Anna Westerlund, who has played the most national football matches, has been surprised that she has not been able to say goodbye to the national team’s supporters.
Anna Westerlund has played 147 national football matches, more than any Finnish male or female player.
At the end of last year, Westerlund said that he was ending his long career, during which he played in the Swedish and Norwegian leagues, among others.
Hufvudstadsbladet said last week that Westerlund was surprised that nothing was heard from the Finnish Football Association after the termination announcement. Instead, he received a lot of contact from old teammates, opponents, coaches and other parties.
– I’m not bitter, but I’m a little surprised and disappointed, Westerlund said at HBL.
Westerlund would have liked the opportunity to say goodbye to the supporters of the national team, for example, during a national match. The opportunity for that would have been, for example, in the opening match of the Nations League against Slovakia in September.
– The Swedish Football Association had nine months to plan something. I don’t mean any big celebration, but five minutes on the field before the match, a diploma, a bouquet of flowers and the opportunity to thank the fans.
Westerlund suspects that the male player might have been handled differently.
The Football Association apologizes
Vice-chairman of the Football Association and chairman of the Respect working group Kaarlo Kankkunen regrets the situation. According to him, Westerlund’s consideration was planned for the season-ending Captain’s Ball.
– Westerlund is our futs legend and a future member of the Hall of Fame. It’s really sad that he has felt bad about this matter, Kankkunen said.
According to Kankkunen, the Respect working group is responsible for the development of valuing and rewarding in football. Kankkunen emphasizes that Westerlund has by no means been forgotten.
– We noticed him when he became the player who played the most national matches of all time (passed Jari Litmanen). When he announced the end of his career in the middle of last December, we reported it extensively.
– At the end of the season, our biggest closing event, the Captain’s Ball, is coming up. Anna’s consideration was originally planned there. Helmari had no official matches before the fall, Kankkunen stated.
Kankkunen regrets the failed communication.
– I myself could have talked to Anna in the summer and told her about our plans. We have to learn from this.
Helmarit will play the 50th anniversary match on October 27, when it meets in the Nations League in Helsinki, Croatia. Rewards have been planned for that as well.