Comment Despite the bronze, the Lions are in a confusing situation – the table needs to be cleaned up now

Beijing

Female lions the olympic tournament ended with a bronze party.

This time it’s a harder performance than the “base bronze”, so at the end of a confusing and two-stage tournament, the medal came off.

Much worse could have happened.

Worrying predictions were already in the air before the tournament when the goalie selection court Pasi Mustonen around it became flammable.

A lot happened even during the tournament.

The female lions suffered crushing losses to the US and Canada in the first round.

The goalkeeper guide was still boiling. Mustonen went home, and the main responsibility rose Juuso Toivola confused with his overly positive statements after poor performance.

After the Swiss defeat in the first round, the Ladies Lions did not look like a medal team but a tattered whole.

There was no knowledge of teamwork when players wanted to (over) try to solve problems.

The victory of the Russian Olympic Committee masks on the face was a turning point: after that, the Lions played better and more clearly.

On the way was a little lucky. The Russians suffered from corona worries and therefore offered an alleviated challenge. A 5-0 victory gave the team vital self-confidence.

Suddenly, the Lions again began to trust the power of their cooperation and the way they played. No need to push and transport the disc. The game was mostly suitably bold.

The semi-final against the USA was a glorious battle against the starting points.

The performance of the bronze match was not fireworks but in the midst of hard pressure good enough.

After all the fuss, the bronze medal is a respectable achievement, although the competition for the dimmest medal in the women’s Olympic disc is moderate.

What about future?

The fact is that the actual project of head coach Toivola starts in a confusing situation.

Team captain Jenni Hiirikoski reiterated on several occasions during the Beijing Games that the Olympic Games, with their mixed preliminary stages, should be properly analyzed after the tournament.

That’s all it takes to get the team off to start preparing for the new Olympics from a clean slate.

Hopefully, as an “outsider,” the Hockey Association will be involved in carefully buying the skein, and dealing with the upheaval will not be a matter for the small district alone.

Otherwise, the ghosts may remain haunted for too long in the locker room of the Lions.

I ‘m at the table cleaning is the number one priority, but Toivola still has a lot of work to do after that.

Toivola’s first tournament, which was held accountable in the midst of the crisis, was controversial.

At the beginning, it seemed that Toivola was in the wrong place at the helm of the Female Lions when he explained black as white.

Towards the end, however, she got the Female Lions to play good hockey, which is a more important skill than appearing in front of the media.

The biggest concern is that Toivola has no previous head coach experience. This Olympic tournament was still on the old ground, but he has to lead the next project himself from the start.

Calm Under Toivola, the situation of the Lions is likely to stabilize and the image of the national team will become calmer.

Pasi Mustonen was a shabby person, and he did not shy away from sharing his views. Although spilled badly, especially towards the end, the Lions were visible and especially heard.

And went ahead.

During the hope, similar (emotional) storms and public statements are unlikely.

The best visibility in the Toivola era for Women Lions would be to overthrow Canada or the USA in the championships, but the task is not easy, as the Female Lions are on their way to the middle ground.

Here Finland had 11 Olympic first-timers in the tournament, but the team was still strongly experienced, Jenni Hiirikoski, Susanna Tapanin, Michelle Karvisen and Minnamari Tuominen too depends on.

Of course, there is also a future.

Petra Nieminen22, is a backbone of the team’s offensive game for a long time, and 20-year-old Elisa Holopaisen the extracts were promising.

Keeper Anni Keisala24, played in important matches convincingly.

Top promise Nelli Laitinen19, was excellent right now, and Sanni Rantalakin19, was perky.

However, the distance from the team’s second basket to the very front line is long.

The comparison is against the best players in Canada and the US. Therefore, rising to the star category requires Finnish players to throw themselves into the sport.

Pasi Mustonen raised the level of demands of Finnish hockey players to new dimensions.

Toivola must raise the bar even higher with the new generation.

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