|
Finland still searching for Mr Right
| |
|
|
SPL-FBF president Pekka Hamalainen (¿www.palloliitto.fi)
|
Football Association of Finland (SPL-FBF) president Pekka
Hamalainen feels "our first final tournament is not far away"
as he seeks a coach to replace Roy Hodgson.
Mighty inheritance
A 0-0 draw in their final UEFA EURO 2008T qualifier against Portugal in
Lisbon saw Finland miss out on next summer's finals, with Hodgson deciding
to take up a new post at FC Internazionale Milano shortly afterwards.
However, while Hamalainen was disappointed by the Englishman's departure,
he is certain that his successor will inherit a national team with huge
potential.
'Not far away'
"We were very satisfied with Mr Hodgson's work here," said the
69-year-old SPL-FBF president. "However, now it's time to move on.
We have plenty of quality players, and EURO qualification showed that
our first final tournament is not far away. Now we have a task to find
a top quality head coach to meet the requirements set by our team's performances.
Ongoing work
"There are many good things to build on," he added. "We
don't want to change things around, but rather improve some aspects of
our game and continue on the path set during the past two years. Roy Hodgson's
professionalism and his philosophy to build on the team's strengths worked
well. We have to find something similar to be in South Africa [for the
FIFA World Cup] in 2010."
Applications open
Applications for the position are being welcomed before 17 December, and
while a foreign coach seems the most likely appointment, Hamalainen insisted
the position was open to all. "It is naturally important that the
new coach understands the Nordic character, and knows international football,"
he said. "We are not searching for a coach of any specific nationality,
but simply the best possible coach for our ambitious team."
Consultancy role
The SPL-FBF executive committee will consult Hodgson and his former assistant
Jyrki Heliskoski on the new appointment. During Hodgson's tenure, Finland
climbed 16 spots in the FIFA rankings. Currently positioned 36th, Finland
have been drawn against Germany, Russia, Wales, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein
in 2010 World Cup qualifying Group 4.
UEFA.com,
5 December 2007
| |
