Kalle Koskinen: The Iceman

1

1

Peimari United manager Kalle Koskinen today extended his contract at the club. The former Bayern Munich and Finland midfielder earned back-to-back promotions and league titles with Peimari United since taking the reigns for the 2019 season, and won the Suomen Cup while finishing in a respectable second place in the Veikkausliiga last term. The thirty-six year old has extended his new deal until November 2024.

Kalle Koskinen's term as Peimari United manager to date has been somewhat of a near-perfect fairy tale. Since arriving at the club in December 2018, Koskinen has brought the club to new heights despite all the odds stacked against him. Koskinen unleashed his own brand of high-intensity attacking football to the Paimio-based club and led the team to a Kakkonen league title in his maiden season in management, while also finishing as runners-up in the Suomen Cup final. Koskinen's second season was even more successful, as he led his side to the Ykkönen title in an undefeated league season, while also finishing as runners-up in the Suomen Cup final for a second consecutive season. Koskinen and Peimari United finally broke their Suomen Cup final hoodoo last term, as they secured the trophy with an emphatic 4-1 victory over SJK in the final, but had to settle for a runners-up position in the Veikkausliiga, as HJK pipped them to the title late on in the season.

The upcoming season will see Peimari United go head-to-head with HJK, and others, in pursuit of the Veikkausliiga title once again, while the club will also make its debut in European competition. Peimari United will enter the UEFA Europa League in the first qualification round, with a coefficient of 0 (having never played in European competition before). Last season's Veikkausliiga runners-up are not expected to progress too far in the competition this term, but the financial revenue made from participating will boost the club's development since its formation in 2010.

Kalle Koskinen has cited the club's involvement in Veikkausliiga and UEFA competition as reason enough to sign an extension, and has promised to keep in line with the club's philosophy of developing young players within the first team. With Kevin Larsson and Oliver Antman recently leaving for €165,000 and €145,000, respectively, Koskinen has promised that the club will try to keep hold of its promising players, but may be forced to sell players if major bids come in.

1

1

1

First in the door was youngster Marco Aurélio. The Brazilian came through the Anapolina academy in Brazil but failed to make a senior appearance before being released. His agent offered him up on a plate for a free transfer, and we took the risk on him. It was a risk we saw as worth taking, and Aurélio was immediately pushed into the youth team.

Alongside Aurélio was Tornike Dzadzamia. The young Georgian goalkeeper made thirty-six senior appearances for Dinamo Tbilisi before he turned eighteen years old and left the club in search of a better club. The one-time capped Georgian goalkeeper joined the club with an eye to becoming the club's starting goalkeeper. Dzadzamia became, arguably, the best goalkeeper in the league immediately and was rated as one of the best young goalkeepers in the world.

Lucas Villela came in to provide quality in the wide attacking positions. The Brazilian attacker most recently played for Lithuanian side Stumbras before joining Peimari United on a free transfer. He had some amount of pace to burn, and was a very competent player on the ball. His major attribute was his flair, and he was capable of producing something from nothing.

Kevin Larsson rejoined the club on a one-year loan deal from Sochi, having left for the Russian side in a €165,000 deal last season. Larsson came in to regain his starting spot at the club. His ability to score and assist goals on a regular basis made him an ideal signing, even if just on a short-term deal.

Antti-Ville Räisänen was a mistake of a signing. He was highly-rated by my scouts, but he was less than impressive since joining. We were looking to ship him out as quickly as we brought him in, as we were certain he would not make a meaningful impact in our squad.

Johannes Laaksonen was a particularly exciting signing. The former SJK midfielder was a veteran Veikkausliiga player and had the quality to be the heartbeat of our midfield, following the departure of Oliver Antman. However, Laaksonen suffered a career-ending achilles injury in his first few days of training with the club, and was/will be forced into early retirement.

Our only fee paid was for Miikka Vanhala. The young holding midfielder joined from EsPa for €110. The teenage midfielder made fifty-four senior appearances for EsPa in all competitions before completing his move to Peimari United and joined to become an understudy to current starting holding midfielder Eero Hyökyvirta.

Moussa Faye joined following the departure of Oliver Antman. The Senegalese midfielder was a youth product of Fiorentina and, despite not making any senior appearances for the club, was very highly rated. The midfielder made three U20 appearances for his country, and instantly became one of the star players of the Veikkausliiga. His ability as a playmaker, alongside his defensive abilities, made him an ideal candidate for a role in our midfield.

Yuri became our final signing (to date). The Brazilian central defender joined on a free transfer, having most recently played for Portuguese side Académica Coimbra. Yuri made eighty-five appearances in total for Coimbra from 2016 until 2022 and joined Peimari United as a highly-rated player. While he was known for bending the rules on the pitch from time-to-time, he certainly added to Peimari's defence, which was shaky at best last season.

Oliver Antman was the main departure, leaving for a hefty €145,000 fee. Several senior players left on loan, while some younger players left permanently, in a relatively quiet window of departures for Peimari United.

We had every reason to be pleased with our performances in the qualifying games, except for the last one. We began with a tough trip to FC Lahti. Kevin Larsson, who returned to the club on loan, kicked off our season with a well-taken goal before proving to be key in both of Jarno Seppälä's goals. Lahti scored one, but our three was enough to secure an opening day victory to the sound of 3-1.

Larsson showed us what we were missing in the end of last season's title-race as he went on to score four goals in our next game, against HIFK. We conceded three goals, but our six goals was enough for us to win 6-3.

We began to experiment a bit more in the next few games, and Moussa Faye's first goal for the club was the difference in a tight clash against FC Ilves as we came out 1-0 winners. It was a tough game, but the players were being put through their paces thoroughly ahead of the upcoming Veikkausliiga season and secured the win.

A second-half rally saw us defeat KuPS 2-0 in our second-last qualifier. Last season's marquee signing Guido Claeys scored from the spot before Moussa Faye scored his second goal in as many games to give us a win which guaranteed us progression to the knockout rounds of the Suomen Cup.

There was plenty of rotation for our final game, and SJK took advantage as they inflicted a 1-2 defeat on us. On-loan star Robinho (no, not that one) opened proceedings for SJK, before Moussa Faye scored to level the game for us. SJK star Maximo Tolonen proved the difference, and scored the winner for the hosts in the second half.

The last sixteen draw was somewhat kind on us. We were drawn against Ykkönen side IFK Mariehamn. The game was to be played at Idrottsparken in Mariehamn, on the island of Åland at the end of April. We were major favourites for the fixture, but we were not going to take anything for granted. We wanted to add another Suomen Cup trophy to our ever-increasing cabinet.

1

Juhannus brought with it the warm rays of the summer sun, and lit up all of Finland on a weekend celebrated as religiously as Christmas. It was the celebration of midsummer; when the summer solstice occurred. For the people of Finland, it had become a tradition to begin the festivities wildly on a Thursday night, carrying on into the late hours of Sunday. For the Finnish people, it was a time of true and utter freedom from the struggles of the world, with little or no constraints in place to hold them back from celebrating life to the fullest.

Joonas and Mia had planned their wedding for the Sunday of Juhannus without considering the event itself, but it was a very happy coincidence. The atmosphere within the chapel was jovial as just under forty people fitted into brick and marble-clad room. The seats were wrapped in white covers, separated by a single aisle which ran from the main doors to an open space at the fore of the room. Two potted cherry blossom trees were present in the space, one on either side of the middle where a long-bearded wedding minister stood, discussing arrangements with a groomsman underneath an ornate chandelier which hung low from the vaulted ceiling.

In attendance were a few of Joonas' family, as well as his friends, while Mia had some of the cast of Scoot present to support her, as well as a number of the supporting members including manager Syb and his peculiar son Sebastien Tyson. Alongside them sat a man of the nickname Genie, who supposedly sold crack cocaine to fund an extravagant lifestyle which regularly involved prostitutes and high-grade drugs. He was Ukrainian, by origin, and his skin was tanned by years of hard-weathering and sun exposure.

Many of the attendees were still reeling from the after-effects of a Saturday night Juhannus celebration, but they did not show it as conversation flowed more freely than the alcohol which they indulged upon during the course of the weekend. Spirits were high on the final day of the midsummer celebration, with an additional celebration to look forward to in the coming minutes. Joonas' and Mia's relationship was held in high regard by everybody who knew them, except for Christian Schäfer. However, Schäfer was relieved of his duties at Scoot following his assault on Mia on the night that she met Joonas Koskinen. The German had disappeared since, with his volatile and outspoken treachery unmissed by the remaining members of Scoot.

Shortly before six o'clock, Joonas entered the chapel and stood at the open space in front of the wedding minister. His father, Karl, stood at his elbow with a proud grin bared across his face. A veil of respectful silence had descended upon the occupants of the room, and each witness stood from their seats as Mia entered the room shortly after. Dressed in a traditional white wedding gown, her unearthly beauty roused a number of gasps of awe from the crowd.

At the sound of the gasps, Joonas turned around from where he stood to witness the centre of everybody's affection. As his eyes fell upon Mia, a loving smile cracked his face. The sight of Mia, as beautiful as she ever looked, reaffirmed his love for her. On the outside, she was a figure cut from dreams of the gods. On the inside, she was kind, caring, witty and honest. She brought out the very best of Joonas, and he felt that he brought out the very best of her. It was a match made in heaven.

As Mia joined Joonas at the fore of the room, the wedding minister began proceedings. His name was Stamatis and he spoke with a heavy Greek accent. Stamatis' brother, Jim, was Joonas' foreman at the Nokia factory which he worked at. Joonas was a supervisor there, and struck up a close friendship with Jim, who was a good friend to Joonas. Stamatis was a bit on the unusual side, with his beard falling in long straggly curls, and his hair dropped below his waist. He wore a pair of small round glasses which made his head look like the size of a blimp.

The ceremony itself was brief and went flawlessly. Joonas and Mia kissed at the end of it to mark the occasion with a sign of their commitment to each other. They were applauded by the friends and family who had joined them for their special day. They had tied the knot and had begun a life together that they both looked forward to. They had made the decision to live in Finland, away from the mainland of Europe and in a place where Joonas and Mia felt they could forge their own family together in happiness and in safety.

For Mia, her lucky and timely first meeting with Joonas broke her out of a dark time in her life. While she was in her dream occupation as a dancer on major stages for a world-renowned dance troupe, she lost both of her parents to a tragic family while she was a teenager. Travelling around Europe to perform in front of capacity crowds had provided her with an escape from the reality that she was truly alone. When she met Joonas for the first time, he had filled the void left in her life by the death of her parents.

The hardships that Mia endured were all forgotten. She had been welcomed with open arms into the Koskinen family. As a married woman, she planned to conclude her involvement with Scoot and secure an occupation near the Helsinki region where she could be close to Joonas and start a family together. She looked forward to her future with Joonas, and to living a long and happy life as a Koskinen.

1

1

Mats Köhlert was brought in to further bolster our attack. The twenty-three year old was signed from HSV where he made one appearance, in the DFB-Pokal in 2018. Köhlert made sixty-six appearances for the club's second team before being released by the club midway through the 2021/2022 season. Köhlert was brought in on a hefty wage, in comparison to the rest of the squad. He was an incredibly competent attacker with great all-round technical abilities. He was also an incredibly determined, hard-working player who fitted into the mold of player that the club wanted.

A number of players left the club on loan during April. The vast majority of these were senior players, with Antti-Ville Räisänen, Ville Saikkonen, Teemu Honkaniemi and Janne Nutikka among those to leave the club in search of first-team football on a temporary basis.

A win over FC Ilves gave us a strong start to the Veikkausliiga campaign. It was a dramatic late fixture, with all three goals coming in the final twenty minutes. We took the lead with twenty minutes to go when Jesper Santanen slided in a finish from the edge of the box. FC Ilves equalised with twelve minutes remaining through Thiaw. We were desperate for a win, and we got the winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. We played the ball from side-to-side on the edge of Ilves' box before Virtanen was picked out free on the left-hand side of the penalty area. The left back fired a low finish across goal which beat Ilves' keeper, and gave us the win.

Up next was our first home game of the Veikkausliiga season, as we hosted HIFK. Belgian striker Guido Claeys got us off to the perfect start as he netted from close range in the second minute of the game. Akseli Ollila doubled our lead early on in the second half and we played the rest of the game out well with a strong defensive resilience as we earned our second win in as many games in the league.

Our run of form in the league took a turn for the worse as we struggled away to TPS. They held strong to deny us three points in a goalless draw at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion.

Next up was a trip to VPS, which we struggled even further in. A goal from Victor gave VPS all three points as we suffered our first defeat in the league of the 2022 season. A disappointing result for us.

We recovered from two poor results as we then hosted RoPS in our final Veikkausliiga game of the season. Our Brazilian central defender Yuri was our one and only goal scorer as he scored a header from a corner delivered by new signing Mats Köhlert.

IFK Mariehamn was our opponent in the Suomen Cup last sixteen. The game, played at Idrottsparken in Mariehamn, was too exciting for my liking. IFK Mariehamn took the lead in the first half, but we equalised late on through Iiro Järvinen. Järvinen then gave us the lead with just over five minutes to go, but IFK Mariehamn bounced back through Kangaskolkka. Jesper Santanen stuck in a ninetieth minute winner for us to give us the win and progression to the quarter final stage.

We hosted FC Haka in the quarter finals, and we won the game with a fair amount of ease. New signing Mats Köhlert was the star of the show as he bagged a brace, and created a number of other good chances, while Brazilian attacker Lucas Villela also got on the score sheet for us. We had successfully booked our place in the semi final stage of the competition, as we looked to retain the Suomen Cup title.

Mats Köhlert was our hero in April. Despite only playing twice for Peimari United since joining mid-month, Köhlert became an instant hero by assisting Yuri's winner against RoPS in the Veikkausliiga before scoring an incredible brace against FC Haka in the Suomen Cup quarter final stage.

Not the perfect of starts, but it was a strong one. We were in a title race once again but we needed to make sure that we didn't drop too many HJK had a disastrous start to the season, but we expected them to pick up the pace sooner or later.

May was set to be an incredibly exciting month for us. In terms of Veikkausliiga action, we had games against FC Lahti, AC Oulu, HJK, FC Inter Turku, SJK and KuPS coming up. HJK was set to be the big test, but we had to be wary of the ability of FC Inter Turku and SJK too. We also had a Suomen Cup semi final coming up against VPS, away from home. We were hoping to earn a place in the final, which was to be played in May too. Hopefully May would bring us another trophy.