Today, a unique “Five things”, focussing on the experience of my first ever Finland match.

Finland tickets are great value for money

Finland might have lost, but I walked away from the Olympic Stadium last Tuesday feeling satisfied with the entertainment that had been on show. And then I remembered how much – or rather, how little – I had paid for it. As I’m a student, my “season ticket” cost 57€ for five matches, or 11,40€ per match, including a free programme at every match. For the sake of comparison, that’s 0,60€ less than the cost of an admission to see a 3D film at Helsinki’s Kinopalatsi. It was also roughly 23€ less than the cost of watching England’s drab 0-0 draw with Montenegro in London. However, there might be a very good reason for the low cost, which is my next point…

The Olympic Stadium is really out of date

The first thing that struck me as I took my seat in the Olympic Stadium was actually the seat itself. As I expect many readers of this blog know, the seats are actually long benches, so that everyone’s seat is joined to the ones either side, with no gap. I saw many people bringing cushions or other padding to make sitting down more comfortable. Another thing that surprised me was the complete lack of executive boxes. Modern football stadiums are designed to maximise corporate revenue, and that means putting the best views of the pitch behind glass and then charging a fortune for them. The Olympiastadion, built in 1938, is definitely not a modern stadium.

The North Curve is the place to be

There was only one part of the crowd that was standing up for the whole match, initiating all the chants for the whole ground, and that was the Pohjoiskaarre, the North Curve. Everywhere else felt timid by comparison, only joining in occasionally. I wanted to be more active in showing my support, but I would have felt out of place in my location at the corner of the stadium. I saw one fan stand up and try to whip up the crowd, but he was largely ignored, which was a shame. The “twelfth man” can often be the difference between, for example, a 1-2 loss and a 1-1 draw.

I need to learn the national anthem

I’ve lived in Finland for two years but I still don’t know the words of the national anthem. That’s not really good enough. The programme contained the words, but I felt too embarrassed to read from it. And I wonder why nobody else in my area was singing? Compared to God Save the Queen, which I’ve never felt happy singing because I’m an atheist and a republican, Maamme is a tuneful and relatively stirring anthem. I’m determined to learn it before the San Marino match, so listen out for someone mispronouncing the words in a loud English accent!

Finnish people genuinely care about football

It might be unwise to draw any firm conclusions after one match, but I really got the impression last Tuesday that Finland really does care about the fortunes of its national football team. The attendance against Hungary was a shade under 20 000, which is only half the capacity of the Olympic Stadium, but still 5 000 more than against Wales in 2009, Finland’s last competitive match there. Many people may have booked before Finland’s losses against Moldova and Holland, but the emotions on show against Hungary – elation with the goal and incredible frustration at other times – were deep and genuine. Football might be a minority sport in Finland, but don’t let anyone tell you that Finns don’t care about it, because they do. And I’m delighted with that.

Finally, a question: how do you keep your feet warm at football matches in Finland during the winter? My toes were pretty much frozen by half-time, even with double socks, and it was somewhat painful to walk out of the ground at full-time. As it will be even colder by the time San Marino come to Helsinki, any tips would be appreciated!

Normal service on this blog resumes with an idea copied borrowed from The Guardian: five conclusions from the most recent series of international matches.

Finland probably won’t qualify for Euro 2012

It may seem far too early to be making such predictions, but I know that many a knowledgeable Finnish pundit would go further and omit the word “probably” from that headline. A dismal performance against Moldova, followed by a spirited but ultimately futile showing against Netherlands, leaves Finland on the same number of points as San Marino: 0. It’s been a case of “no steps forward, two steps back” for the Huuhkajat and qualification has become a very distant prospect. As I wrote in my previous entry, the team must keep trying to qualify, but third place in the group is a more realistic target now.

Finland’s away fans are fantastic

From the moment Mikael Forssell’s header went in against Netherlands, only one set of supporters could be heard in the crowd, and it wasn’t the ones dressed in orange. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Finnish fans made sure that Suomi! clap-clap-clap was the dominant chant in Rotterdam last Tuesday, aside from one brief spell where the home crowd was calling for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s introduction. The supporters cheered on the team, and the team gave them something to cheer about: that relationship needs to continue into the next match and beyond.

The team needs weaning off its older generation of players

As a foreign coach, Stuart Baxter cannot have the same depth of knowledge of the Finnish game as an experienced Finnish coach would have. That is not a criticism, but a fact. As a consequence, he is more likely to stick with the players who are familiar to him, as the starting XI against Moldova proved. Jari Litmanen is now 39, Sami Hyypiä is nearly 37 and Jonatan Johansson is 35, and the team cannot accommodate all of their ageing legs. While they each still have something to offer, Finland really must look to the future now, and that means that they should all depart gracefully by the end of this qualifying campaign.

The core of the next team is emerging

Only a few Finnish players really shone during the two recent qualifying defeats, and unsurprisingly, all of them were relatively young. I already applauded Mika Väyrynen (28 years old) in my Netherlands match report and suggested that he should be given more responsibility within the team over the next few years. Alongside him, Roman Eremenko (23) looked incredibly assured in both matches, exhibiting composure that was lacking in his central midfield partner, Tim Sparv, who is the same age. In defence, Niklas Moisander (24) looks to be a solid left-back who could step into the centre when others move on. Those three look to have bright futures with the national team.

Baxter is too conservative in his decision-making

As I mentioned above, Finland’s head coach Stuart Baxter seems to prefer “tried-and-tested” players over fresh faces. Shefki Kuqi was called into the squad after a year’s absence and then didn’t play, when a younger player could have benefited from the experience of being in the squad. Jari Litmanen’s place in the starting line-up against Moldova was baffling, on the evidence of his 45-minute performance. Against Netherlands, when Finland were behind, Baxter substituted Daniel Sjölund, the creator of Finland’s only goal, as well as the lively Kasper Hämäläinen, with no improvement to show for it. Despite speculation about his future, Baxter seems to be staying in his position, but only until his contract expires in 2012. In the meantime, I’d love to see him take a few more risks.