Kalle Koskinen: The Iceman

1

Finnish Veikkausliiga side Peimari United have had their most successful season to date. They have been unrelenting in their pursuit for the Veikkausliiga title, have won the Suomen Cup for a second season running, and have just secured passage to the UEFA Europa League group stage where they will face European giants Udinese Calcio, CSKA Moscow and FC København. Their European progression has seen the club come into a great financial windfall from prize money and gate receipts.

Peimari United chairman Antti Eklund has allocated a large chunk of this money to improving the club's core facilities. The club will spend €850,000 on completely revamping the club's training facilities. The development is expected to bring the training facilities to a standard that matches the other top teams in Finland. The club will also spend €150,000 on redeveloping the club's youth facilities. Both developments will begin at the end of the club's Veikkausliiga season, and will be completed by the beginning of April next year, before next season's Veikkausliiga season begins.

Eklund has also allocated €110,000 to developing brand new data analysis facilities. The club's existing analysis facilities includes a flat screen monitor, a computer, and a CD-drive, all within the manager Kalle Koskinen's office. The new facilities will see a dedicated analysis room fitted into the club's training facilities, with a number of monitors and playback tools to be used for in-depth game and player analysis.

Eklund has also stated that the club are looking at further expanding HakkisPaana stadium. Peimari United's home ground was expanded to a capacity of 1,096 in the past year, and the club has filled out the stadium in each of the three games played there since the completion of the works. Eklund has professed that any expansion to the ground will have to be big enough to make an investment worthwhile, but no final decision will be made for a number of months.

There was just one signing in August. In the wake of Moussa Faye's season-ending injury, Roman Eremenko was brought into the club on a free transfer. The veteran midfielder previously played for Udinese, Dynamo Kyiv, CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow in a glittering career and he decided to make Peimari United his final club before hanging up his boots. He was expected to become a key player for us in midfield, and added an incredible amount of experience and technical & tactical ability.

Two young players left the club on loan. Attacker Emil Karlsson joined PS-44 for the remainder of the season. He was expected to become a key player for them, and it was the ideal opportunity for him to further his career. Young Danish full back René Hendriksen joined Brønshøj BK in his native Denmark on loan. Hendriksen had played a few games for our senior team, but needed somewhere he could be a regular starter for him to really develop.

Peimari's Veikkausliiga month of August got off to a rocky start at home to HIFK. Due to European commitments, the club had to heavily rotate the team for the Veikkausliiga fixtures in between. Despite both Iiro Järvinen and Pontus Engblom getting on the score sheet for the hosts, HIFK scored twice themselves to earn a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Next up was a far more successful trip to TPS. The game at Kupittaan jalakapllostadion, Peimari's home for European games, went all in favour of the visitors. Kevin Larsson opened the scoring from the spot in the first half, and second half goals from Rasmus Holma and Roman Eremenko helped secure a 3-0 win.

The final Veikkausliiga game of the month was a home game against RoPS. Once again, we rotated our team heavy and suffered as a result. Iiro Järvinen scored his second goal of the month, but RoPS scored two in return as we lost 1-2.

Our first qualifier of the month was away to BSC Young Boys. We expected a tough game, and we got one. Despite that, we dominated the scoreline. Goals from Akseli Ollila, Jarno Seppälä and Pontus Engblom, alongside an own-goal from Jannik Vestergaard, saw us earn a surprise 4-0 victory.

Our return leg against BSC Young Boys was a case of us trying to avoid conceding four goals. We scored once, through a Jesper Santanen penalty in the second half, but Young Boys scored twice themselves to win the game. We lost 1-2 on the night, but were 5-2 aggregate victors.

The fourth round drew us against FK Schachzjor Salihorsk of Belarus, with the first leg away from home. At the stadium Stroitel', we scored twice, with German wide attacker Mats Köhlert the man who put our opponents to the sword, giving us a crucial advantage ahead of the second leg as we won 2-0.

The return leg against FK Schachzjor Salihorsk was a lot more comfortable, even though we conceded. An early goal from Silvio Tokic set us on our way, before a Jesper Santanen brace killed off the tie. Salihorsk scored in the second half on a counter attack, but we held on to a 3-1 win on the night, and a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Roman Eremenko was our hero in August. The veteran midfielder was a calming influence on the team and instantly became a key player with his ability in the middle of the park. He often ran the show and put teams to the sword with his extensive passing range and knack for cutting teams open. A brilliant free-signing for us.

As anticipated earlier on in the season, our results dropped off in the league while we were battling on a European front. So it was nice to see we didn't lose any ground at all in the league. With five games remaining, we looked like confirming our status as Veikkausliiga champions sooner rather than later. With eight games to go, we knew that five wins would guarantee us the title, but that was more likely to happen in less if we were to win our next few.

Our next update was to come after October. We had eight tough Veikkausliiga games remaining, with the most notable ones away to SJK, at home to HJK, away to FC Inter Turku, and then a home game against SJK to round off the Veikkausliiga season. In the middle of that, we were scheduled to play our first Europa League group game against CSKA Moscow at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion, our European home.

Peimari United rallied from being a goal behind to score a stoppage time equaliser against CSKA Moscow in their first match in the UEFA Europa League group stage at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion in Turku, Finland. In what was an even and exciting game, Mário Fernandes put CSKA Moscow into the lead just after half-time, but Brazilian wide attacker Lucas Villela scored in the third minute of stoppage time to hand Peimari United a dramatic late equaliser, earning a point in their opening game of the group stage.

The game between Peimari United and CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Europa League marked Peimari's first time competing in the group stage of a continental competition. Peimar broke their attendance record for the fixture, with a grand total of 5,717 spectating the game at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion, Peimari's home for European fixtures. This figure presents a major increase from their previous record of the 3,482 that were present for the home leg of their first qualifying round tie against SK Slavia Praha earlier this season.

The home fans that flocked into the stadium didn't have to wait too long for the first real excitement of the game, with Peimari United coming close in the third minute of the game. Kevin Larsson's cross-field pass was controlled well by marauding full back Jukka Virtanen. His left-footed cross picked out young striker Jesper Santanen at the near post, who saw his header sail just beyond the far post. An early warning sign that CSKA were in for a real game.

The opening goal came in the first minute of the second half, and in the favour of the visitors. Georgy Schennikov's left-sided cross was cleared by a Yuri header, but only as far as CSKA's right back Mário Fernandes who charged forward into the box and unleashed an unstoppable drive that whizzed past Peimari's Tornike Dzadzamia and nestled in the bottom left corner of Peimari's goal. Advantage CSKA.

CSKA very nearly doubled their lead minutes later, through an outstanding effort from Arnór Sigurðsson. The Icelandic attacker charged down the left before cutting in on to his right foot and firing a long-range drive at goal. Peimari's Dzadzamia sprawled to his left desperately and just about got his fingertips to the ball to deflect it wide.

Peimari fought desperately for a goal to level the game, and they got it in the third minute of stoppage time. CSKA were doing their best to repel each wave of Peimari attack, but a cross-field pass from Jukka Virtanen cut them open as Larsson picked up the ball on the right, just inside their box. Larsson charged towards the goal line before pinging a cross towards the back post where Peimari's Lucas Villela was on hand to head in from close range. Kupittaan jalkapallostadion erupted into a thunderous wave of jubilation as the home side had earned themselves a share of the spoils against a much-fancied opponent.

Our defensive record went out the window at this stage. We were all about goal scoring, and this started against SJK away from home. They were the team chasing us for the title, but we blew them out of the water on their own turf. First half goals from Miika Vanhala and Silvio Tokic set us on our way. Maximio Tolonen got his customary goal against us on the hour mark, but we struck back as Pontus Engblom scored twice either side of a second goal for Tokic, as we strolled to a resounding 5-1 victory against our fellow title-chasers.

Next up was another trip from home as we traveled to the west of Finland to face VPS. They proved a little more difficult to break down, but Jesper Santanen set us on our way before half-time. However, we went into the interval all square as Bloomfield leveled the game for them. We came out of the blocks at a frightening pace in the second half, with Jesper Santanen completing his brace before Mats Köhlert gave us some breathing space with a scorcher from range. VPS struck back once more through Sarr before the hour mark, but we held on to a priceless 3-2 win.

We finally returned to our home of HakkisPaana following its redevelopment works, and we got a sellout crowd to witness the fixture against FC Lahti. We put on a show for our fans in the first half, with Niko Lehtinen, Kevin Larsson and Silvio Tokic all getting on the score sheet. Despite a solitary Lahti goal in the second half, we cruised to a 4-1 victory courtesy of a late Lucas Villela strike.

Next up was the big rival game, as HJK came to HakkisPaana. In this fixture against them last season, at a similar time of the year, HJK overtook us in a title race courtesy of some ridiculous howlers on our part. This time, we put them to the sword. Jesper Santanen and Mats Köhlert scored in the first half to put us in the ascendancy. Despite their new star striker Niklas Jokelainen scoring early in the second half, we rolled them over as a late Pontus Engblom strike secured us an invaluable 3-1 win.

We had to follow our two home games up with a long trip to Oulu to face AC Oulu. We rolled them over, as expected. All goals came in the first half, as both teams looked to fire on all cylinders early. Despite them scoring through Jama, we took all three points as Pontus Engblom, Silvio Tokic, an own-goal from Kaique and a Lucas Villela penalty saw us win 4-1.

Our winning streak came to an end at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion, our home for European games. FC Inter Turku put in a remarkable performance, and a second-half Douglas brace saw us lose 0-2.

I tore into the players after that defeat, and they responded in style in Kuopio as we played away to KuPS. Lucas Villela scored just before half-time to give us the lead, and second half goals from Kevin Larsson and Pontus Engblom gave us all three points in a 3-0 win.

Our last Veikkausliiga game of the season was against our newfound rivals SJK at HakkisPaana, and the game was a classic. They took the lead midway through the first half courtesy of a Lappalainen goal. Swedish striker Pontus Engblom responded with a goal of his own to see us go into half-time level. We then took the lead through Silvio Tokic, but Maximo Tolonen popped up with a goal against us, as per usual. The winner came deep into stoppage time, and in our favour. We won a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time, and teenage striker Jesper Santanen was a cool as ice as he slotted the ball into the back of the net with the final kick of our Veikkausliiga season. It was a glorious 3-2 win for us.

We opened our account in the UEFA Europa League group stage against CSKA Moscow at Kupittaan jalkapallostadion in Turku. In a thoroughly exciting clash in front of a record-breaking crowd, CSKA took the lead early in the second half as full-back Mário Fernandes scored a bullet-drive from just inside the box. However, we had the last laugh as Lucas Villela popped up at the back post to level the game in the third minute of stoppage time, sending our fans into a state of euphoria.

Pontus Engblom was our hero in September-October. The fans were incredibly disappointed when he was signed, as they believed he wasn't good enough. Engblom certainly proved them wrong. He may have, however, earned himself the title of 'super sub', with his goal-scoring performances from the bench becoming a highlight of his early days at Peimari United. However, his six goals in September-October did not tell the full story of his performances. He became the ideal man to have as the 'first line of defence', winning the ball high up the pitch and working the ball forward quickly. He gelled in incredibly, and became a hero on more than one occasion.

Champions on the second time of asking, not a bad thing to do! In the end, we topped the table by a whopping eighteen points. Our two victories against SJK in the final two months certainly helped us to achieve such a gap while we achieved both the best scoring and best defensive records in the league. We had set an impressive bar, and our next goal was to improve upon an impressive season.

Following the end of our domestic season, we still had plenty left to play for. We had four games left in 2022, all in the UEFA Europa League group stage, with the final group game then left to be played at the beginning of 2023. Our next game was against CSKA in Moscow, and it was a game we were excited about. We were hoping to come away with something, but we were not expecting to be anywhere near CSKA's level.

1

Summer had ended abruptly in Finland in the previous month, making way for long days of continuous and monotonous rain and wind. The warm, friendly tendrils of sunlight had been replaced by the grey gloom of dark, threatening clouds. A sudden dip in temperatures had left the many public areas bereft of pedestrians, with the only post-summer survivors those who were busily transporting themselves to and from their place of occupation, and those who were required to make the trip to local grocery stores.

Mia fell into the latter category, as she carried two bags filled with essential groceries from her local S-Market grocery store. The sky above her had turned dark during the time she spent within the shop, with the only sources of light coming from the evenly-spaced street lamps and the passing headlamps of cars and motorbikes that streamed through the streets at a uniform speed. The short season between the summer months and the first snow were the most boring in Finland, and was the only time where Mia missed her homeland of Switzerland.

As Mia embarked on the five-minute walk from the shop to her home where Joonas was preparing an evening meal, she let her eyes dart from one distraction to another. It amused her to watch others go on with their day-to-day lives. The Finnish people acted differently to others. They were not overly career-driven, but neither were they free-souled. They were somewhere in between, in a spectrum that ranged from the crazy to the extraordinary. But, Mia thought, perhaps they were both crazy and extraordinary.

The buildings around her cast long, lonely shadows on the pavement, with a yellow wood-panel church absorbing the majority of the light cast by lamps around it. The shadows that it cast were more threatening than the others. Mia's eyes were locked on one particular shadow which appeared to move as she walked by it. When she was within arm-reach of the shadow, she gasped as she saw a familiar face approach her from the dark.

She was bundled backwards as the man grasped her neck firmly with his two hands, cuasing her to drop her two shopping bags as she desperately tried to pull his hands away. The man dragged her back into the alleyway which he had hid in, and pressed her up against a cold, slimy wall. He glared into her tearing eyes with a vocfierous rage that shook Mia to the core. Mia could not help but tremble as she realised that the man who had her in his graps was none other than Christian Schäfer.

Mia tried to let out a scream, but Christian's hands were crushing her windpipe and she couldn't utter any more than a low, whispy rumble. She was unable to breath and she began to panic, but she could do nothing as Christian took advantage of her open-mouthed shock by pressing his lips to hers and inserting his tongue into her mouth. She felt molested as he took advantage of her fragile position.

Christian's forced kiss dragged on for what seemed to Mia to be an eternity, as she estruggled helplessly to beat him away. She felt him release one hand from her throat, caressing her body as it worked its way down her torso. Horror filled Mia as she realised that Christian was interested in more than just a forced kiss, and her heart skipped a beat out of despair. Christian moved his face away from Mia's just far enough so that he could speak.

"I've been waiting a long time for this. Now, let me give you the full medical that you denied me when you were a ch-"

Christian froze as his hand reached Mia's stomach. He stepped away from her and looked at the bump which took up her lower torso. An icy fire burned in his eyes and his skin turned white as he realised that Mia was several months pregnant. He began to tremble and whither , both in shock and in despair.

"You are with child?!?", he exclaimed. "Is it with him? That digusting excuse of a man you were with here all these years ago?"

"Please Christian, let us go! This baby never did anything to hurt you! I never meant to hurt you! Please don't hurt this baby, he's innocent," wept Mia. She had her hands around her throat, massaging where Christian had applied pressure to just moments previously. She had fallen to her knees, with her legs weak from the emotional turmoil she was experiencing. However, she remained strong as she endeavoured to protect her unborn child.

Christian stood still, but his audible breaths shook in the air with a fragile nature that he had not previously shown. The realisation that Mia had started a family with another man broke him to the core. His mind worked at a frightening pace as he pieced together a way of maneuvering the dilemma.

"You have made a grave mistake, Mia."

Christian charged towards Mia and bundled her towards the ground before darting away into the alleyway. The sound of his footsteps faded away as he disappeared into the shadows and the only sound left were the tearful groans of Mia, who lay on the ground clutching her arm. As she fell to the ground, something had poked her in the arm and caused her to bleed from a needle-sized wound. However, it was not physical pain which hurt her. It was the emotional turmoil of a stressful evening. It was another mental scar in her life.

1

Kalle, brilliant season for Peimari United. Veikkausliiga and Suomen Cup double, and UEFA Europa League group stage football. What are your feelings about the year just gone?

"I don't think we could have achieved much more. We won both domestic competitions - two high-standard competitions - and we got through every single qualifying round in Europe to get to the group stage of one of the biggest club competitions in football. I am the proudest manager in the world, the players have made this season one to remember forever and have achieved something very special.

It isn't very often that a team wins a trophy, especially the top flight in a country, so it is incredible for us to be the team who has lifted the Veikkausliiga. Alongside that, we were doubly-successful in our trophy hunt thanks to being able to win the Suomen Cup again. Good teams are remembered for the trophies they win, and we've been winning trophies since we first got together a few years ago. It has been a brilliant few years and we want to keep winning trophies in the future. We've set our benchmark now."

The European adventure has been sensational. Beating teams of the caliber of Slavia Praha and Young Boys on the way to the group stage drew a lot of praise for Peimari United, as well as then going on to draw against CSKA Moscow. What's your secret?

"There is no secret, really. Everybody knows that to be successful you need to work hard and you need to be very focused. I think we have shown in all our games, except for maybe a few minutes here and there, that we do both. No team can be successful without either. Of course, you also need quality to be successful, and we definitely have quality. We have quite a young team who are already playing at a very high level and will definitely become much better in the future. They've developed with every passing day and we, as a group, keep reaching new heights. That is our 'secret', so to speak, because we keep pushing ourselves to improve every single day."

There was some discussion before the qualifying rounds that you may not take part in UEFA competition, following your exile as a player due to an unfortunate event that happened at the Emirates Stadium some years ago. What has changed since then?

"I retired as a player at a fairly young age and had the opportunity to make a real difference with UEFA. The game is a lot different now, with more safety mechanisms in place to protect everybody from abuse. I am happy now that UEFA are doing the right thing to cut out abusive behaviour in football."

Five games left in the group stage, do you think Peimari United can get out of the group and into the knockout rounds?

"I hope so, but that is nothing something we'll think about. We're not favourites to get any kind of result in any of our games and we know that. We're playing against some top teams from all over Europe. We don't expect to get very far but we will fight in every game for every single second to earn some sort of result. If we do enough to get through to the knockout stages then we will be delighted, but we don't have that aim this season."

HJK has also reached the group stage, while SJK got as far as the fourth qualifying round and KuPS reached the third qualifying round. How much of a boost has the four clubs been to Finnish football?

"Finnish football is certainly on the way up. I think we saw in the last few years just how good the quality is in the league now. Every team has fantastic players who could play in some of the bigger leagues in Europe. The quality in the league has shown in the last few years in Europe. HJK have been brilliant in the last few years, constantly getting into the Europa League group stage. We have to join them now in getting to these stages on a regular basis to further help Finnish football.

In terms of the nation's qualification coefficients, Finland are currently 29th. This is fabulous, of course, but we will be even higher next season. As it stands, it looks like Finland will be placed in the early-20s for the next European season. That is incredible progress, and would see one of our Europa League teams enter in the second qualifying round rather than the first. Of course, we won't get an extra place outside of the top seventeen nations, but we can eventually reach there if we keep producing impressive European seasons as we have been doing."

Your team won't get the usual post-Veikkausliiga break this season, with the remainder of your side's Europa League group games coming up. How will that impact the squad?

"It isn't an ideal situation for us to manage, with us starting our pre-season in January and now having to play all the way in to January. We have to do things very differently this year, giving the players a week or two off here and there. They'll get a bigger break between the Suomen Cup qualifiers and the Veikkausliiga in March and April, but until then they just have to keep training and take a week off here and there. There's nothing else we really can do. It would be easier most years when there is no winter-time World Cup to push European group games into the beginning of January, but this is the situation for this year."

The club has had quite the financial turnover this year, with some big player sales and plenty of money coming in from the Europa League action. Can we expect money to be spent on new signings?

"I think we're now in a position where we cannot just rely on signing players for free, or for low fees, anymore. Our squad is good enough that, unless a player becomes available for free or for a small fee, the only we can improve our team is by spending big money. That is the reality of our situation now, and a testament to how far we've come now. We will, of course, try to get the best financial deal for each transfer, but that sometimes means spending a bit of money."

Angel Dí Maria has been training with the club. Is there a possibility for him to sign for the club?

"We are working towards sorting out the finer details of a contract for him. He plans on retiring from football at some stage next year so we need to work it differently to most other contracts, if there is to be any possibility of him joining. If he does join, he'll have a similar contract to Roman Eremenko, who has a retirement get-out clause in his deal. We will see, but we are hopeful."

Last question, what are your objectives for the next year?

"To continue to improve and to, hopefully, win more trophies. If we can achieve one without the other, then I am happy. The players are ready to make the next step, it is now all about making sure we do it correctly."

Finnish Veikkausliige side Peimari United looked to continue their impressive European form in Moscow as they twice took the lead against a strong CSKA side in the first half of their second UEFA Europa League group stage match. However, CSKA proved to be too strong and scored three unanswered second half goals as Peimari succumbed to a 2-4 defeat. The defeat is their first in the group stage, but they left Arena CSKA with their heads held high following an impressive performance.

With German attacker Mats Köhlert out injured for Peimari United, the visitors had Brazilian attacker Lucas Villela starting on the left side of attack, and he was the man who opened the scoring just after the five-minute mark. Full back Niko Lehtinen took all the credit for his wonderful assist, firing in a pinpoint cross from the half-way line which curled around CSKA's defence and bounced just in front of Lucas Villela on the left-hand side of the box, who finished well at the near post to send Peimari into the ascendancy.

CSKA threatened to level the game shortly after through Abel Hernández and Kenneth Omeruo. The former came closest as his close-range header beat Tornike Dzadzamia in Peimari United's goal, only to go wide via the post. Omeruo then challenged the goal from a corner, beating Yuri to the ball. However, the Nigerian international saw his header scrape the top of the bar before settling on the top net of the goal.

Zelimkhan Bakaev had tested Dzadzamia with a number of long-range efforts in the opening exchanges of the game, but it was a close-range header of his which beat the the Georgian senior goalkeeper. Georgy Schennikov had advanced into Peimari's final third with the ball and his left-sided cross found Bakaev unmarked at the back post, who glanced his header beyond the reach of Dzadzamia and into the far corner to level proceedings.

---

---

---

It didn't take long for Peimari United to retake the lead, however, and it was Swedish striker Pontus Engblom who benefited from a good cross this time. Niko Lehtinen first switched play from the right to the left, with Lucas Villela receiving the ball. The Brazilian then picked out Kevin Larsson on the opposite flank, and Larsson broke free of Schennikov near the goal line. The Finnish winger fired a dangerous low ball across the six yard box, where Pontus Engblom was on hand to score past Igor Akinfeev in CSKA's goal, sending Peimari United back into the lead ahead of half-time.

The second half was all in CSKA's favour, and they should have leveled the game for a second time when they earned a penalty ten minutes into the second half. Rasmus Holma had bundled Abel Hernández in the box, and the Uruguayan striker stepped up to take the spot-kick. However, Dzadzamia read his mind and parried the shot away to keep Peimari United in the lead.

The new Veikkausliiga champions couldn't hold on to their lead for much longer than that, however, as CSKA eventually found a way through in the second half. Georgy Schennikov bundled his long ball between Yuri and Holma of Peimari's central defence, with Maxim Vilkov gratefully racing on to the ball. Vilkov made no mistake when one-on-one, rolling the ball to Dzadzamia's left to tie the game.

Abel Hernández, eventually, got his goal with fifteen minutes to go. Peimari failed to keep possession of the ball within their own half and, with most of their team already committed forward, Vilkov led a fast-moving counter charge for the hosts. He passed left to Hernández, who took one touch to compose himself before picking out the far corner with a low, tidy finish. CSKA had took the lead for the first time in the game.

Jaka Bijol wrapped up the game for CSKA with a goal less than five minutes from time. The impressive Alexandr Yerokhin teed him on the edge of the area, and Bijol saw his high shot just about beat Dzadzamia as it sailed into the top corner. All three points went to CSKA, but Peimari left Moscow with their pride intact.

The free transfer window opened in Finland today, and Veikkausliiga champions Peimari United took full advantage by securing the signatures of six new players. Levan Sikharulidze, Giovanni Terrani, Aapo Halme, Julian Chabot, Luka Ilic and Florian Miguel all joined the Paimio-based club on free transfers, having been without a club for a few months each. No compensation fees were paid to any of the players' former clubs, with Peimari United required only to pay signing-on fees and agent fees in the process.

Levan Sikharulidze is one of Georgia's top prsopects. At eighteen years old, 196cm tall striker has been capped 24 times for Georgia's U21s team, scoring 6 goals. Sikharulidze previously played for Georgia side Dinamo Batumi, making 57 appearances and scoring 17 goals in the process. Skiharulidze was a target for Manchester United and Chelsea, but chose to join Peimari United due to the club's history of bringing youth players through to senior football.

Sikharulidze has been told to train with the club's youth team until the beginning of next season, when the club can then make space for him in the senior squad. Sikharulidze is seen as a very different option to current strikers, who have pace in abundance. Sikharulidze isn't the paciest of players, but is very physically capable. His finishing ability is of a top standard, and Sikharulidze is seen as the 'next Edin Džeko'.


Giovanni Terrani joined to bolster the team's wide attacking strengths. The twenty-eight year old Italian attacker was a product of the Inter Milan youth team. He left the club in 2013 to play for Serie C side Monza, after signing for a transfer fee of €500, where he made his senior debut and went on to make 15 appearances for the club. A loan spell Pro Latria in 2014/2015, where he made 28 appearances, was followed up by a free transfer to AS Lucchese Libertas, where he spent two seasons at the club. After 60 league appearances for Lucchese, Terrani signed for Perugia Calcio in January 2017 for €40,000. Terrani played a key role for the side as he made a total of 94 league appearances for the club in both Serie B and Serie A. Terrani, unfortunately, suffered a broken leg in 2020, which ruled him out for the entire 2020/2021 season. Terrani was released after the 2021/2022 last season, and signed for Peimari United.

Terrani provides the perfect skill-set for an inside forward. Quick off the mark, Terrani is also very creative. His goal scoring and creating ability makes him a deadly attacker, and he is also a fairly hard-working player too. Terrani is likely to become a key player for Peimari United, with immediate effect.


Aapo Halme is the only Finnish player of the six new signings. The twenty-four year old central defender has two Finnish caps to his name, and was once considered to by the 'next Sami Hyypiä'. Part of the FC Honka Espoo youth academy, he made his senior appearance for the club in 2014. Halme joined HJK the following season, and made 29 Veikkausliiga appearances for the Veikkausliiga side before joining English side Leeds United for €550,000 in January 2018. Halme played for Lillestrøm SK and Mansfield Town on loan, but never made a senior appearance for Leeds. Halme was released by Leeds in July of this year, and has now since joined Peimari United.

A very competent defender, Halme also has height on his side. Standing at 193cm, Halme is a very astute physical presence. Reasonably competent on the ball, Halme fits into Peimari United's style of playing from the back. He is a notable upgrade on current defenders at the club, and is likely to play an important part in Peimari United's future.


Julian Chabot was also signed to improve defensive quality. The twenty-four year old German central defender joined on a free transfer after leaving Dutch side FC Groningen in the past summer. A product of Frankfurt's youth academy, Chabot joined RB Leipzig in 2014. However, he failed to appear for the senior team and left to Holland to join Sparta Rotterdam in 2017. He impressed in his debut season for the club, making 20 Eredivisie in his one-and-only season for the club before joining domestic rivals FC Groningen for €950,000 in 2018. Chabot made 12 senior appearances for the club before departing this summer, with Peimari United looking to offer him a second chance.

Chabot's height and strength makes him an incredibly talented player in the air. Standing a 195cm, Chabot is much larger than the average player in the Veikkausliiga, and is sure to become a threat from set-pieces. Chabot is expected to start alongside Aapo Halme in the centre of the team's defence, making a huge shift from last season.


The high-profile signing of the six was definintely Luka Ilic. The young Serbian attacking midfielder was available on a free transfer, having been released by Manchester City in the summer. A product of the academy of Crvena Zvesda (Red Star Belgrade), Ilic joined Manchester City for €3,500,000 in 2017. He spent the 2017/2018 season on loan back at his own club, where he helped his side lift the Serbian SuperLiga, as he made his professional debut in the process. Loan spells at Crvena Zvezda, NAC Breda, FK Vojvodina, Čukarički Stankom and Wigan Athletic saw Ilic garner a total of 156 appearances in all competitions over the five seasons.

Ilic left Manchester City at the end of his contract in July in search of regular first-team football, and Peimari United are prepared to offer him just that. Once rated as Serbia's top up-and-coming prospect in years, Ilic can play behind the striker, out wide or in midfield. His creative ability is underlined by his ability to pick a pass and create and finish moves. He is expected to become a leading player in the Veikkausliiga.


The final of the six signings was Florian Miguel. The twenty-six year old French defender, born in Bruges, France, was a product of Tours FC. He made his senior league debut for Tours FC in Ligue 2 during the 2014/2015 season, and went on to make 93 Ligue 2 appearances before leaving for Ligue 1 side Nîmes Olympique in 2018. Miguel made 34 Ligue 1 appearances across four seasons for Nîmes Olympique before leaving at the expiration of his contract in the summer of 2022.

The defender is equally competent as a left back as he is in central defence, although he is likely to play on the left side of defence. He is physically well-rounded and is adept at attacking and defending. His incredible defensive prowess, however, will help solidify Peimari's defence during tough European fixtures, with the side already owning the best defensive record in the Veikkausliiga last term.

1

Finnish Veikkausliiga side left Telia Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark, with zero points after slipping to late defeat against FC København in their second UEFA Europa League group game. The new Veikkausliiga champions took the lead just after the hour mark courtesy of Lucas Villela, who continued his fine goal scoring form in Europe, only to concede twice late on to succumb to a 1-2 defeat at the hands of the hosts. The result leaves Kalle Koskinen's Peimari United waiting for their first win of the UEFA Europa League group stage.

The home side looked most likely to score in the first half, and came very close just before the interval as they earned themselves a penalty. Peimari's English defender Richard Latham was guilty of conceding the spot-kick, bundling over Rasmus Falk inside the area. København's one-time capped Danish attacker Carlo Holse stepped up to take the penalty kick, but he saw his effort tipped wide by Peimari's Georgian goalkeeper Tornike Dzadzamia.

Kevin Larsson's one-year loan deal with Peimari United expired shortly before the game, but his stand-in was more than competent. Lucas Villela scored the opening goal of the game just after the hour mark, with some help from German attacker Mats Köhlert. Köhlert beat two København players on a half-pitch-long run before sliding the Brazilian attacker, Lucas Villela, into the penalty area with a neat through-ball. København's Brazilian goalkeeper Keiller stayed on his line but was unable to prevent Lucas' high-flying shot from hitting the back of the net at a terrifying pace. It was advantage Peimari United.

The strain of a long season on Peimari United was evident as the Finnish Veikkausliiga champions looked slugged as time drew on. It took just seven minutes after the opening goal for København to level proceedings, breaking Peimari hearts. Rasmus Falk was at the heart of København's attacks and created their first goal. Falk picked up the ball on the half-way line to the left before squirming away from the challenge of Peimari's Jarno Seppälä and sending a searching aerial through-ball into the path of Carlo Holse who scored when one-on-one with Dzadzamia.

---

---

---

København's winner came just minutes later, and was almost identical to their first goal. Rasmus Falk charged forward from the halfway line, just as before, and sent Holse through with another superb through ball. Holse finished low into the bottom right corner, giving København all three points and breaking Peimari United's hearts.

Peimari United have secured their seventh signing since the end of the Veikkausliiga season with Swedish central defender Isak Jönsson signing for the club on a free transfer. The twenty-three year old defender joined Peimari United following the expiration of his contract with Superatten side Trelleborgs FF, signing a two year deal worth an estimated €700 per week.

Born on 11th January 1999, Isak Jönsson came through the youth ranks at BK Olympic in Malmö. Jönsson made his senior debut for the club in 2015, in the fifth tier of Swedish football. The club earned promotion to the fourth tier that season, and Jönsson made 23 league appearances in the following season. However, he was ghosted out of the senior team in 2017 but was snapped up by then-Allsvenskan side Trelleborgs FF in 2018, making his debut for the club that season.

Jönsson's role within Trelleborgs grew season-after-season, but failed to become a regular for the side throughout his time there. Relegation to the Superatten saw him play a little bit more in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but he ultimately decided not to extend his contract after growing frustrated by a lack of opportunities. When Peimari United became interested in his signature, Jönsson jumped at the opportunity.

Jönsson is likely to become a rotation player for Peimari United, but that would still see him play over twenty games per season for the club. Competent in the air, he isn't known for his on-the-ball skills. However, he is seen as an ideal candidate for playing against teams who rely on set-pieces, and still has plenty of room to grow. On a free transfer, with low wages, Jönsson's signature is seen as a low-work one.