Long live the King!

Fans of the beautiful game suffered disappointment in Portugal, but the most faithful still believe Finnish football needs Jari Litmanen

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By Heikki Hellman
     
      In chess, the one piece on the board without which you cannot survive is the King. What of football?
      On Wednesday, a goalless draw in Porto meant that Finland did not progress to the finals of the European Championships next summer.
      The looked-for miracle could not be conjured up, even by the man the fans have elevated to the status of "the King", midfield playmaker Jari Litmanen.
      Litmanen, whose recent career has been blighted by injuries, played in eight of the 14 qualifying matches and scored three goals.
      Even though he was far from the form of his prime, many held the hope that the King would just this once have a shot at wearing a Finnish shirt in a major tournament.
      Much the same as all the hockey fans hoped Teemu Selänne would finally be able to lift the coveted Stanley Cup.
     
In a poll carried out earlier this autumn on FutisForum, a fans’ message board, some 76 per cent of respondents were of the opinion that Finland still needs the services of Jari Litmanen.
      Just over a week ago, the fans paid a handsome tribute to their idol at the final Finnish home match of the Euro 2008 campaign, against Azerbaijan.
      Before the kick-off, a giant Litmanen banner was rolled out over the heads of the hardcore fans in Block B20.
     
The gesture, seen by some as a "thanks and farewell" moment on what might have been his last home appearance for Finland, had Litmanen biting his lip and close to tears.
      And as anyone who knows him will tell you, Litmanen is most definitely not normally one to let his feelings show.
      That match was won, in the end, but what about after the disappointment in Portugal?
      Do the Finnish football fans still need the skills of the 36-year-old Ajax, Barcelona, and Liverpool veteran in the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup?
      What says Jari Ala-aho, one of those behind the making of the giant Litti banner?
     
"Of course. Litmanen has great significance for the fans. And he generates the right spirit in the dressing room, too", replies Ala-aho.
      If Litmanen nevertheless decides to withdraw from international duty, there will an interregnum in prospect.
      "There are a lot of good guys who have come into the side, but the King is always the King. There are no new candidates to take his place right now. Later, maybe, there will be someone to take up the crown."
     
Jari Ala-aho is a 27-year-old football-mad taxi driver from Ruukki in Northern Ostrobothnia. He returned home from Porto on Friday, well recovered from the long trip.
      He is a supporter of AC Oulu, a team that made a fleeting visit to Finland's Veikkaus League last season. His favourite among foreign clubs is AC Chievo Verona in the Italian Serie A.
      And naturally Ala-aho is active in the Finnish national side's supporters' club, founded five years ago.
      In March of this year he drove, with three of his mates, on a 13,300-kilometre odyssey from Oulu to Baku and back - just to see Finland play Azerbaijan in a Euro 2008 qualifier. The trip was made in a 17-year-old Lada station wagon.
      It stands to reason he was present for all seven of Finland's home games, and he also went to three away matches.
     
Now Ala-aho and the other Finnish fans are starting preparations for the World Cup qualifiers next autumn. The draw takes place in Durban today.
      "We should get Sweden in the same group as us. That would be the dream opposition."
      Does Finland have a chance of qualifying?
      "Of course. With Litmanen or without him."
     
But what on earth happened to the Litmanen banner that Ala-aho and his colleagues had made in a workshop on the island of Suomenlinna?
      The image, made of nearly 300 square metres of sheets sewn together, was left after the game in B20 on the South Bank of the Olympic Stadium.
      Since then it has not been seen.
      Did it get thrown in the garbage, or did someone perhaps roll the King up and take him home as a souvenir?
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 25.11.2007


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland to meet Germany and Russia in 2010 World Cup qualification (26.11.2007)
  Portugal 0 Finland 0 - the Finns hold on, but the dream of qualification is over (22.11.2007)
  Finland 2 Azerbaijan 1 - Onwards to Porto, fingers crossed (19.11.2007)

Links:
  Jari Litmanen (Wikipedia)

HEIKKI HELLMAN / Helsingin Sanomat
heikki.hellman@hs.fi