Pallokerho Keski-Uusimaa has become an important football breeding club. In the summer, two of the top young players in their age group left the club for Italy. In the coming season, Pallokerho will start farm cooperation with Gnistan, which has been promoted to the Veikkausliiga.
16-year-old goalkeeper promise Ukko Happonen experienced a surprise in a football match of the Italian youth league.
Behind the goal of the hapless club Bologna, the game was watched by a Swedish football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovićwho ended his playing career last year in Milan.
Happonen immediately recognized a familiar face.
“I thought that now I have to succeed. I made a top save and looked behind me. However, Zlatan did not react in any way. It stood there completely mute,” says Happonen.
Zlatan followed Milan's home match the whole time from the same place. After the game, Happonen didn't see him again, even though he would have liked to come say hello. The match ended in a tie 1–1.
Italian In the summer of 2023, Happonen moved to Serie A's Bologna from his parent club Pallokerho from Keski-Uusimaa.
Almost at the same time he left the same club for Italy David Weisswho plays as a midfielder in Sassuolo's under-17 academy team.
In Italy, Finnish youth play in the country's youth championship series in Primavera 1.
Happonen's dream is to one day play in Italy's men's top league, Serie A.
“Let's see how far I can go. The drizzle to the top is hard. I have gone to Italy with the mindset that I will develop into a top goalkeeper here. I don't have backup plans, even though school should probably be taken care of on the side,” says Happonen.
As a goalkeeper, Happonen has a sufficient frame. When he left Pallokerho Keski-Uusimaa, he was 189 centimeters tall, now 191 centimeters.
The medical examination revealed that Happose still has room for growth based on his bone density.
Happose has a 3+2 year contract in Bologna. In practice, the contract is thus secured until spring 2026, and on top of that the club has a two-year extension option.
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“You shouldn't leave going to the bathroom until the last drop, so that you have time and get your turn.”
Frameless Ukko Happonen in defense work.
When the player-agent told about Bologna's i
nterest, Happonen did not hesitate to leave.
In the beginning, he had his family with him, but now he lives with a Greek, Brazilian and Swedish player in the same apartment.
“The apartment has two bedrooms, but only one toilet. It's not worth leaving a visit to the toilet until the last drop, so that you have time and get your turn,” Happonen laughs.
The players speak English in the camp, but Happonen wants to learn Italian as well. The society organized a ten-hour language course, of which Happonen was only able to attend five hours due to illness.
“I already understand the language quite well. Speaking is not fluent yet, but I can communicate.”
In addition to accommodation and living, the club pays Happose a small salary.
In Finland, Happonen has been one of the regular faces of the national team in his age group.
The man from Tuusula, who has represented Pallokerho since the age of twelve, was involved in winning the Finnish championship for 14-year-old boys in 2021 and the bronze medal in the 15-year-old championship the following year.
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“We can talk about sums that even many people with a good income will never see in their own bank account.”
Florian Haziri, Ossi Niemi, Milot Peci, Lauri Koivunen, Elmeri Lappalainen and Henri Nguyen played ball during the training of the B-boys of Pallokerho Keski-Uusimaa in the Korso football hall.
Ball club Keski-Uusimaa B-boys in training. Santeri Romppanen (in front) belongs to the national team ring.
Young the transfer of players abroad is a significant part of Pallokerho Keski-Uusimaa's operations. Bologna FC and Sassuolo paid Pallokerho the significant transfer fees for the club.
“We can talk about sums that even many people with a good income will never see in their own bank account”, executive director of Pallokerho Keski-Uusimaa, or PKKU Teemu Lehtomäki says, but cannot tell the details of the contract.
“In practice, the money goes to the development and running of the club, the players make their own contract.”
The Ball Club, founded in 2005, has gone abroad before, such as Ville Koski NK Istra to Croatia and Hugo Toivonen to Reus, Spain. Recently, the show was attended by big clubs Niki Hasselman (Juventus) and Oskari Multala (Freiburg).
The HJK national team striker is perhaps the most famous of the players with a football club background Santeri Hostikka.
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“It makes it easier when we know the players' families and backgrounds, we don't just throw players here and there.”
The ball club's talent coach Teemu Romppanen instructs the B-boys in training.
Coaching manager Panu Turpeinen says that Pallokerho wants to be specifically a breeding club, whose goal is not to increase the number of members, but to develop its players towards professional leagues.
The club accepts a limited number of players at least 12 years old. For example, 64 boys applied for the youngest age group that started at the end of last year. 28 of them were included. Those who were not selected continued in their own clubs.
“There were clearly more visitors this year than before. We can move forward very well. We have been very successful in our player development work recently,” says Turpeinen.
In total, there are about 300 players in the Ball Club. Last year, several Pallokerho graduates played in the girls' and boys' national teams.
“It makes it easier when we know the players' families and backgrounds, we don't just throw players here and there,” says Turpeinen.
“We focus on the fact that here in the Central Uusimaa region, there is no need to go to the capital region to play too early. The players could stay here until they go to the professional fields.”
The player profile of the ball club is strictly limited to the development of 12-22 year olds. It does not bet on amateur football or adult competitive football.
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“In the spring, we will do a tour of Italy and bring you rye bread!”
Panu Turpeinen, head coach of Keski-Uusimaa football club, watching the club's B-boys practice at Peakfin Areena in Korso.
In the future during the season, PKKU's adult teams play at higher league levels. The women's team plays in the National League and the men in the new First Division.
“The men got to the top a bit by accident on their own. Everything is fine if we manage with our own players. We have no desire to buy players from elsewhere,” says Turpeinen.
In the past, PKKU has not had sponsors or corporate sales. Last fall, fundraising and branding of the club started with Lehtimäki.
“We are trying to come up with new innovative ways to improve the cash register,” says Lehtomäki, who runs the club's administration alone.
There are only three full-time employees on the club's coaching side. In addition to head coach Turpeinen, he is also a club coach Goofy Karmala and talent coach Teemu Romppanen.
The football club has a policy that resources are not used for recreational football. The cooperative clubs Tuusula Palloseura and Keravan Pallo focus on checkers and recreational sports.
“We, on the other hand, are a channel for the most goal-oriented players in the region,” says Turpeinen.
Repeat new is the farm agreement that Pallokerho has made with Helsinki's Gnistan, which has been promoted to the Veikkausliiga.
“We hope that someone from us will go to the league ring already in the coming season, and correspondingly there are young people in Gnistan who can play for us,” Turpeinen says in the Tuusula municipality's shelters in the old art museum.
Tuusula's old bubble hall will be allowed to give way to the multi-purpose hall that will be built in its place. The ball club will get office space from the new hall and dressing rooms decorated in the club's colors.
“In my dreams, my own artificial turf would be the next step, only the financier is missing,” says Lehtomäki.
Now the teams play in the open air on artificial turf in Tuusula and artificial turf in Kaleva. Even this winter, the hall shifts will be at the Korson Peakf arena, before the Tuusula multipurpose hall is up
Old man Happonen says he is grateful for the support he received from the Ball Club.
Coaching manager Turpeinen says that the employees are in close contact with the players who have left the club and try to help in all matters as needed.
“Get on with it. We will do a tour of Italy in the spring and bring you rye bread!” Turpeinen encourages Happo.
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