This season was a warning to the Club. It may not be enough that HJK is a little better than the others, but it must be clearly better to win consecutive championships, writes HS sports journalist Ari Virtanen.
How is it possible to taste silver right now in Kuopio? Every championship has been earned, but this time it would have been just as deserved that the championship had gone to the Kuopio Ball Club instead of the Helsinki Football Club. The little one was caught, but in the final game for HJK, the draw was like a win and enough for the championship.
The great championship battle of the Veikkausliiga this season got the super exciting decision they deserved when KuPS chased victory in front of a record audience (7890) at home.
KuPS the groping of the early season eventually cost too much.
KuPS was still in the early season, collecting three losses and just seven points out of the first six league games. It then played 20 consecutive lossless matches before the decisive round. Thanks to that series, it raised itself to a championship battle.
A challenger has been needed for HJK, and now it has got one. From the club’s point of view, even a little too hard a challenger. KuPS can be a disgustingly hard resistance for HJK in the first season if the people of Kuopio get a hard enough team together again. That’s what it’s really about, for Simo Valakarilla, 48, has the skills of a master coach.
HJK’s management can talk tirelessly and smugly about analyzes and processes, but not all know-how and wisdom lives in Töölö. This season was a warning to the Club.
HJK is still the best club of the 21st century. Of the last ten championships, it has won seven. A different perspective is also possible when looking at the balance over a different time span. Of the last seven championships, HJK has only been able to win four, and that is too little for HJK’s resources.
HJK is no longer as superior a ruler in the Veikkausliiga as it was seven years ago when it had won six consecutive championships.
HJK head coach Toni Koskela, 38, has brought HJK the championship for two consecutive years and is a good performance. However, Koskela now has two consecutive championships, and it may have the beginning of the championship tube. His extension agreement runs until the end of 2023.
What is worrying for the Club is that the team did not always look very superior or tactically better trained than other teams.
HJK will certainly analyze after the season exactly how it will be able to maintain its competitive advantage over others next season as well.
If KuPS and SJK could permanently raise their level, it may no longer be enough for HJK to be a little better than the others, but it must be clearly better in order to be able to win consecutive championships.
.
#Comment #longer #HJK
