Hetemaj has always been a more or less underrated player in Finland. Maybe Hetemaj’s greatness as a player is slowly being understood in Finland even by those who didn’t understand it before, writes HS sports reporter Ari Virtanen.
The first for the first time in eight years, the home crowd at the Töölö football stadium erupted into a storm of screams when the home team scored a goal in the Europa League group stage game on Thursday. It was a euphoric moment for the scorer Perparim for Hetemajfor the home team and the home crowd.
Hetemaj already showed in the away match in Rome why he was a respected player in Italy for more than ten years and played ten seasons and 300 matches in Serie A.
Against AS Roma, Hetemaj got the opponent seven fouls in the opening period and kept HJK in the game for his part Miro Tenhon after the red card, until the match turned to the home team.
After that match, HJK’s head coach Toni Koskela questioned in a TV interview whether he replaced Hetemaj from the field perhaps too early.
When in Thursday’s home match, the second period had been played for about ten minutes, Hetemaj got a free kick for HJK in the corner of the opponent’s penalty area. After that, Hetemaj scored a nice header with a 1-1 equalizing goal Santeri Hostikan after the free kick the ball into the goal.
Hetemaj, who made his career as a working defensive midfielder, showed his team’s attackers a model for scoring goals.
This season’s returnee Hetemaj played a big role on Thursday on the left side of HJK’s formation, where he played in the middle lane without saving meters in two directions. At the end of the opening period, he tried to play the HJK striker twice by Malik Abubakar to score.
In these big games, Hetemaj grows and takes responsibility. He woke up the home crowd already in the opening period with his good performances, and in the second period he screamed more at the audience with his goals, winning duels and also with his ball skills.
When Hetemaj came on as a substitute in the 74th minute, the Home crowd stood up and showed their appreciation. Hetemaj has always been a more or less underrated player in Finland. Maybe Hetemaj’s greatness as a player is slowly being understood in Finland even by those who didn’t understand it before.
With Hetemaj’s goal, HJK got their first point in the Europa League group stage.
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