, injuries were avoided, Alanko adds with a laugh.

Finland plays all five of its opening group matches in Estonia.

– I hope we can make the fans proud with our style of play. We want to show the world how we can play volleyball, Buser finishes, patting the Finnish flag on his chest.