Kalle Koskinen: The Iceman

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Peimari United's players will be donning brand new kit designs for the 2020 season, with both home and away jerseys released to the general public. Both jerseys are likely to cause a stir, with a lion's head preferred over the club's official logo in the design.

Peimari United signed a one-year deal with Puma, who manufactured the kits on display. The German sports company currently manufactures kits for English giants Manchester City, major German side Borussia Dortmund, as well as a host of top Finnish clubs including FC Honka, HIFK, IFK Mariehamn, KuPS, RoPS, TPS and VPS. Puma has long since been a beloved kit producer for Finnish football, and Puma have taken advantage of a relatively uncompetitive market in a country with a strong economic structure.

Supercell, a Finnish mobile gaming company, signed a one-year deal to be the main, and only, kit sponsors of Peimari United. Supercell are mainly noted for producing hit mobile game Clash of Clans, which has long been one of the most downloaded mobile games in the world. Supercell have been noted for their donations to charity. The employees of the company donated €3.4M to the Finnish New Children's Hospital project during the early stages of the project; the largest donation by any Finnish company employees ever. The founders of Supercell, Mikko Kodisoja and Ilkka Paananen, have also set up non-profit charity organisations which have spent millions for children in Finland.

The two sponsorship deals have earned Peimari United an estimated total of €225,000. This comes as a notable increase from €130,000 Peimari United had with Lotto last season. Any future deal with Puma, or another company, should Peimari United earn another promotion, is expected to be much bigger again.

The home kit strays away from what Peimari United have typically worn in the past. There is a notable absence of yellow in the kit, with black and green coming to the fore. With a black background colour, a cubic green pattern stretches from the hip up to the chest area, while the sleeves are lined with faded green dashes.

The away kit is white in colour, similar faded green dashes on the sleeves. The cuffs and collar are made up of the same green colour.

Both home and away kit don a lion's head instead of the club's official logo. The lion's head is used as a testament to the club being affectionately known as Paimion Leijonat (The Lions of Paimio) over the past season. The text Paimion Leijonat is written underneath the backs of the collars of both sets of kits.

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I know you guys don't really care all too much about the small details of each signing and outgoing, considering how remote this league is, so I will keep it short and to the point. You can find screenshots of all signings in the spoilers below.

In terms of outgoings, we had six players leave the club following the expiration of their contracts and one join another club in a free transfer. Some of them were talented players but had toxic attitudes, which did not go down well with me. I found myself constantly fining these players for not turning up to training or for other misconducts. Some of them had a good attitude, but were not going to get a game at Ykkönen level.

Now, new signings. Johan Lund, Jonne Ailio, Niko Lehtinen, Matias Paavola, Emil Karlsson, Janne Nutikka, Jarno Seppälä and Santtu Johansson were all signed for our youth team. Having scouted these youngsters extensively, I felt it worth the low risk of signing them on for free and hopefully developing them into future internationals for the country, either at youth level or senior level. They all had a lot of promise and were all likely to become Veikkausliiga stars in the future.


Felipe Aspegren was our first major senior signing. He was a versatile defensive player who came in to provide competition for the full back positions, while also providing cover for other areas should he be required. He was a well-rounded defender with plenty of pace to his game, an invaluable asset in modern day football, and at twenty-five years old, was not yet near his peak years. Originally of Colombian background, his family moved to Finland when he was a kid and Aspegren graduated from the HJK academy. Following spells at FC Inter Turku, TPS, SJK and KTP, Aspegren made his move to FC Ilves of Tampere where he made 79 Veikkausliiga appearances. Following Ilves' relegation last season, Aspegren decided to leave the club, despite manager Sami Hyypiä best efforts to keep the in-demand defender.


Justus Kauppinen became Peimari's second signing of the summer. Kauppinen was brought in to provide competition to Kevin Larsson as a right-sided Inside Forward, but was also capable of playing on the left. Kauppinen was renowned for his speed and his flair-dribbling skills, and just came off the back of an impressive season with JäPS where he scored seven Kakkonen goals. With the quality already in Peimari's attack, Kauppinen will be unlikely to start but presents an incredible backup option. He would have become a key player for most Ykkönen sides.


Akseli Ollila was one of Peimari's most exciting signings. Having been capped at U19s level for Finland, Ollila left capital giants HJK in search of regular first team football. At the young age of nineteen, Ollila had already racked up 61 league appearances in Ykkönen and Kakkonen, for HJK's second team Klubi-04 and with Ekenäs Taamisaari on a two-year loan. Ollila was brought in to provide direct competition to Riku Sjöroos for Peimari's left-sided Inside Forward position, but was also capable of playing as a striker. Ollila was known as an extremely explosive player and was considered to be one of Finland's top young talents.


Next up was defender Arttu Eerola. He commanded a fee of €110 in compensation to KäPa Helsinki. Eerola was brought in to provide backup to Bruno Rodrigues at right back. At nineteen years of age, Eerola was considered to be a future Veikkausliiga-standard defender. He was quick and defensive-minded, but was also very competent with the ball at his feet. Eerola had already made 62 Kakkonen appearances for KäPa, despite his tender age, and was considered to be their prized asset.


Jukka Virtanen was another massive signing for Peimari United. The seventeen year old left back broke through from PKKU's academy last season to make eight Kakkonen appearances, and earning himself his Finland U19s debut in the process. Despite his relative inexperience, Virtanen was brought in to start at left back for Peimari and was expected to become a senior international in the future. He was quick, fit and a hard worker. He was an excellent tackler too, and a fantastic addition to the team.


John Mattsson was brought in as cover for central defence. The twenty-seven year old was part of IFK Mariehamn's second team FC Åland, and made 43 league appearances for the club. Despite his lack of pace, he was strong, good in the air and an excellent tackler. He was also an excellent leader, having captained his former club on many occasions. He was a good player to have in the dressing room, and was installed to be our fourth-choice central defender.


Next up was striker Antti Pokela. The twenty-two year old striker was a signing that the fans were delighted with. Pokela joined from FC Espoo, where he scored 39 goals in 99 league appearances. He was quick, a great runner off-the-ball and very very good on the ball. He was brought in to be one of the players challenging for a starting spot up front, following our lack of goals from strikers last season. At his age, he was only expected to get better.


Mikko-Petteri Latosaari came in to reinforce our defence. The twenty-six year old was an FC Haka graduate and had made 130 league appearances in total prior to signing for us. He last played for PS-44 in Nelonen (Finland's fifth division). He was quite athletic, a good leader and a good defender. He was a solid signing.


Now, for our most exciting signing. Jesper Santanen was, somehow, snatched up on a free transfer from SalPa Salo. The sixteen year old broke through from their academy last season and scored five goals, assisting twice, in six Kakkonen games. He was quick, fit, a clinical shooter and a great set-piece taker. He was one of Finland's top prospects, with many clubs in for his signature. I have no idea how we signed him. He was set for big things. Very big things.


Our last senior signing was Sami Suikki. At seventeen years of age, he was brought in to move between the senior team and our U20s. He made his senior debut for ÅIFK last season and was expected to become a future senior international. The midfielder was very intelligent and a superb passer. With a bit of work on the training ground, and plenty in the gym, he had the potential to become a future star for us.

January brought with it Suomen Cup qualifying fixtures. We had a tough group for the qualifiers, with Gnistan Helsinki, Kemi Kings, KTP and FC Ilves as opposition. We were to play each team once, with the top two teams earning qualification to the knockout rounds. Our aim was to reach the knockout rounds, no matter the cost. An excellent challenge for our new young stars.

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Peimari United manager Kalle Koskinen today penned a new contract extension that will see him remain at the club until November 2021. The former Finnish international midfielder was previously under contract until November 2020 but, following a successful debut managerial campaign where Koskinen lead Peimari United to a Kakkonen and Kakkonen Cup double, chairman Antti Eklund was keen to secure his prized asset's future for at least an extra year.

Koskinen began his managerial career back on 5th December 2018 when he took the reigns of Peimari United following the controversial departure of Joaquim Valinho after the Portuguese manager had been caught up in illegal gambling activities. Koskinen was an influential player and proved to be just as influential as a manager, guiding his team comfortably to Kakkonen success, lifting the league trophy and earning promotion to Ykkönen in the process. Under Koskinen's guidance, Peimari United also lifted the inaugural Kakkonen Cup and were runners-up in the Suomen Cup.

Peimari United had begun the current campaign strongly, winning twice and losing just once in three games in Suomen Cup qualifiers. Having made ten senior signings in the transfer window to date, the transition of Peimari's new stars has seen Koskinen earn much credit. Rumours of Veikkausliiga clubs, as well as clubs from across Europe, circling for Koskinen's signature had surfaced in recent weeks, although the in-demand manager had distanced himself from any other job than the Peimari United one.

Koskinen's contract extension today came as his second extension since joining the club, having previously signed an extension as recently as the end of August of last year. Koskinen's latest extension has seen him pocket a wage rise of €150 per week, with the young manager now earning €700 per week. Koskinen's new contract includes a percentage wage rise of 15% if he guides his side to promotion to the Veikkausliiga, and a percentage wage drop of 50% if his side are relegated from Ykkönen.

Koskinen's new contract sees him become the best paid manager in the Ykkönen division, topping Kemi Kings' Ari Tiittanen who earns €600 per week, KPV Kokkola's Mika Lumijärvi who earns €575 per week and FC Ilves' Sami Hyypiä who earns €500 per week. While the figure does not compare to the wage that Koskinen earned as a player for FC Bayern Munich, the significant increase in the past year has been a testament to his accomplishments with Peimari United.

'The Iceman', as he is commonly known as, made no hesitation in penning a new contract with the club, stating his confidence in the direction of the club as a key motivation to extend his stay. Kalle promised fans of the club that there would be plenty more trophies on the way to HakkisPaana, with the club ready to invest heavily on new players when required. Kalle praised the club's chairman, Antti Eklund, for his commitment to the short-term and long-term future of Peimari United.

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We kicked off our season with a home game against Gnistan Helsinki. The scoreline flattered Gnistan somewhat. We were miles ahead of them but could only muster two goals, one at the beginning of the game and the other at the end. New signings Ollila and Kauppinen were the two goal scorers, opening their Peimari United accounts with good goals.

Up next was a trip to Kemi Kings. We completely outclassed them and were fully deserving of the three-goal margin. Sixteen year old striker Jesper Santanen scored his first goal for the club, while Ollila added his second of the season before Jussila scored in stoppage time to cap off a brilliant performance and a good game for Peimari United.

Our first defeat of the season. I rotated heavily for this game and we suffered the consequences as a result. We failed to break down their stubborn defence while our own back line was penetrated far too often. We conceded late on to pick up a deserved defeat. It became apparent that not everybody in the squad was up to speed yet.

We bounced back with an away win against FC Ilves. Jesper Santanen and Riku Sjöroos were the goal scorers in a convincing win over a team managed by Sami Hyypiä. FC Ilves were favourites to win Ykkönen, so a win over them in the Suomen Cup was a major confidence boost.

KTP, deservedly, topped the group while we were very satisfied with second place. A five point margin between us and the next team emphasised our superiority. We deserved qualification to the knockout stages, where we were to compete for the second year in a row.

We were to play against FC Inter Turku in the last sixteen of the Suomen Cup. We played host to them in the semi finals last season, where we won 2-1, and we were hoping for a repeat result at HakkisPaana. The game was to be played at the end of April, which gave us plenty of time to prepare for the big local-rivalry fixture.