Kalle Koskinen: The Iceman

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Peimari United have lost star midfielder Moussa Faye to a season-ending injury. The twenty-three year old Senegalese midfielder injured his ankle in a tackle against BSC Young Boys in yesterday's UEFA Europa League third round qualifier, and Faye was left in some distress. Peimari's number eight was stretchered off the pitch with a protective boot around his ankle and was today diagnosed with a broken ankle which will rule him out until January, ending his season prematurely.

Moussa signed for Peimari United in January this year to replace outgoing star Oliver Antman. Moussa was a product of Italian Seria A side Fiorentina's youth academy, but failed to make a single senior appearance for La Viola before ending his stay with the club in June. Faye signed a contract with Peimari United until November 2024, worth an estimated €575 per week. Faye's signature was well received by Peimari United supporters, who were excited to bring in a player who had featured regularly for Fiorentina at youth level, as well as playing for Senegal U20s previously.

Faye was an instant success for Peimari United, scoring three goals in Suomen Cup qualifying fixtures, cementing his place as a key player in the side. Faye starred for Peimari United in Europa League qualifiers, scoring once away to Slavia Praha in the first qualifying round first leg before scoring twice in the return leg. He scored another two goals when Peimari United traveled to Serbia to face FK Vojvodina in the second qualifying round first leg, but was ruled out for the second leg with a twisted knee that he picked up in the first leg.

Faye's goal scoring influence from midfield will be sorely missed by Peimari United. Eight goals and three assists in twenty-four appearances, primarily as a box-to-box midfielder, underlined his ability to create goal scoring chances for himself and for his team mates, but his defensive work has also been an impressive attribute. Faye averaged 1.38 tackles per game in all competitions, an impressive feat for any player.

With Faye ruled out until January, he will miss the remainder of the Veikkausliiga season. He will also be unavailable for any Europa League games until 2023, should Peimari United be competing in the Europa League at that stage. His earliest predicted return to first-team action is when Suomen Cup qualifiers begin early next year. Peimari United are expected to look for a short-term replacement to fill the void left by Faye, with a number of players linked. Could a new signing be announced soon?

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Veikkausliiga table-toppers Peimari United today completed the signing of former Finland star Roman Eremenko. The thirty-five year old midfield playmaker joined the club on a deal running until November 2023, worth an estimated €550 per week. However, an agreement is in place whereby Eremenko may retire at any stage during his contract, making his deal with club void. It is believed that Eremenko was brought in to fill the void left by the injured Moussa Faye, who broke his ankle in a game against BSC Young Boys.

Roman was born in Moscow, Russia, on 19th March 1987. He is the son of former midfielder Alexei Eremenko Sr.. Alexei moved to Finland in 1990 to play in the Finnish football system, most notably for FF Jaro. Roman moved with his entire family and gained Finnish citizenship, and a Finnish passport during his time in Finland. Roman joined the youth team of FF Jaro, the team his father played for, based in the west of Finland. Roman spent time with the youth academies of Tromsø IL and HJK, while his father played with them, before eventually returning to the youth side of FF Jaro in 2003.

In the 2004 season, Roman Eremenko made his senior debut for FF Jaro, bizarrely playing alongside his own father in midfield. Eremenko showed talent at his young age, and was headhunted by Italian side Udinese in the summer of 2005. Udinese paid €50,000 for the services of Eremenko, and he went on to make his senior debut for Udinese in the 2006/2006 season. Eremenko made 13 appearances for Udinese across two seasons, with a loan spell at fellow Serie A side Siena in the middle, before moving to Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv on loan for the 2008/2009 season.

Eremenko impressed in his loan season at Dynamo Kyiv as he helped his team to the league title, and the capital club shelled out €3,800,000 to make Eremenko's stay a permanent one in the summer of 2009. Eremenko made 117 appearances for Kyiv in all competitions before eventually departing for Russian giants Rubin Kazan in August 2011 for a gob-smacking €11,000,000.

Eremenko spent the vast majority of his career in the Russian Premier League. He made 102 appearances in all competitions for Rubin Kazan, scoring 17 goals, before departing for domestic rivals CSKA Moscow in 2014 for a cut-price €5,500,000 fee. His debut season in Moscow was a glorious one, as he scored 13 league goals. Eremenko played a key role in CSKA's league title victory in the 2015/2016 season, but found himself forced out of the club soon after.

On 6th October 2016, UEFA had banned Roman Eremenko from football by UEFA for 30 days due to failing an anti-doping check. On 18th November 2016, Eremenko's ban was extended to two years after trace quantities of crack cocaine were found in his system. Eremenko's ban from football saw Finland's star player leave CSKA Moscow.

Eremenko made his return to football with Spartak Moscow in the 2018/2019 season, making 102 appearances for Spartak in all competitions before departing in January 2022. During his time at Spartak Moscow, Eremenko lifted the Russian Premier League on two occasions, adding to the title he won at CSKA Moscow. Eremenko then joined Royal Antwerp of Belgium for €100,000 in January 2022, but made just six appearances before leaving the club in June.

Peimari United will be the final club in Eremenko's playing career. The 107-time capped Finnish international, the second-most capped player in Finland's history, will retire at some stage in 2023. A clause exists in his contract allowing him to render it void should he choose to retire at any point in 2023. The midfielder is likely to play as a playmaker in Peimari United's system. Eremenko is looking to make his return to Veikkausliiga football a successful one, and wants to be a part of a Veikkausliiga-winning side this season.

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Finnish Veikkausliiga side Peimari United suffered their first ever defeat in European competition as they lost 1-2 to BSC Young Boys in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League third qualifying round at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion. The result was not enough for Young Boys to fight back after the first leg, however, as Peimari United progressed with a 5-2 aggregate win over the Swiss giants.

Without the injured Moussa Faye in midfield, Peimari United lacked energy in their play in the first half, with very few chances created. They came close just before half-time when Jesper Santanen wriggled away from two defenders before pinging a shot just over the bar from the edge of the box. Young Boys were unable to create any chances of note in the first half, with the home side looking comfortable with their four-goal lead from the first leg.

The first goal of the game came with just over thirty minutes remaining. Wide attacker Kevin Larsson was fouled in the box by Steven Zuber in Young Boys' box to earn Peimari United a penalty. Up stepped teenage striker Jesper Santanen and he made no mistake from twelve yards, placing the ball to the left of Young Boys' goalkeeper David Von Ballmoos and into the back of the net. It was a goal that left Young Boys needing to score five goals in the the final thirty-three minutes.

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To give credit where it's due, Young Boys gave their best go at it. On the hour mark, they scored their first goal of the tie, capitalising on a rare defensive error by Peimari United. Peimari left back Jukka Virtanen miscontrolled a loose ball inside his own box and Young Boys striker Roger Assalé pounced on the opportunity. Assalé shouldered Virtanen off the ball before finishing beyond Tornike Dzadzamia from close range. The tie looked beyond Young Boys, but they were determined to leave Finland with some pride.

Young Boys' second goal came from some more sloppy defending by Peimari United. Young Boys had a free kick near the half-way line, and substitute Stefan Savic stepped up to take it. The winger's deep cross found fellow substitute Leonardo Bertone at the back post, and the midfielder flicked his header into the top corner. A good finish, but he was left in acres of space by a Peimari United defence that was too slow to pick him up from the dead-ball scenario.

Young Boys won the game on the night, taking advantage of a sleepy Peimari United, but could not get themselves back into the tie. The damage was done at Wankdorf, and Young Boys were not potent enough to get back on their feat after the spanking that was delivered to them last week. Peimari United progressed, at the expense of Young Boys, who were well-and-truly beaten over two legs.

Finnish Veikkausliiga side Peimari United will face FK Schachzjor Salihorsk of Belarus in the fourth, and final, qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. The first leg will be played on 18th August at Stroitel' in Solihorsk, Belarus. The return leg will be played on 25th August at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion in Turku, Finland. The winner over the two legs will progress to the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. Peimari United are slight favourites for the tie.

Founded in 1961, FK Schachzjor Salihorsk won the Belarus top division once, in 2005. They won the Belarusian Cup three times, with their most recent cup victory coming in 2019. Salihorsk's first European adventure came in the 2001/2002 season in a UEFA Cup qualifier. However, CSKA Sofia defeated them then. Salihorsk have never qualified for the UEFA Europa League group stage, but have reached the fourth qualifying round twice before (losing to PSV in 2014/2015 and losing to AS Saint-Étienne in 2020/2021). Salihorsk will be looking to go one further this season, having already impressively progressed beyond Shakhter Karagandy of Kazakhstan, Dinamo București of Romania and Hibernian of Scotland this campaign.

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Peimari United put one foot into the group stages of the UEFA Europa League with a 2-0 win in the first leg of their fourth qualifying round tie against Belarus side FK Schachzjor Salihorsk. A brace from German attacker Mats Köhlert did the damage, as Peimari will look to seal progression at home next week, having kept a clean sheet at Stroitel'.

Without Moussa Faye, the star of their Europa League qualifying campaign to date, in midfield, Peimari United did not look much worse off with new signing Roman Eremenko making his European debut for Peimari United in Belarus. The former Finnish international dictated the pace of the game and helped his side keep their composure throughout the game, slowing down and speeding up the pace of the game at his own leisure.

Peimari's opening goal came from a poor error by the hosts. Just before half-time, Peimari's flying full-back Niko Lehtinen charged down the right wing. Lehtinen sent in a cross to the penalty area, where Mats Köhlert was breaking into. Salihorsk goalkeeper Sergey Chernik had rushed out to intercept the pass, but Köhlert got to the ball first and simply flicked the ball beyond Chernik's reach and into the back of the net. A very easy goal for Peimari United to take the lead from.

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Peimari United wrapped up the game with a second away goal in stoppage time, with Mats Köhlert once again scoring. Following some good break-up play in midfield from Akseli Ollila, Jukka Virtanen charged down the left with the ball. The full-back crossed to the far post, where Köhlert was present to aim his defender low and into the far corner to give Peimari a valuable lead going into the second leg of the tie.

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Finnish Veikkausliiga table-toppers Peimari United secured progression to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League following a dominant 3-1 second leg victory against FK Schachzjor Salihorsk of Belarus in the fourth qualifying round. Combined with last week's victory in Salihorsk, Belarus, Peimari United marched through the round with a 5-1 victory over their opponents, beating all the odds to reach the group stage of Europe's second biggest club competition.

An electric start to games has become a mantra of Peimari United, and they produced a similarly exciting start against FK Schachzjor Salihorsk at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion in Turku. Their first goal came in the thirteenth minute, with Croatian teenage midfielder Silvio Tokic getting on the score sheet. The goal was created by Kevin Larsson, who produced a wicked near-post cross from the right wing. Tokic raced forward from midfield and was unchallenged as he powered a free headed beyond Salihorsk's goalkeeper Sergey Chernik, giving Peimari an early lead in the tie.

Veteran midfielder's Roman Eremenko has had an incredible influence on the Peimari United dressing room since joining the club, and the former Finnish international star created Peimari's second goal. From the halfway line, Eremenko floated the most incredible of long-range passes on to the edge of Salihorsk's box, where teenage striker Jesper Santanen was on hand to control the ball before picking out the bottom far corner with a neat left-footed finish to all but kill off the entire tie.

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Jesper Santanen doubled his tally for the day from the penalty spot just minutes later. The young striker was fouled inside the box by Salihorsk's Yan Maschenko and the teenage forward stepped up to the twelve yard spot. He placed the ball to the goalkeeper's left to give his side a three-goal cushion on the day, and a five-goal cushion on aggregate. The tie was almost definitely over.

Despite being effectively out of the tie, Salihorsk found some pride in scoring a goal in the second half. Nenad Adamovic led a fast-moving counter attack for the visitors, and his centered ball to Anton Yermakovich was incredibly accurate. Yermakovich took one touch before finishing to the left of Peimari's Tornike Dzadzamia. The goal was nothing more than a consolation for the Belarus side, however, as Peimari saw the game out.

The fourth qualifying round victory for Peimari United sees them earn a place in the UEFA Europa League group stage. Due to having 0 coefficient points, Peimari United will be seeded in the fourth pot of the draw, meaning they will be likely to face a number of top teams in the group stage. The draw will take place tomorrow, with Finnish football fans sure to follow the live draw with excitement.

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Finnish Veikkausliiga side were handed a very challenging group in the UEFA Europa League. The Paimio-based football side defeated SK Slavia Praha, FK Vojvodina, BSC Young Boys and FK Schachzjor Salihorsk en route to the group stage, and were rewarded for their troubles with a group draw which will see them face Udinese Calcio of Italy, CSKA Moscow of Russia and FC København of Denmark in a hot Group H. Due to major rescheduling to compensate for the winter-based FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year, Group H will only kick off on 20th October, to allow for domestic competitions to be scheduled in bulk before hand. The final Group H fixtures will be played on 5th January 2023.

FC København were seeded in the first pot for the draw. Founded in 1992, FCK have become Denmark's most successful team since their inception. Fifteen Superliga and eight DBU Cup titles have attested to their domestic dominance. FCK's most successful UEFA Champions League campaign came in the 2010/2011 season where they reached the last sixteen. Chelsea defeated them in that tie. FCK have been regulars in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Europa League, reaching the second round last season.
FCK disappointed domestically last season, finishing third in the Danish Superliga. However, Danish manager Johnny Mølby has professed that his team are in the midst of a major reshape, with a number of new signings brought in this summer. Despite Viktor Fischer (€7,750,000 to Liverpool) and Mohamed Daramy (€4,700,000 to FC Bayern München) leaving this summer, the club managed to bring in Sergi Samper (€4,800,000 from West Ham), Rasmus Nissen Kristensen (loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach), Everton Felipe (€500,000 from Internacional) and Felipe Jonatan (€3,600,000 from Botafogo) to bolster their ranks. The experienced Rasmus Falk and Nicolai Boilesen are expected to play key roles this season.


Udinese Calcio were seeded into the second pot for the draw. The Udine-based club was founded, as a football club, in 1911. They have never won Italy's top flight, the Serie A, and have never won their country's major cup competition, Coppa Italia. Udinese have once reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, in the 2005/2006 season, but finished third in a group which contained eventual winners FC Barcelona. Udinese's most successful UEFA Europa League campaign came back in the 2008/2009 season where they reached the quarter finals in the then-UEFA Cup. German side Werder Bremen defeated them. Udinese reached the last sixteen last season, but lost on away goals to German side Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Udinese qualified directly for the Europa League group stage this season by finishing in fifth place in the Serie A last season. They have so far had a mixed start to the Serie A season, with wins against Sassuolo and Frosinone Calcio at home, drawing away to AS Roma and Cagliari. Udinese will be looking for inspiration from new signings Leandro Trossard (€5,000,000 from Lyon), Simone Lo Faso (€3,800,000 from Palermo), Sandro (€14,500,000 from Everton), Vladimir Darida (€4,600,000 from Leicester) and Alberto (loan from Real Madrid). The new signings join key players Ignacio Pussetto, Federico Dimarco, Antonin Barak and Rolando Mandragora at manager Julio Velázquez' side, as Udinese look to break in to the Serie A top four, and earn progression in Europe.

CSKA Moscow were seeded into the third pot for the draw. Founded in 1911, CSKA came to prominence in the twenty-first century courtesy of serious investment. Since 2002, CSKA have won six Russian Premier League titles, eight Russian Cup titles and seven Russian Super Cup titles. CSKA's solitary European trophy came in the 2004/2005 season, when they won the UEFA Cup with a 3-1 victory against Sporting CP in the final. Their most successful UEFA Champions League season came in the 2009/2010 season where they reached the quarter finals, only to be eliminated by eventual winners Inter Milan. CSKA reached the last sixteen of the Europa League last season, but lost out to SSC Napoli.

CSKA had a quiet transfer window, with Alexandr Yerokhin (€325,000 from Krasnodar) the only signing. The capital side will be relying on key players Nélson Monte, Mário Fernandes, Alan Dzagoev and Kenneth Omeruo to get them through the tough group. Serbian manager Zoran Mirkovic saw his team qualify for the Europa League third qualifying round by finishing third in the Russian Premier League last season. They defeated Heart of Midlothian and HNK Rijeka en route to the group stage this season. Their domestic season to date has been one of mixed fortune. Despite defeating Ural, Arsenal Tula and SKA-Khabarovsk, CSKA have drawn against Dynamo Moscow and lost to Lokomotiv Moscow. CSKA will be looking to finish this season with at least one trophy, and want to make a grand charge in the Europa League.

Peimari United's first group stage game will come on 20th October when they host CSKA Moscow at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion in Turku, Finland. A club record-breaking crowd is expected to attend. Peimari will follow this up with away games against CSKA Moscow (3rd November) and FC København (24th November), before hosting Udinese (8th December). Peimari's final two games will see them host FC København (31st December) and visit Udinese (5th January), as the fixtures face a jumbled scheduling due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Fellow Finnish side HJK also qualified for the UEFA Europa League group stage. Their European journey this season began in July when they faced Molde FK in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. However, defeat over the two legs saw HJK moved to Europa League qualifying. They successfully navigated the challenges of Alashkert and Beitar Yerushalayim to progress to the group stage. HJK were handed a difficult group as they look to play against RB Leizpig, sc Heerenveen and Malmö FF in Group K.