News book | Martin Saarikanka’s strange trick surprised even Sweden: “Even with your pants on the wrong way around”

For the long haul football coach Juha Malinen says in his recent biography Juha Malinen – a longer syllabus for coaching (Art House) that he is the pilot who has put the Veikkausliiga’s youngest and oldest player on the field.

The youngest is the super talent of his time in Oulu football Matias Ojalawhich Malinen released when he was only 15 years old in AC Oulu’s shirt in 2010.

The elder is the mountain counselor Martin Saarikangaswho played in the opening lineup of TPS, piloted by Malisen, against HJK in an away match in August 1994. Shipyard boss Saarikangas was 57 years old at the time.

Malinen, 66, returns to the Saarikangas episode together Mika Wickström and Markku Saukon in the book he wrote with According to Malinen, the chairman of TPS Jukka Aarnivaara invited him over and informed the club’s major sponsor Saarikanka that he wanted to play in the team’s league match.

“After the initial confusion, I realized that it really wasn’t a joke. They calmed me down by telling me that Saarikangas is just walking around on the field. I accepted the facts shaking my head and swore that Saarikangas would only spend a couple of minutes on the field from the start of the game, no more than that,” says Malinen in the book.

Malisen he didn’t let Saarikanga join the warm-ups or the TPS locker room.

“Iso-Masa” came along only when the teams were leaving for the player presentation.

“For the match ceremonies, the players had to jog from the side of the old ball field to the actual playing field. Saarikangas came as an extension of the group and was left behind at every step. He arrived heavily sweltering at the player presentation in the center circle,” says Malinen and continues:

“On the side of the field, I cursed in my mind. The man seemed to have his pants on the wrong way round! We lost the battle for the top spot cleanly 0–3. Of course, the newspapers, including the Swedish Aftonbladet, wrote that this is also a prank.”

Saarikangas played four minutes in the match and got to touch the ball a couple of times.

Malinen says in the book, that Saarikangas wanted to go on the field because the president of the International Athletics Federation Primo Nebiolo was in Helsinki at the European Championships at that time.

Saarikangas wanted to show his acquaintance Nebiolo his influence. At that time, Saarikangas was the chairman of Suomen Liikunta ja Urheilu ry.

Ylen Urheiluruutu made a fresh story about the incident. Yelle Saarikangas regretted what happened and considered his playing a big mistake.

According to Saarikanka, it was an assessment error by TPS. He was supposed to kick only the opening kick, but he ended up being the main star of the farce.

HJK won the match 3–0.