"There's some corner of a Finnish square..."

"...that is for ever Leeds" (Black armbands will be worn)

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By Kari Räisänen
     
      It was mostly down to coincidence. More than 30 years ago, Erkko Mannila was watching on a black and white television set as Chelsea and Leeds United met in the 1970 FA Cup Final.
      Erkko’s big brother picked Chelsea in the blue strip, which meant that his little brother got Leeds in their all-white outfits. Chelsea eventually won 2-1 in a replay at Old Trafford after the Wembley match finished 2-2. Yesterday Erkko was in Helsinki’s Senate Square to pay his respects and bow his head at Leeds United’s relegation from the English Premiership.
      Mannila and Heikki Laakso had invited other Finnish-based  United fans to the wake in the Senate Square. On offer were words of consolation, some community singing (the Leeds United anthem Marching on Together), coffee, and cake.
     
The highlight of the event was an aerial flypast. Mannila’s father-in-law, at the controls of a light plane, flew over the centre of Helsinki towing a large banner bearing the words "Voi Viduka. Leeds divariin".
      Mannila’s father-in-law was in action in the skies for the second time: in 1992 he had celebrated Leeds United's victory in the English League Championship in similar style.
      For those not in the know, Mark Viduka is an Australian striker who has represented Leeds for a couple of seasons, though it is likely he will be among the players disappearing to other clubs next season when the club play in "Divari", the English First Division.
      It might also be necessary to point out that the expression "Voi Viduka" pays more than a passing resemblance to a typical Finnish expletive, not a million miles away from the F-word.
     
Mannila and Laakso have travelled to see Leeds matches in England two or three times a season. They belong to the London branch of the Leeds United supporters’ club, which always heads up to the Yorkshire city together for home matches at Elland Road.
      "The first time we went along, we assumed there would be hundreds of fans on the train. Usually it was no more than one couple and a few drunks, whom we plied with salmiakkikossu ", reports Mannila. The drink in question is a singularly Finnish construct of grain vodka and salt licorice or sal ammoniac.
     
Next season, Leeds United will be swapping the Chelseas, Arsenals, and Liverpools of this world for such great names as Gillingham and Rotherham United. Mannila vows that he will nevertheless be travelling to Leeds as often as before.
      "One of the big drawbacks of relegation is that matches in the First Division aren’t broadcast on Finnish TV", grumbles Mannila. Live Premiership football is available here to subscribers of the Canal Plus channels.
      One person who is apparently less crestfallen at the lack of TV coverage is Mannila’s wife Sari Mikkonen-Mannila.
      "I guess next winter we’ll be able to watch something on television besides football", she says.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 18.5.2004


Links:
  Leeds United FC Official Site

KARI RÄISÄNEN / Helsingin Sanomat
kari.raisanen@hs.fi