Preseason Matchday #2: Finnish Cup 4th Round

One official game, one win.

 

We played a Finnish Cup 4^th Round game last night against the local Division 2 team, IFK Vasa (or maybe they’re called Vasa IFK).  We won 2-0 with goals either side of halftime from Jarno and Patu.  Of course I don’t really do in-depth game recaps, but I will make a few points about the match before inevitably talking about myself since, hey, it’s my blog.

 

Now on to the game.  First of all, Vasa IFK Vasa (I’ll just call them that or VIFK so that I get the name at least half right) is a really good team.  I didn’t have any familiarity with the level of teams in Division 2, but from the looks of it it must be a decent league.  That’s surprising to me, since I trained for a day with a Division 3 team last February right after I was released by MYPA to stay fit for my trial with ESK in Sweden.  That Division 3 team was terrible and resembled a youth club.  Vasa IFK Vasa on the other hand had a bunch of players that honestly wouldn’t look out of place in Veikkausliiga.  I don’t know how it looked from the outside, but on the pitch it felt like we were just chasing shadows while Vasa IFK Vasa calmly moved the ball around for the first 15 minutes or so.  We were making all the chances, but it seemed like we were just getting counterattacks and not controlling anything.  Even though Jarno scored in about the 40^th minute, I felt like the game was very even going into halftime.

 

This was my first halftime with VPS, since I didn’t start the previous game and was warming up during that time.  It’s always interesting to see what teams do during the interval.  I won’t get into tactics and stuff since that stuff’s not important to this blog.  Instead I’ll talk a bit about a few of the things that go on during a professional soccer halftime.  While you guys are out getting hot dogs or whatever food they sell at Finnish sports events, we’re underneath the stands doing the most random things ever.  I think that people believe that halftime consists of a 15-minute team talk from the coach.  In reality it’s more like a church, with 75% of the time spent on personal reflection and 25% spent by tactical/motivational discussion.  Most of the guys took their jerseys off because honestly those things are like straight jackets.  When I saw that VPS had long sleeve jerseys last year I thought it was so cool.  But then again it was -3 degrees and the field was frozen.  It’s a totally different story when you’re playing in a climate controlled hall.  I didn’t take my jersey off, mostly because the previous #19 for VPS had a medium jersey meaning that I have the same and I simply couldn’t easily take the jersey off.  I guess it’s all those big muscles I have!

 

Aside from stripping, there are other things going on.  A couple of guys were doing sit ups and/or push ups, something I would never dream of during halftime.  I think I even saw a player get a coffee which is crazy to me.  Personally, I just sat in my spot in the locker room on the floor so my legs could stay extended.  I was quite tired at halftime as this was only my second competitive game since last October.  Anyway, after the 15 minutes were up and Oka (the coach) had given his speech we headed out for the second half.

 

In my opinion (I shouldn’t use that phrase.  It’s obviously my opinion since I’m writing it, but I can’t really think of a better way to start this sentence right now.) the second half was much better than the first from our point of view.  We did a better job of controlling the pace of the game and didn’t give up any chances that I can think of.  We also created a bunch of chances of our own.  While I didn’t really have any chances, I did help create some things and opened up the field with my pace.  Great for the team, terrible for my lungs and legs.  By the 60^th minute I was just about completely gassed.  Luckily for me and the team, Patrick Lomski scored in the 72^nd minute or so and from there it was a stroll.  Vasa IFK Vasa had to change their formation and it allowed us to dictate the rest of the game.  2-0 to the good guys!

 

I guess I did end up doing a sort of recap of the match.  I’ll finish up by just mentioning a few things that I took from this match.  First, I feel very confident that I can help solve the striker problem at this club.  I know I didn’t score any goals and honestly did pretty poorly with the few chances I received/created.  That said, I have all the tools to be a good Veikkausliiga striker.  Given some time I think that I could make that position mine.  Of course I’m prepared to play anywhere.  I’ve spoken to Oka a few times about this and he knows that I’m a willing to play anywhere for the team.  Let’s just hope that nothing happens that forces Oka to have to put me at center back or something!  I’ll do it, but I can pretty much guarantee that we’d lose that game and that Henri (our goalie) will want to kill me afterward.  Second, I’m really excited about this team this year.  We played a game without a signed striker and with a handful of important players missing, but still managed to get a comfortable win against a team that I would guess could easily play in Division 1.  And while they had their moments, I think a neutral fan would admit that we could have won by 3-0 or 4-0 with a bit of luck.

 

Ok enough about the game.  The team has four days off in lieu of the Easter holiday.  I find it kind of ironic that all of Finland shuts down for good Friday despite the fact that I’ve seen two churches the entire time I’ve been here.  In America, there’s a church on every corner and we swear we’re the most religious people ever, but on Good Friday you take your ass to work.  Same with the day after Easter.  Anyway, I’ll be here in Vaasa training and getting my fitness up since I’m a model professional.  Haha clearly that’s not the case, I just don’t have enough money to travel anywhere.  I wasn’t lying about getting my fitness up though.  If you see me walking in Vaasa (I’m not hard to miss around here) offer to drive me to the gym!  It’s like a 40 minute walk from my house and I’m afraid to jog there because there’s still quite a bit of ice outside.

 

That’s all.  Sorry again for no pictures.  I’ve been doing a really bad job at that but it’ll get better I promise.  I might look around and see if there’s any pictures on the newspaper websites or elsewhere and post them.

 

The meme.  It's explains my writing style perfectly:

Preseason Matchday 1: Really? My old team for the first game?

Ok I didn’t expect this. 

 

My last blog post, which I honest to God thought would get less than 10 views, got over 3000 views in the last few days.  I wouldn’t have started it with a random curse word if I knew people would be reading it!  I’d like to say that this blog is better when I’m actually trying, but it’s probably not.  I guess that’s up to you to decide!

 

But back to business.  Today we played Haka in a friendly match and won 3-0.  I played the second half as a right winger and played ok.  I had 2-3 pretty good moments but just as many poor moments.  From a professional point of view the game was simply a good workout and time to get to know my new teammates a bit.  From a personal point of view though it was much more meaningful.  That’s because Haka is my former club (for those who didn’t know).  This game was the first time in my entire life that I played a former team of mine.  It was strange in the buildup to the game seeing people I fought so hard with and shared a lot of memories, good and bad, now on the other side of the field.  I can’t think of another profession where this happens.  Most companies don’t compete in such a face-to-face way as soccer teams do.  If I switched accounting firms, I’d never have to sit in a room with my former co-workers doing whatever it is accountants do (And don’t say they do accounting!).

 

During the game though life was much simpler, as is often the case.  We made pretty wholesale changes at the half, and it showed in the first 10-15 minutes of the second half.  Haka had us on the back foot and I spent the early parts of my preseason debut cutting out passes and chasing a fullback.  Once us subs got our legs underneath us we started to do well and create chances.  I had a few moments where I was able to show my skills a bit, but mostly I was just working on getting my defensive work right.  My performance today was very similar to my early performances with Haka, when my teammates didn’t really know me that well and vice versa.  I think that after a few months here in Vaasa my teammates will figure out how to best use me and I will be a bigger asset to the club.  That’s not a criticism or anything, just a fact of assimilating new players into a club.  If you want to know more about the game itself, I’ll warn you that this isn’t really the blog for that.  I’ve gotten some feedback and found that people by far want to know more about off the field things and my personal feelings about matches rather than a summary of VPS’s games.  Match reports will be on VPS’s website, www.vepsu.fi.  The only other thing I’ll say about the match is that it was the first game I’ve played in my entire life where I was happy not to score.  As for Haka, they have a really good team and probably didn’t deserve to lose 3-0.  I am friendly with all of those guys still.  I really hope that they win their league this year and return to Veikkausliiga where the club belongs.  I also hope they make the Finnish Cup final and lose to us.  Then if we finish in the top 4 then Haka can have European football next season.

 

Up next for VPS is a Finnish Cup game against Vaasa IFK.  They are a 2^nd division team, but they must be quite good since they beat SJK in the previous round of the Cup.  We are taking them seriously and already have started gameplanning for the match Thursday.  I’m hoping to get the start for that match, but if not I’m happy to fill any role that I’m asked.  What’s most important in a Cup is just getting a win and progressing.  I think we have a good team so it’d be a shame if we slipped up in the first game.

 

That’s it for now.  Sorry about the lack of pictures thus far.  But if you want to see what I’ve been seeing just look outside.  There’s snow everywhere so I haven’t been taking too many pictures yet.  Once color comes to the trees and ground of Vaasa, pictures will come to my blog!  Until then you'll have to settle for pictures of my niece, Amani.

 

 

The meme:

 

 

Return of the Yank

I’m back motherfuckers!

 

(Sorry for the language, that’ll probably be the only f-bomb I’ll drop this entire year.)

 

Almost five full months after I became a free agent, I have signed with my new club VPS in the Finnish Veikkausliiga.  It is a one year contract, or really a 7-month contract to be exact since it only runs until the end of October 2013 and pays 1300 euros a month + a club provided apartment.  There is also a team option on the contract after four months, so if I disappear around August 1 you’ll know what happened!  If you were wondering, this contract means basically two things:

1. GITS is back in effect. (You don't get that because you didn't play for the Harrisburg City Islanders in 2011)

2. The blog has (barely) survived the winter and will live on another year.

 

That’s about all I’m gonna write for today because I’m quite sure that absolutely nobody will be reading this blog post.  I’m sure that after a month of not posting anything nobody checks this blog, so I might as well put a few up before they start getting long-winded and whiny like you guys are all used to J.

 

Now before I go today, I’ll mention that I spent the better part of this winter collecting hilarious GIFs to put as my memes.  Unfortunately, I have no clue how to save a gif and transfer it to this blog so for now you’ll have to just deal with regular memes.  Til next time!

 

The meme:

Winter Update!

I said I'd post once a week, but clearly that is not going to happen.

My life is laughably boring at the moment.  I've been substitute teaching at my mom's school just about every single day then sitting at my parents' house or my condo.  My car is still not running so I don't go out even that often.  I've been staying in shape, but I haven't done any weightlifting which is not good because this is the time of year that I really need to be trying to build strength to avoid injuries in 2013.

There is literally no news for me soccer-wise and that makes me really nervous.  This time last year, I had a team in Allsvenskan telling me that I was 50/50 to be in their plans for next season.  I also had Haka saying that they would for sure make an offer to me.  Even though neither of those actually came to fruition in the preseason of 2012, they did give me a lot of comfort at this time last year.  This winter though I haven't heard anything from anyone soccer-related in the last six weeks.

A few months ago I sent my agent here in America an email telling him what I was hoping to achieve this offseason and where I preferred to play in 2013 and beyond.  I won't get into which teams/leagues I wrote about, though I will say that there was quite a bit of ambition in some of the requests.  Others were more measured, but there is no question that I think of myself as a player who can play in some leagues that probably nobody else outside of my family thinks I can play in.  My agent's response was something to the extent of, "That shit cray...but I'll see what I can find."  That was a long time ago and since then I've not had a single conversation with my agent or the agents who I have worked with so closely in Finland and Sweden.  I don't think for one second that they are ignoring me (well, the guy in Sweden might be) but it is still not great to not hear anything a month before all these leagues start preseason.  Fall-Spring leagues have the transfer window close in 5-6 weeks and that is not a lot of time to identify and evaluate a player enough to sign him.  However, I don't envision myself playing in a fall-spring league in 2013 anyway so I'm not too concerned.

In life news, I've got absolutely nothing to report, but I am going to post some pictures I've taken in the past couple weeks.  Not much has gone on since I've essentially become an average working joe over the past month or so.  The pictures are pretty cool though I think so I'll post them.

Just barely made it into the garage of the condo!

Amani in the bathroom.

My substitute classroom decorated by yours truly.

My mom and I outside her classroom.  She did a bit more decorating than me.

My sister and I.  She's wearing floral pants, but apparently I'm the one without style...

Trying to give Amani a kiss.  She's not having it!



Lucas Oil Stadium, home of my hometown Colts.  It's right in the middle of the city.  I took this picture from in front of the post office.

The "Christmas Tree" that is in the very center of the city.  The building in the background is the tallest in Indiana I think and I have no idea what its purpose is.

 

One Year Abroad in Pictures

Hey guys and gals.

I really haven't had much to talk about since I've been back in America.  I want the blog to keep going though, so I'm promising from here on out that I will post at least once a week until I starts trials/sign with a new club next year.  From that point forward I'll resume my normal schedule of 2-3 posts a week.

I've been pondering doing this post for a few months now and I'm happy to do it.  It's more for me than for you to be honest, but I think you still might enjoy it especially if you've followed me for 6+ months.  This will be a picture post like the ones I have put up from my vacations.  However, the pictures come from the entire time I've been writing the blog.  They start in February and go straight through my last days in Valkeakoski.  I won't put up any photos from my vacations, but instead try to kind of tell the story of my season with just photos.  I'll try to put the pictures in order, but no promises.  Normal photos first and game photos at the end.  Without further delay...my season abroad in picures.

My contract with ESK is signed.

Ok maybe just one photo from my vacation to London.

 

Sweet Home Indiana

I bet you all thought I was never coming back.

 

I’m back in America, and damnit it feels good.  Home is exactly how I remember it: cold and boring.  As such I haven’t had much to say.  Pretty much I’ve just settled into my same routine as last year when I was home.  I just rent video games and watch tv all day.  I’ve only started running again this week and I am once again in TERRIBLE shape.  I didn’t run one step between the last game with Haka until this week.  I don’t mind being out of shape at the moment though, since I have 6-10 weeks before I start preseason again.

 

The reason that the window between now and preseason is so large is that I have no idea where I’ll be playing next year.  I have my main agent in America, but also an agent in both Sweden and Finland and I haven’t heard anything for next year yet.  I’m not antsy or anything, I’m just saying that we haven’t spoken about 2013 yet.  I’ve made it relatively clear to each of them where I want to play next year, but beyond that it’s up to them.  I’m willing to play just about anywhere so hopefully they’ll have something for me sooner rather than later!

 

 have something for me sooner rather than lat

they' to play next year, but beyond that it' Finland and I haven' rBaBack to regular life.  For those that care, I’m moving into a condo this week and for the first time I will be living alone in Indianapolis.  It’s actually a condo that my dad owns, but nobody’s living there so I’m claiming it.  Maybe it’s a bit sad that I’ve lived the winters with my parents every winter since I graduated, but oh well that’s life.  I can blame the economy, right? J  Really though, the economy pretty much put the dagger in the heart of the newspaper industry which is where I would be most qualified to work with my degree in journalism.  As a result, I’ve had to work a series of odd jobs over the past winters that make playing soccer for low pay not seem like such a bad profession.  I’ve been a door-to-door cable salesman, a door-to-door window salesman, a “picker” in an Amazon.com warehouse and a substitute teacher which is what I’ll do again this winter.  Those jobs don’t even include the summer of 2010 when I quit Crystal Palace Baltimore and moved home not knowing if I’d ever play professionally again.  That summer I went to bartender school and then worked as a car salesman for two months.  But that’s all in the past; The point is that I am moving to a place of my own and I’m happy about that.  I love my family, but maybe it’s better to be a few miles away rather than under the same roof.

Me with my niece and nephew, who clearly aren't as excited as I am.

 

You might be interested to know that I’ve been recruited to be a ringer in my local indoor soccer league.  My best friend invited me to play and I’ll be starting that sometime this week.  Maybe I can win some silverware this winter!  Jokes aside though, it’ll be good to actually touch a ball and play some competitive games, no matter the level.  Last winter I didn’t even see a soccer ball for the entire three months I was in America.  I might also join a basketball league just to get a different type of fitness.  If I manage to save a bit of money from working as a sub teacher, then I’ll head down to Tampa to train with some people who I know down there.  Right now, I don’t have the money to stay anywhere that costs money, but I know how important it is to get training in before I head back across the pond so I’ll find a way to make it happen.

 

That’s about it.  My life in America is more fun for me, but far less interesting for you readers.  I’ll try to be more consistent with my blog posts than I’ve been so far, but honestly if I don’t have anything to say then I’m not gonna post anything.  See ya!

 

The meme:

Vacation: Essaouira and Casablanca

Sorry I missed yesterday.  I was terribly sick and in the bathroom at Celia's house all day.  I won't say any more on that because I'm sure you don't care.  Now, I'm back in Finland for a few days before I head home to Indianapolis in America.

The next photoset is from our one day in Casablanca and Essaouira.  We had a good time in those two places, particularly Essaouira.  It was just nice to get out of Marrakech which I didn't like at all.  No more talking, on to the pictures!



on the bus to Essaouira

Essaouira souks

from the top of the old fortified city

Me with my Neven Subotic jersey on.

Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca

Place Muhammed V Square