Football|The question of the continuation of the national team career started to make Joel Pohjanpalo laugh.
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Joel Pohjanpalo plays for FC Venezia, but gets little playing time in the Finnish national team.
Pohjanpalo is disappointed with his role in the national team, but understands the decisions of the coaching management.
When asked, Pohjanpalo took a stand on the situation of the national team’s coaching management.
Finland lost to Greece and England in September. It faces Ireland and England this week.
A star soccer player status playing in FC Venezia Joel Pohjanpalo is in a special situation. He plays and scores goals in Italy’s high-level Serie A, but playing time in Finland’s A national team only comes in bits and pieces.
The same trend threatens to continue this week in the Nations League home games against Ireland and England.
“I am disappointed with my own role in the national team. It’s quite natural. If someone were to say that they were satisfied in this situation, they would be in the wrong environment with the wrong interests,” Pohjanpalo said on Monday in Helsinki.
He added almost in the same breath that he understood the decisions of the coaching staff.
“The style of play chosen for the national team may not support my qualities in the best way. It’s natural that I’m not the first on the lineup then.”
The forward has played in five of Venezia’s seven league matches this season and scored two goals in them.
Finnish started the Nations League in September with two away defeats. Greece scored 0–3 and England scored 0–2. Pohjanpalo played half an hour in Piraeus, at Wembley he didn’t get a single minute.
The situation seems strange. Top players from Europe’s top 5 leagues (England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France) have been wanted for a long time in the Finnish national team, and when a new one is available, the player sits on the bench in the national team.
Also the goalkeeper Jesse Joronen plays in Venezia, but there is no way that he belongs to the best in the Bundesliga Lukas Hradecky forward – at least not yet.
Pohjanpalo, 30, is careful not to complain about his situation.
“There is no room for ego in the Finnish national team. It’s quite clear. If we’re ever going to be successful, everyone has to pull together: there’s a role, whether it’s as a starter, a substitute or in the stands,” he said.
Has it crossed your mind that you would end up in the national team?
(Laughs for a long time) It hasn’t occurred to me. I have a small child at home, and if there is no playtime, in that situation, many people might question why they are going on a trip. I’ve always had a goal that I want 100 A national team games – no matter where they come. It’s always great to join the national team and representing it is an honor,” Pohjanpalo replied.
He has played 73 matches in the A national team and scored 15 goals.
Joel Pohjanpalo in the training of the A national team in Bristol last March.
Joel Pohjanpalo told about his new book project in Helsinki on Monday.
A national team the division of labor of the coaching team has been seriously discussed in public after the losing matches in September. The head coach Markku Kanervan the group of assistants was renewed when they joined Tim Sparv, Teemu Tainio and Jani Honkavaara.
The latter has been said to be the “real leader” of the team, game-defining player and future head coach.
Pohjanpalo gives a clear answer to the question about the situation of the background team.
“I have nothing negative to say about it. Training was in the previous window [syyskuussa] better than it ever was before. It was amazing to see that step forward,” Pohjanpalo said.
“As for the division of labor, “Rive” [Kanerva] is our head coach. We’ve never questioned it. The media can say what it says.”
Pohjanpalon This year, life became more important than football. She and her husband had a child half a year ago.
“The girl turned one yesterday [sunnuntaina] six months. The work has started well. The child is on all fours and is trying to get moving. And when it doesn’t make it, the ruckus starts. It’s amazing to be a father, to watch a little child grow up and be a part of it,” Pohjanpalo said with a smile.
Captains in a group photo. Venezia’s Joel Pohjanpalo (left) and Rome’s Lorenzo Pellegrini pose before the league match between the teams in Rome on September 30.
Becoming a father has changed the perspective. It became concrete over the weekend in Italy after the league defeat suffered against Verona.
“The foxing was big. When he came home in the middle of the night, and one [lapsi] I started to snort and smile, so quickly it occurred to me that there are more important things in life than football.”
In addition to playing and family, the striker has started a project. A book about him will be published in August 2025 Jolle – The King of Venice (Oak). The book is written by HS’s award-winning journalist Ari Virtanen.
Football League of Nations: Finland–Ireland on Thursday 10.10. at 21:45 and Finland–England on Sunday 13:10. at 19:00. Yle shows the matches live.
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