Big Russian contingent anticipated for World Cup qualifier in Helsinki

Finnish fans will have their work cut out next Wednesday

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In recent years it has been refreshing and heart-warming to see that Finland's national football team have got themselves a worthy fan-base.
      In earlier times it was commonplace for the Olympic Stadium to be filled for the arrival of some large footballing nation, but apart from some bovine bellowing at corners and other set-pieces ("Maali! Maali!"), there was little consistent support, and if Finland fell behind, more often than not the handful of travelling fans from the visiting side would drown out any incoherent noises the Finns were making.
     
Mercifully, all this has changed.
      A small hardcore of fans, once penned in on the stadium's South Bank, has now swelled to the point where it has been necessary to set aside much of the north end of the arena to accommodate the members of the Suomen Maajoukkueen Kannattajat (Finnish National Team Supporters' Association, SMJK).
      They march from the centre of town to the stadium, they sing lustily, they have flags and scarves, and are often dressed in Finnish team colours; they make banners and tifos, and they have by their example taught others around them that they can be a 12th man influencing the team.
      They also travel - there were nearly two thousand Finns in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the useful 2-0 win against Wales in March.
     
All this is good, and it will be sorely needed next Wednesday (10.6.), for by all accounts the World Cup qualifier with Russia is going to be a stern test not just for the players, but also for the fans.
      According to figures from the Finnish FA, their Russian counterparts have sold more than 4,000 tickets to travelling Russian fans - 3,750 in the enclosure for away supporters in the B-stand on the South Bank, and a further 375 tickets for the suits sitting in the main grandstand.
      Added to this are the possibly thousands of tickets that have been bought by Russians living in Finland through the normal channels of the Lippupalvelu sales offices.
     
The largest "foreign contingent" to arrive in the stadium prior to this was the 2,700 English fans who turned up to watch a World Cup qualifier in October 2000, and this will comfortably be exceeded.
      The police and stadium security officials have naturally taken steps to ensure order is maintained, but there are no serious fears of trouble in prospect: Russian football hooliganism tends to be almost completely associated with vicious club rivalries, and there have been no real problems involving the supporters of the national side.
     
Fortunately for the hosts, the size of the dedicated SMJK section has also been increased - by popular demand.
      More blocks on the North Bank will be occupied by the hardcore supporters' club members, and doubtless the fans themselves will not have been idle in the time since the last home game, but will have designed new flags and composed new songs.
      It promises to be an interesting night, both on and off the field.
     
However, before any of that happens, Finland must do the business against a much smaller opponent, bringing a very much smaller group of fans - Liechtenstein.
      The Finns play Liechtenstein at home on Saturday. Some 16,000 tickets have been sold for this match, and the Russia game on the following Wednesday is naturally a sell-out, with a crowd of around 37,000 expected.
      Saturday will give the Finnish fans a chance to get in good voice for the main event next week, but without a confident three-point display on the field, it will hardly matter.
     
Finland must not take Liechtenstein for granted: every point in the UEFA qualifying group is vital, as only one team goes automatically into the draw for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and the runner-up progresses into a playoff.
      Finland are currently third in the group with seven points from four games, behind Germany (16 points from six matches) and Russia (12 points from five matches).
      Finland's only defeat so far came against Russia in Moscow last October.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  World Cup Qualification, Wales 0 Finland 2 (30.3.2009)

Links:
  SMJK (in Finnish)
  UEFA World Cup 2010 Qualification Group 4 (Wikipedia)

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