Finland 0 Romania 1: Not really much to celebrate

THIS SPORTING LIFE

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By Timo Järviö
     
      Finland's national football squad marked up a kind of jubilee in Saturday's World Cup qualifier on Saturday: the match was the 100th encounter played by Finland in FIFA World Cup tournaments, dating back to 1937.
      There was not much cause for jubilation in the centenary. In fact the match left nothing whatsoever for home fans to cheer, as Romania came and demonstrated how a talented team can get the business done away from home. They won by the only goal of the game, and now Finland's World Cup balance sheet contains 23 wins, 14 draws, and 63 defeats.
     
The Romanians, who showed off speed, skill, and muscle to good effect on Saturday, have never been particularly kind opponents for the Finns. Eight previous encounters had brought Finland just three draws and five defeats, and a goal difference of 4-23.
      In their last two home fixtures against Romania, the Finns had at least managed to scramble a draw (in 1985 and 1972). Now the team is threatened with an embarrassing whitewash situation: if they lose to the Czech Republic on Wednesday night in the last UEFA Group 1 encounter, it will be the first time since the qualifications for the 1982 World Cup Finals that the Finns have not taken a single point off teams in their group that are ranked above them in the FIFA listings.
     
In the campaign now grinding to a close, Finland has grabbed its points at the expense of Armenia, Macedonia, and Andorra, but Romania and Holland have already done the double over us, and the Czechs heartbreakingly beat the Finns 4-3 in Teplice in March. A bit of local pride is thus riding on the last match, in addition to the Czechs' urgent desire to win and secure themselves a play-off place.
      One might well ask, now that the dust is settling on the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, how Finland has developed, all things considered. One straight answer at least is that the team has still not learnt how to turn important matches to its own advantage - how to win the big games.
     
The early days of Jyrki Heliskoski's career as head coach* could be described as a kind of honeymoon, when in his first three matches in charge the Finns faced Macedonia twice (big wins on both occasions) and Andorra once. Against Andorra the team did not really turn up, and they fumbled their way to a goalless away draw.
      Saturday's performance was roughly at the level of the Andorra match. For most of the 90 minutes the team played like lost sheep, and the ball hardly ever seemed to find the right man in the right place. Finland's showing was so lame that it is unlikely that anyone will lose much sleep over the fact that Romania won through a disputed penalty goal. On the basis of the TV replays the decision was a bit harsh, but the right response from the referee.
      In any event, Romania were ahead in every department, and the 36-year-old midfielder Dorinel Munteanu and Juventus star Adrian Mutu - who rampaged down the left and gave young Ari Nyman a torrid time of it - both showed what can be done with the right mix of skill and common sense.
      Not one of the Finnish squad came close to matching their contribution.
     
The Finns were admittedly missing a clutch of key players (Petri Pasanen, Hannu Tihinen, Jari Litmanen, Mika Väyrynen, and Aki Riihilahti). Once again we saw how vulnerable the side are if one or more of the best players are absent.
      The result does not always depend on who happens to be managing and coaching the team.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 9.10.2005
     
     
* Translator's Note: Heliskoski's is a temporary assignment between the dismissal of Antti Muurinen in the summer and the arrival of Roy Hodgson in 2006 for the European Championship qualifying games; Hodgson was present on Saturday and will have been well aware of the task in prospect.

More on this subject:
 Finland 0 Romania 1 (World Cup UEFA Qualifying Group 1)

Links:
  UEFA Group 1

TIMO JÄRVIÖ / Helsingin Sanomat