Finland – Russia | Eurocup: How Finland built its achievement: ‘You can see the coach in Lapland’

Football in Finland has always been in the shadow of its northern neighbors. While Sweden, Norway and Denmark played the World Cup and European Championship finals – the Swedes had reached the 1958 World Cup and the Danes won the European Championship in 1992 – the Royal Owls weren’t even close to the final stages. Not when they met Litmanen, Hyypia, Forsell…

“It was a long process. Playing Euro is a dream”, says the specified Kanerva. Finland beat Denmark (0-1) in a duel marked by the collapse of Eriksen. A victory can become a major achievement. If they beat Russia, they will enter the Round of 16.

The federation has built a project to promote football in Finland, focusing on the application of more modern methodsحداث

Antonio Rigueiro, Spanish goalkeeper for Lahti

Leap from good – in 2016 they were 94th in the FIFA rankings – for their debut at a Euro they lived closely with Midfield: Asir Arrans, goal by Antonio Reguero. “The federation has set up a project to promote football in Finland, with an emphasis on applying more modern methods. They have always been a physical team, but now they are competitive,” says the Lahti goalkeeper.

“Since I arrived six years ago, Spanish and foreign coaches and footballers have come to the league and raised the bar. The development has been positive. They took care of the base, boosting talent with new ideas such as taking the ball from behind. There is only one local soccer player on the list -O’Shaughnessy-, but other players have played here until recently.Reguero says.

A plan in which Kanerva is key: “He is the man of the union – between 2004 and 2011 he was the coach of the under-21 team, then an assistant and since 2016 the coach- Which you can see in the fields of Lapland. He is close and knows how to run the group. He managed to get them in the Eurozone and climb to the B class in the Nations. They can qualify for eighth place.”

This euro is very important to Finnish football. It’s a country where ice hockey is the king of sports

Asier Arranz, the Spanish half of KTP

“This euro is very important to Finnish football. It is a country where ice hockey is the king of the sport. Competing with these teams will help increase the interest of the children … Like 0-2 in France,” Arranz admits. KTP media explains how they play: “They have no stars except for top scorer Pukki. It’s a rocky team that’s hard to beat and score goals. They do not allow the opponent to play comfortably. Together, they press, steal and oppose it. His strength is the group. “Finland is as solid as ice.