First test for Finnish team under new coach

Stuart Baxter admires Arsenal and supports Aston Villa

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Finland's national football team play their first full international tonight under their new coach Stuart Baxter, when they meet Greece in a friendly in Cyprus.
      The team has been holding a winter camp on the island, and played Poland on Saturday in a B-international, losing 1-0.
      The Greece game, however, will see an altogether stronger Finnish side turning out, although there are still some absentees.
      Baxter has the services of captain Jari Litmanen and Mika Väyrynen in midfield, and strikers Mikael Forssell, Alexei Eremenko, and Jonatan Johansson will all get a run-out, but the central defence looks somewhat unfamiliar without the likes of Sami Hyypiä and Hannu Tihinen. Peter Enckelman will be in goal, as Jussi Jääskeläinen has duties with his club Bolton.
     
A relaxed Baxter spoke to the Finnish media at length on Tuesday, and whilst he revealed little of his plans for Wednesday's game in Nicosia, he did shed some light on his own personal preferences in the game.
      One is the playing style of Arsenal. This is unsurprising, as Baxter is a personal friend of the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
      He also noted that he had grown up as a passionate supporter of the Birmingham club Aston Villa, not least because his father was on the coaching staff at Villa Park at one time.
     
For now, Baxter will be looking particularly to see how well Litmanen performs after a lengthy layoff, as his involvement in the upcoming World Cup campaign in the autumn is naturally a question-mark.
      Alexei Eremenko Jr., too, is coming back after injury - only in his case, he was put on the sidelines after getting his jaw broken outside a Moscow bar last November.
      The signs are that tonight Baxter will play Eremenko wide in midfield, and push Litmanen up alongside Forssell or Johanssson up front.
     
     
Tonight's game is being shown live on the Canal+ pay channel from 21:15.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish FA appoints Stuart Baxter as new coach for national team (28.1.2008)

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