Finland meet Germany on Wednesday in first "official" international under Stuart Baxter

Assistant coach Olli Huttunen believes Baxter has brought a major change in style

print this

There seem to be varying opinions within the Finnish national squad over what changes the team's new coach Stuart Baxter has brought to their game.
      On Wednesday we may get an inkling of what the replacement for Roy Hodgson has instilled in the team, as Finland take on a real footballing giant in their opening 2010 World Cup qualifying match.
      Finland play host tomorrow to Germany, the beaten finalists in this summer's Euro 2008 competition. The game in the Olympic Stadium will be the first real test of the Finnish players under new leadership: all previous matches since Baxter took over in January have been friendlies.
     
"One or two small things", says team captain Sami Hyypiä on what new insights Baxter has brought to the table relative to his predecessor, who took the Finns to the brink of qualification for Euro 2008 before heading to club management at Fulham.
      At least to the eye of the outsider, it seemed that performances during the Hodgson reign were marked by extreme caution.
      "More or less the same approach. Maybe we are looking more at turning defence into attack more quickly and getting the ball upfield faster", notes Hyypiä.
     
After the skipper's stint with the press is over, the national team's assistant coach Olli Huttunen expresses his own views on the matter and says that he feels the changes are substantive, particularly in the way the defence and the wide midfield players link up.
      He says they have been given a much more active and broad-ranging role than under Hodgson.
      Huttunen suggests that perhaps Sami Hyypiä has not had enough time to see the differences, as he has not been heavily involved so far. In fairness, the Germany game will only be Hyypiä's second match under Baxter.
     
Huttunen goes on to cite the free-ranging role given to the wide men in midfield, and the way defenders have been given more liberty to move up under certain situations.
      "The main thing, however, is that we preserve the shape of the team at all times", says Huttunen, regardless of whether the Finns have possession or not. Baxter is not about to compromise on keeping things tight at the back.
     
Stuart Baxter has gone through a string of alternatives with each player, in different positions in the line-up. In training, players have been slotted into less accustomed roles in order to ensure that it will come as no surprise if they are forced by circumstances to play out of position, explains Huttunen, and his remarks are to be taken as referring at least in part to the defensive structure.
      Hyypiä will be joined in the middle of the back four on Wednesday night by any one of Petri Pasanen, Toni Kuivasto, or even Toni Kallio, in the absence through injury of regular partner Hannu Tihinen.
      Huttunen also notes that the team has been training for set-pieces more rigorously than under Hodgson - something that will be worth its weight in gold if the side can blank out the German attack, which is always dangerous from free-kicks and corners, even if Michael Ballack will not be among those players travelling to Helsinki.
     
Whoever he has playing alongside him, Hyypiä is likely to have a busy evening in prospect, as Germany will be bringing strikers such as Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose to the Stadium.
      Podolski scored a brace in Germany's pipe-opening 6-0 victory away to Liechtenstein at the weekend.
      The fact that Germany won and won comfortably, albeit against a footballing minnow, is likely to have given the visitors confidence, but Hyypiä hopes it might also work to the Finns' advantage, especially if the Germans come thinking they have the match won before they start.
     
A full house of more than 35,000 is in prospect for the game, which kicks off on Wednesday at 20:35.
      Fans are being encouraged to wear white for the occasion - the last time the Stadium was "bleached white" was in June of last year, when Finland took out Belgium 2-0 in a EURO 2008 qualifier.
      Anyone attending should remember there will probably be long lines for security at the gates and it is worth getting into the ground in good time.
     
Finland last played Germany in the Olympic Stadium some seven years ago.
      The match ended 2-2, after the Finns raced into a 2-0 half-time lead through goals from Mikael Forssell.
      His contribution up front will be much-needed once again. Forssell's absence through injury for much of the Euro 2008 campaign was one reason for Finland's lack of penetration up front - the team kept a tight grip at the back, but few matches are won without scoring goals.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland win World Cup warm-up against Israel (21.8.2008)
  Finnish FA appoints Stuart Baxter as new coach for national team (28.1.2008)

Links:
  Finnish Football Association pages (mostly in Finnish)
  Finland National Football Team (Wikipedia)
  Football in Finland blog

Helsingin Sanomat