Kalle Koskinen: The Iceman

Peimari United were left heartbroken by the final of the Suomen Cup for a second successive season as they suffered defeat at the hands of SJK. A Rafael Bilu wonder goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time did the damage as SJK lifted the trophy at their own stadium Seinäjoen jalkapallostadion. The result means that Peimari United have lost their second successive cup final, in as many seasons.

There was a party atmosphere before the game in Seinäjoki as Seinäjoen jalkapallostadion prepared for the Suomen Cup final. 3,960 people fitted into the stadium but Peimari United were left with few supporters, with only 244 of those making up the away crowd support. The away support sang louder than there numbers suggested, however, creating an atmosphere born of passion and pride.

The game was fueled on the passion demonstrated by the fans, with both sets of players putting on a high-intensity performance which captivated onlookers. It was a fiery affair, but with no malice, as play was stopped regularly for players showing too much excitement in some challenges. It was tough, tight and tense. It was a proper cup final.

Both teams lost a player to injury in the first half, however. SJK's midfield maestro Obed Malolo was the first to leave the action. The young midfielder came out badly from a duel with Sasha Popovitch, and was stretchered off the field of play while clutching his foot. Peimari United's teenage ace Jesper Santanen was next to leave, just before half time. The striker hit the ground hard following an aerial battle with SJK's Patrik Raitanen, and strained his knee ever-so-slightly, ending his game prematurely.

There may have been no goals in the first half but spectators were not disappointed in the second. It was the hosts who scored first, through Emile Tendeng, their Senegalese left-sided attacker. Rafael Bilu was proving to be the most creative player on the pitch, and the Brazilian created the goal with a low cross from the right wing. Tendeng was unmarked and made no mistake by flashing his shot across Peimari's goal to give SJK the lead.

Antti Pokela came on as a sub in the first half for the injured Jesper Santanen and, just like he has done all season, provided a goal scoring touch from the bench. Akseli Ollila has been Peimari United's standout attacker this season, and the youngster's exemplary long ball over the top of SJK's defence was taken down beautifully by Pokela, who feinted his way past SJK's goalkeeper Teppo Marttinen before rolling the ball into an empty net. It was simple, but so beautiful.

The game was always going to require a bit of magic to decide the outcome, and the world of football was not disappointed by the winner. With many stoppages throughout the second half due to fouls and minor injuries, six minutes had been added on as stoppage time. It was in the final minute of stoppage time when Rafael Bilu proved why he was Veikkausliiga's best player. The Brazilian attacker, on loan from Corinthians, picked up the ball on the edge of Peimari's D before swiveling on the spot to work his way away from Hyökyvirta. Bilu then showed incredible composure to slam a powerful drive into the bottom left corner of the goal, sending the SJK fans into euphoria. It was game over.

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There was jubilation for the SJK players as they lifted the Suomen Cup. It was another trophy for a team who had impressed Finnish football so often in recent times, as well as the chance to go on and compete in UEFA Europa League qualifiers. For Peimari United, it was heartbreak once more. It wasn't the end of the season for Peimari, who still had so much to play for, but it was a significant hurdle not cleared.

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"I've never been that good a manager, in truth. You've got far more ability in that department than I do, Kalle!"

It was a statement of pure modesty, exemplifying the type of character that sat before me. Still clothed in his battle outfit, an FC Ilves tracksuit top and pants, he sipped on a cold pint and involved himself in a good-humoured conversation with myself. He embodied everything that was good about football; he was happy, charming, warm, friendly, and an air of true serenity exuded from him through the form of smiles, words and laughter. He was more than a friend. Sami Hyypiä was family.

We had been team mates for the Finnish national team for a short time. From the time of my international debut in November 2007 until early 2010, we had had played many games together. Sami was a far greater footballer than I but we were both regarded to be in the same inner circle of top-class footballers that Finland had at the time. We were among the nation's finest athletes and a mutual respect and friendship grew from our time together with our nation's colours adorned on our chests.

In more recent times, we had become enemies on the pitch. While I was managing Peimari United, Sami was the manager of FC Ilves. We were both gunning for top spot in Ykkönen. While it was the first time that Peimari United had been in the league, Sami was looking to guide FC Ilves back to Veikkausliiga, from where they were relegated from. Both of our teams had been performing well above expectation and we it looked set to be a two-horse race between us for the title. It set up a clash between the pair of us at the end of May at HakkisPaana, our home ground, quite nicely.

My Peimari side overcame Sami's Ilves side on the day, but only just. Antti Pokela had taken Jesper Santanen's place in the starting lineup, due to a mixture of injury and form, and Pokela was the man who scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win, thumping a half-volley in midway through the first half. It was a goal worthy of winning a clash between the league's top two teams, but both teams deserved the three points. It was an incredible display of skill and physicality from both sides.

I welcomed Sami to Paimio after the game for the pair of us to catch up over some food and a drink. To my pleasure, he duly obliged. We visited a local tavern and quenched our thirst and filled our stomachs, while recounting various tales from our playing days. Sami spoke at great length of his time at Liverpool, which I took keen interest in. He was fond of the club's support, particularly during European fixtures, and of his dream to one day lead the club as manager. He admitted that his prospects of becoming the king of Anfield were not great, but he held the club in high regard nonetheless.

With FC Ilves, Sami was based in Tampere, some 180 kilometers from Helsinki by car, and 190 kilometers from his hometown of Porvoo by car too. Sami admitted that he would be tempted by a move back to Finland's capital district, should one become available. His entire family lived in, or around, Helsinki and it was a place he had great affection for. At the age of forty-six, he wished to be closer to the place he called home.

Sami was aware that any move to Helsinki would spell the end of his time as manager of FC Ilves. While he admitted that he enjoyed being the gaffer of a very reputable club in Finland, he was equally adamant that Tampere was not the place for him to make any major step forward in his managerial career. FC Ilves was a club who's development had a distinct ceiling and reaching any higher would have been a feat worthy of the gods.

For Sami, his managerial career happened in the wrong order. He became involved in the Finnish national team managerial setup, albeit as an assistant manager, in 2011. In 2012, he became manager of Bundesliga giants FC Bayer Leverkusen 04. His time at the club was not a prosperous one, and he eventually parted with the German giants in 2014. Up next was a brief spell at Brighton & Hove Albion of England before spending time in Switzerland as manager of FC Zürich. It was 2018 when he began managing in Finland, becoming manager of Kemi Kings. Last year, he joined FC Ilves, his latest club, completing his career to date. It was a career which had been winding down from the highs of European football with a major club to clubs in the lower leagues of Finnish football. His managerial ability certainly did not fit his playing ability.

Sami was honest about his abilities and openly discussed, with the media, the mistakes he had made during his time as a manager. He earned a lot of respect from the public for his words, with many football fans finding it easy to identify with a figure they idolised dearly. Sami had become the public's best friend and had a major backing in Finland. Win, draw or loss, he was always able to rely on his club's fans, and the fans of other clubs, to support his decisions.

Despite being enemies in the league, Sami and I were close away from work. It was Sami who gave me the most important piece of advice I had ever received in my managerial career. He had taught me to compartmentalise my work.

"Football takes a toll on you like no other sport, Kalle. It may not be as intense here in Finland as it is in Europe but do not let that deceive you; football becomes your life and your life becomes football if you're not careful. Make sure that you have a life outside of football, or you shall have no life at all."

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The league play so us compete in six fixtures during May. We proved to be strong enough to win all six. Kevin Larsson was inspirational against JJK, scoring a well-taken brace. Akseli Ollila scored four goals in a 5-1 thumping of KTP, just days after we defeated them in the Suomen Cup semi finals. Wins against AC Kajaani, Gnistan Helsinki and KPV Kokkola followed before a major victory over fellow title challengers FC Ilves, who were managed by Sami Hyypiä.

We continued our amazing adventure in the Suomen Cup. Two late goals helped us to victory away to TPS in the quarter finals before we then defeated KTP late on in the semi finals. SJK stood in our way in the final and, despite an impressive performance on our part, they scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to claim the trophy and break our hearts.

Antti Pokela was our hero in May. The young striker was contesting a starting spot in the team with teenage wonderkid Jesper Santanen and, while both players performed extraordinarily, Pokela was incredible. Pokela scored in every game he played, finding the back of the net seven times, and also assisted two other goals.

So far, so perfect. Seven wins from seven had put us into a position of real ascendancy. Our magnificent goal scoring record was only matched by FC Ilves, who played two games more than us. Our defensive record was the best in the league. With only twenty games remaining in the league, we knew that a few more wins in a row would make us certain favourites to win the league.

A significant increase in wage expenditure this season meant that our balance was dropping rapidly. We were anticipating this but it was a risk worth taking for potential promotion. We knew that the only way to keep our spending sustainable was to earn promotion.

Seven big games for us in June. We knew that another unbeaten month would put us in an enviable position on top of the league with a strong lead. That was our aim.

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It was just Ykkönen action for us in June, and for the remainder of the season. We started the month brightly, recording a comfortable win away to a very strong FC Haka side. This was followed up with a come-from-behind win over JJK at Harjun stadion. We forced victories against KPV Kokkola, MP Mikkeli and Kemi Kings. We dropped points in draws against MP Mikkeli and KTP, but they were results that could be seen as points rescued rather than points dropped. We knew it would have been difficult to record a 100% record throughout the entire season, so drawing games wasn't too much of a disappointment. For good measure, I had the players doing sprints for an entire 24 hours after each draw.

Riku Sjöroos was our hero in June. Akseli Ollila picked up a medium-term injury during June, leaving Riku as our only real AML. He produced the goods, scoring four times in June as he helped our team to another undefeated month. He was fast becoming a club hero.

Almost perfect. We were fourteen points clear after fourteen games. We scored more goals and conceded fewer than anybody else. Just over the halfway stage, we looked like winning the league comfortably. We knew that one more good month was going to be enough to all-but secure the title early.

Bleh.

Fixture congestion was over. We were back to playing one game per week, which allowed us ample time to prepare for each fixture. We were excited about having the opportunity to all-but wrap up the league title. The game against FC Ilves was an opportunity to knock them out of the race.

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Kalle Koskinen rejected advances made by the German FA as leaders of of the German national team made the former Finland and Bayern Munich midfielder their number one target for the vacant managerial position. Koskinen was offered the job a week after Germany lifted the UEFA European Championship with a 1-0 win over Holland in the final at Wembley. Former manager Joachim Löw resigned from the role, citing his desire to return to club management as his reason for departing from his role.

Kalle Koskinen had been selected as ideal candidate due to his profound philosophy of integrating younger players into his squad with minimal deterrence. Koskinen took charge of Finnish lower league side Peimari United in December 2018 and has pushed through promising youngsters Kevin Larsson, Rasmus Nielsen, Jukka Virtanen, Jesper Santanen, Akseli Ollila, and others, during his time at the club which has so far yielded a Kakkonen league title, a Kakkonen Cup title, two Suomen Cup finals, while Peimari currently lead the Ykkönen by an unassailable margin.

While Koskinen's managerial career has, to date, not yielded more than a couple of lower league trophies in Finland, it was perhaps his reputation as a player which enticed the German FA. Koskinen was an integral part of the Bayern Munich side which won the UEFA Champions League in 2013, having finished as runners-up in 2010 and 2012 too. Koskinen formed an ideal partnership with veteran midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, and his ideology of football on and off the pitch has put him in the public eye more often than not. The German public had grown fond of Koskinen during his time as a player in Munich.

According to Franz Beckenbauer, who was acting as a spokesperson for the German FA, Kalle Koskinen rejected the FA's approaches to continue on as Peimari United manager. Beckenbauer emphasised his admiration and respect for Koskinen, who is reportedly keen on 'continuing his project with Peimari United'. Beckenbauer insisted that the German FA had a number of other managers on their shortlist, but was not drawn into revealing any names of those who the organisation had contacted, or plan on contacting in the future.

Former Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster has been heavily linked to the role in recent days, with the German out of a job since leaving Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang in 2018. Schuster's managerial career began in 1997 with Fortuna Köln. Since then, Schuster has managed FC 1. Köln, Xerez, Shakhtar Donetsk, Levante, Getafe, Real Madrid, Beşiktaş, Málaga and Dalian Yifang. Schuster guided Real Madrid to La Liga success in 2008.