TamU celebrate despite home defeat; Jarkko Wiss ends career with fourth league title

AC Oulu relegated, Viikingit go to play-off against Rovaniemi

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As we reported in some greater detail last week, the Finnish football league season came to a climax at the weekend, even though it was already that Tampere United - or TamU - would be Veikkaus League Champions for the second year in succession.
      The last round of games brought a surprise in Tampere, as the home side went down 2-0 to Honka from Espoo.
      It also saw the end of one long career in the game as TamU midfielder Jarkko Wiss, 35, decided on doctor’s instructions that it was time to end his playing days while his right ankle still just about carried him.
     
Wiss played 45 internationals in a Finnish shirt, and has four Finnish league winners’ medals.
      In addition to representing several clubs in Finland, he spent a number of years playing in Norway and also turned out for Stockport County in England and Hibernian in Scotland.
     
Honka’s win in Tampere ultimately did them no good, since the Espoo team had themselves lost at home in midweek, and so could do no better than fourth place in the table. The runner-up spot went to FC Haka of Valkeakoski, who beat Viikingit 2-0 away in their last fixture.
      Haka needed the win to guarantee they stayed ahead of TPS of Turku, but as it happened TPS crashed to a 3-0 defeat in their last match of the season, against draw-specialists HJK Helsinki. The Turku club thus collected the bronze medals with 43 points to Haka’s 46.
      Despite their unexpected reversal against Honka, which was their first home defeat of the season, TamU held a comfortable eight-point cushion at the top.
     
At the bottom of the table, AC Oulu were automatically relegated, and the Helsinki team FC Viikingit will play off over two legs to survive in the top flight against the runner-up from the lower division RoPS of Rovaniemi.
      Oulu’s place will go to the First Division winners KuPS of Kuopio.
      Viikingit came within a whisker of drawing the short straw. AC Oulu were tied at 2-2 in their final game with only a minute or two left on the clock, and had they taken a point from that match, and had Viikingit lost 3-0 instead of 2-0, then the roles would have been reversed, and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area would have lost its third team in the top echelon. As it was, Honka finished 4th and HJK, with two late victories, dragged themselves up to 7th place.
     
Tampere United, who started the season as favourites, will be coached by Ari Hjelm again next season, and will have another chance to try to break into the European Champions League in 2008.
      This autumn they fell at the final hurdle before the group stages, going out to Rosenborg 5-0 on aggregate. They were also involved in the UEFA Cup qualifiers, but went down 4-3 to Bordeaux.
      Haka take the Finnish UEFA Cup qualifying spot, and TPS will go into the Intertoto Cup. Another UEFA Cup qualifying place awaits the winners of the Finnish Cup next month.
      If TamU manage to do the league and cup double, the ticket will go to the losing finalists.
     
TamU’s hectic European schedule has held things up somewhat on the Cup front, and they still have to play their quarter-final match against AC Oulu, but the three other semi-finalists are HJK, Honka, and GBK from Kokkola, a team playing in the Second Division.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Belated congratulations to Tampere United...(24.10.2007)

Links:
  Veikkaus League (Wikipedia)
  Tampere United (Wikipedia)

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