March 8:
Still not much to report.
I’m still in Myllykoski waiting on an opportunity. It looks like I will get a shot in Division 1
in Sweden. Despite its name, Division 1
is actually the 3rd tier of Swedish soccer. I have no idea what the level will be like
there, or the pay, but at this point I just need a team that believes in
me. Last year, there was a striker who
started the season in Division 1, then went to Allsvenskan and before the calendar
year was up was signed by Celtic in Scotland.
If I sign in Sweden, that level of success is my goal.
Anyway, speaking of division 1, last night I went with Kenny
to a match in Lapeenranta. Kenny has
been training with PEPO, a team there in Division 1 while still staying at the
apartment here with me. The coach of
PEPO comes every day to pick him up and make the hour-long drive to and from
practice. The club had a game so I
decided to tag along and watch. Kenny
didn’t play because it was a Finnish Cup match for the team. This is different from the League Cup that
I’ve mentioned a few times here before.
The League Cup is only for Veikkausliiga clubs; The Finnish Cup is open
to all teams. The Finnish Cup is the
equivalent of the US Open Cup in America.
On to the match…it was…the…worst professional game I’ve ever
seen. And I’ve seen professional soccer
in Vietnam. This team PEPO apparently
won this league last year, but then lost a playoff to move up to the 2nd
tier of Finnish soccer. I honestly can’t
believe that. The team (in the purple
and yellow jersey) played with no midfield whatsoever, made terrible mistakes
in the back and countless simple technical mistakes. A misstrap here and there is ok, but when it
becomes a common occurrence you have to wonder about a team. Also, PEPO reintroduced the ‘ol “kick it out
of bounds play”, something I haven’t seen since I watched girls high school
soccer at North Central. If you’re not
familiar, the “kick it out of bounds play” is when, for no particular reason
and without any pressure, a player kicks the ball straight out of bounds. This is not a defensive tactic, but rather a
result of the player being absolutely terrible.
I’ve included a gameplay video but it doesn’t do this terrible match
justice at all.
I’ve been told that I have a trial in the same tier over in
Sweden, and if the level there is anything like it is in Finland, then I don’t
think I’ll stay at that level for too long.
I’m not overstating when I say that this game was similar to what you’d
see at the Fowler Fields at USF during intramurals.
So I’m confident now of being offered a contract, even if
it’s at a lower level than I’d like. My
goal was to sign in Europe somewhere and see how far my skills could take me
given a fair shot to be seen that I could never get in America. Not a single player is going from USL or NASL
to a big team in Europe. Brad Rusin went
to the worst team in the top league in Denmark, but that’s about as good as any
lower division player in America could hope for. Meanwhile as I mentioned, lower division
players in Sweden can dream of signing for Celtic and making 15,000 euros a
week.
Wish me luck. I think
I’ll be going to Sweden soon, but I’ll wait for the people who arrange these
things to confirm it.
PHOTOBOMB! That’s my
baby niece, Amani. She’s super cute and needs
to be seen.
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