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FRIENDLY - CABB ARRERIDJ 1:1 (0:0) NRB TELEGHMA

59' - Younes Belhadj (CAB)

62' - Hadj Aissa (NRBT)

NRB Teleghma was a much more challenging team than I had anticipated.  They came prepared to play possession football, and they controlled the flow of the game.  It was, for all intents and purposes, a snooze fest of a match.  If the goal of the game was to send the ball anywhere over the end line, not just between the goal posts, it would have been a roaring affair.  We had a single shot on goal - and did we make it count!  Combines there were just 13 shots in the match, 4 on goal.  CABBA counted for 6 of those total shots.  THe first half was painfully dull.  The only excitement came in the opening couple minutes when striker Younes Belhadj picked up a yellow for a fairly soft foul - but the official wanted to make clear who was in charge.  Belhadj's goal in the 59th, was set from a phenomenal throughball from young 15 year old Mohamed Benyahia.  Mohamed was very much the player of the game, despite being a 52nd minute substitution for Younes Belefroum.  Benyahia had a 95% pass completion rate, along with a key pass and a clear cut chance.  Belhadj was unimpeded to the keeper, and buried it to the keepers left, chest high.  Our lead as short lived, as Tarek Slimani was simply burned by a sprinting Hadj Aissa, who dribbled for 20 yards and bashed past Salim Hadded.  Outside of that, very little in terms of action.  NRB Teleghma owned possession, with over 58% which did not please me a bit - especially as they play a full tier down below us in the amateur leagues.  We had an impressive 7,004 fans at the stadium today - which is lot considering the calibre of opponent.  I do feel Les Criquets will have strong support this season - which always helps the boys play better!

Ahmed Talbi politely declined Village Mouss'a offer, just to be offered by another amateur side - CRB El Mila.  Two additional offers came in for free transfers - CRB Dar El Baida has offered a role to Hamza Bensalem and E. Sour El-Ghozane were looking into Youcef Haddou.  Both players are not with contract, however both interested teams are not professional teams either.

One more friendly to go.  We have three days off from match play before we again play at home, this time against ES Ben Aknoun - a middle table side in the western division of the Algeria League 2.  I think they'll be a tough match for us, though they will be without their left midfielder Habib Derbal - who suffered a torn calf last week.

I know I must get active in this transfer window!!!

FRIENDLY - IRB SIDI AISSA 2:3 (1:2) CABB ARRERIDJ

13' - Tarek Toumi (CABB)

17' - Zouari (IRBSA)

33' - Younes Belhadj (CABB)

53' - Islam Rachedi (CABB)

90+4' - Medane (IRBSA)

A far superior match today against a much inferior club.  I have to say, I am disappointed by the final score line.  I recognize giving a goal up in stoppage time of a friendly match is pretty insignificant, but I was disappointed by sloppy play by right defensive center Antar Benyahia who earned a yellow card with a cynical foul in the closing moments of the match - a foul neither necessary nor prudent that allowed a set piece as the closing act of the match.  The goal was justly earned, but was a deflection that Salim Hadded didn't have much chance on.  Still, we looked the better sides - as we ought - and after our disappointing 4-0 defeat a few days prior, it will help with morale a bit.  Much kudos to Younes Belferoum, our captain, who played a phenomenal match, with 5 key passes, 2 clear cut chances created, and an assist.  We pulled him off after 83 minutes, as the night time temperature was still a blistering 35 degrees - such is Sidi Aissa, nestled on the edge of the Sahara.  It was my first time seeing striker Abdeslam Zerrouki in action, who I brought in at the half to see what he was made of.  He played ok, nothing magical, but was decent on his passing.  Starting striker Younes Belhadj was much stronger today, and he delivered a beautiful direct free kick goal over the wall into the top right corner in the 33rd minute.  All said and done, we'll take the experience - again much for the teens - and enjoy our late night bus ride back home.

I have yet to see any real viable players that interest me, but I have been slacking a bit on the scouting side of things, just getting to know this team.  I know we will be in for a long season without some significant help in goal - Hadded is ok.  I'd say he is doing well for 16 years old - but pinning our hopes on a young teen is not the path to avoiding relegation in the regular season.

There continues to be a lot of recruiting of our non-contracted players by amateur squads in the region.  CR Village Moussa is now talking to Abdelaziz Madi, a 22 year old on the youth team…this along with Talbi and Hamza Bensalem would be a bit of pain to lose as young up an comers.  All three could see some minutes on the senior squad this season.  Hamza has also been approached by two other amateur squads - WA Rouiba and USBB Arreridj - our amateur side stadium partner.  Will be interesting to see which of these boys wants to chase the dream of a pro career, or who become weekend amateurs to pursue their other life passions.

We now head home for our remaining two friendlies, with a match this upcoming Saturday afternoon against amateur squad NRB Teleghma.

Friendly, RC KOUBA 4:0 (2:0) CABB Arreridj

Our trip to Algers could not have gone much poorer.  A completely lacklustre performance showed what a loss Aribi will be at striker.  THe opening goal in the 7th minute game from a direct free kick 3 yards outside the box, blasted over our wall giving Salim Hadded no chance.  From there it was us chasing the ball, never landing much possession of any meaning.  In fact, for the middle 45 minutes. we failed to place a shot on goal, and chased Le RCK all around the pitch.  Islam Rachedi took a cleat to the foot and played on a sore ankle for about 80 minutes.

Though RCK had the far better finishing, both teams could only manage 5 shots on goal.  We conceded in the 35' with a bouncer from just outside the box.  It wasn't until late in the match, with fatigue set in on  25 degree evening, that we took to sloppy again, allowing two within the span of four minutes in the 80th and 84th.  

With the temperatures as hot as they've been, and this mashup of so many friendlies in the span of 18 days, we have been getting some of the U-21s on the field to get some experience.  I figured it was good to do so against a team from the same division as us (League 2), but in the Western league.  We put 6 teenagers on the starting XI, including first team regulars GK Salim Hadded and our replacement striker 18 year old Younes Bedhadj.  Along with them were a trio of 15 year olds - barely old enough to be on the pitch!  These included DC Kada Bacha, DMCR Tarek Toumi, and WBL Azzedine Derbal.  At the ripe age of 16, Antar Benyahia anchored the right side of the defence.  Great experience in front of a decent crowd for a friendly - 1630 showed up for the match, including our loyal cadre of 133.

That said, there was not a single player who performed anything better than mediocre, with Hadded having an atrocious performance with conceding 4 goals and a single save.  Not good when we have no depth at keeper.

We will lick our wounds on the 2 hour+ bus ride back home.  After the weekend, we have another match on the road this upcoming Tuesday, making the 2 hour journey to the desert town of Sidi AÏsa to take on amateur squad Ittihad Riadhi Baldiat Sidi Aisa. We then have a pair of friendlies at home over the next week before our6 week break before the season.  

Last news, two of our U21s are considering dropping down a level to play with CR Village Moussa - both GK Ahmed Talbi and left defender Hamza Bensalem.  WIll be interested to see what they do!

July 27th, 2023

Tragedy.  Nourredine Aribi, has left our squad.  Our best player, played a single friendly, our best striker, left.  Effective immediately.   Aribi has moved to the first division, which good for him.  He will play with USM Khenchela, on a contract of $9,750 per year.  We didn't have that kind of cash, and its football - I get it.  He wil lgive up his playing time with a chance at the dream.  THis will put us in a bind for sure.

We have another flight risk with U-21 goalkeeper Ahmed Talbi receiving an offer from amateur club CR Village Moussa.  Not sure why he'd want to move beyond PT, but he is uncontracted here, so I could understand the alure.  

We also lost out on the winger Haddad, who chose to pursue other options.  All in all not a great way to come off a friendly victory this week!

FRIENDLY - WR BENTHALA - 3:1(1:1)

The first view of the team was a rousingly positive one!  It was a pleasant opportunity to see the mastery of Younes Belferoum score a brace with a pair of headers in the 60th and 80th minutes, as well as watched Youcef Haddou score a missile from the top of the box in the 27th minute.  Despite dominating possession 59/41, it was clear we struggle for solid opportunities - which is auspicious given this was an amateur squad.  Belefroum was by far the star of the game, with Haddou also having a great game with an assist to go with his goal.  I was not pleased with Haroun Bordji, he was beat regularly by the defence.

Either way, a good start, we have a week off, before travelling back to ALgers on Friday for a match against RC - Kouba, a team in the West Division of league 2.

Getting to Know the CABB Staff

Our staff have a myriad of traits, but by and large the staff has a very high level of discipline.  After that, the team is good at adaptability, and determination.  As you can tell from the teams lack of strength, this leadership lacks ability in Physiotherapy and Sports Science, as well as poor at analyzing data.  I guess this team has the will to win, just not the skills

Chairperson - Hichem Boudiaf

General Manager - Lyes Benamara, 40 years old and local to town, he has French nationality and some knowledge of French football.  A bit temperamental

Technical Director - Younes Yahiaoui - 47 year old from Barika, Algeria.  Very spirited member of the squad

Assistant Coach - Lahouari Bouzidi - 30 year old from El Affroun.  He likes a 5-2-3 DM wide formation.  A scholar of the game, but displeased to not have been given the reigns

Head of Youth Development - Sofiane Bensalem - 41 years old and a local, but not very ambitious.  He is excellent with the youth team

Goalkeeping Coach - Yacine Hammouche - 31 years old, from Dellys.  He is fickle, which doesn't bode well for a team lean on kepper talent

Set Piece Coach - Abdelkrim Medane - 34 years old, from Constantine.  He is level-headed and determined.  He has a lot of work to do.

Fitness Coach - Ali Bouzar, 29 years old.  He also has a lot of work to do to build strength.  I have been told he is unsporting, always looking to cut corners.  and likes to play mind games.  Might be short lived here…

Performance Analyst - Faycal Bouzar - A very ambitious 22 year old recent university graduate.  

Physio - Laid Slimani - A local 25 year old finishing in medical school.  He is loyal to the team, and level headed.  This is his dream job as a child.

Sports Scientist - Khaled Yahiaoui - 27 years old, son of the Technical Director.  He is balanced but likes to create controversy and drama

Scout - Karim Touati - 39 years old, outspoken professional.  He is looking to mine Algeria for talent, but knows African football well.  He is hoping to get to Europe in the near term.

Recruitment Anlayst - Yacine Amrane - 31 year old local, with a balanced personality

Loan Manager - Billel Salhi-Masmoudi - 43, local level headed and ambitious.  Spent time in France in university.

Karim Tuoati brought be an interesting potential winger, Rachid Haddad, a 21 year old from Bejaia, who also has a tie to Qatar.  He is fluent in Berber and Arabic.  He is a strong mental player from the scouting report, with a good work rate, flair and teamwork.  He is also being offered from IB Khemis-El-Khechna.  We will put an offer in and see how it goes.

Our first firendly is tomorrow, and we are on the road to the south side of Algiers to take on amateur team WR Bentalha.

Hello.  My name is Qamar Morceli.  I am 44 years young, and have begun my career as a football manager in the town of Bordj Bou Arreridj, leading Les Criquets of Chabab Ahly.  The club has a checkered history, and is coming off a very difficult season in the Algerian League 2.  The club has been around since 1931, and doesn't have much hardware to show for it.  Most recently, the club has bounced between League 1 and 2, having spent 3 seasons in League 1, before relegation at the end of 2021.  I dismal 15th place finish last year has put the club on the verge of relegation to the amateur leagues.  We are a semi-professional club, with but a single rival - ES Setif,  a 1st Division club who is located about 60 km East of here.  Our Derby, the ESS-CABBA Derby, hasn't been played for three seasons.

Our league is fairly restrictive.  We have 16 teams, with the 1st place team being promoted, 2nd and 3rd entering into a promotion playoff, and 13th through 16th seeing relegation.  We are in the Algeria League 2 - East, one of 2 second division leagues.  We are allowed 5 subs in 3 windows during match play, with 1 match bans every 3 yellow cards, and 1 match bans for red cards.  We can have only a single foreign player, and our goalkeepers must be domestic.  We are allowed 35 registered players.  Our transfer windows are from July 5th (now) to October 12th, and January 26th to February 25th.  The minimum salary is $1,700 p/a

We only have 14 players at present, and only five on contract.  I'd like to introduce them to you:

Goalkeeper

Salim Hadded - A 16 year old young goalkeeper is our only 1st team net minder.  He's a very determined lad, but a bit eccentric, which causes a fair amount of worry.  He's fairly competent at handling the ball, and does a decent job at rushing out at the right times.  However, he has a horrible first touch, has almost no field vision, and lacks strength

Defenders

Haroun Bordji  - A 23 year old local best classified as a fullback.  He's fairly determined, and is content at our club.  A decent tackler, with a acceptable ability to cross, he also brings a fair amount of aggressiveness to the match.  He's an above average fitness player, who shows skills in acceleration, natural fitness and pace.  He has no propensity to lead, and struggles with finishing, and lacks strength.  This is his 4th year at the club

Tarek Slimani - 22 years old, also local, and a centre back.  He is not contracted, and plays for appearance fees.  He lacks ambition, and is a pretty poor technical player.  About the best he brings to the game in skills is his crossing, but it would be classified poor at best.  he is catastrophic on free kicks.  He is very determined, which I like about him, and is a pretty solid decision maker.  He is naturally fit, but lacks strength

Abdelkader Benamara - 24 year old unambitious centre back.  He also is uncontracted, and plays for appearance fees.  Like Slimani, he is a poor technical player, with acceptable tackling and technique, but atrocious at corners, crossing, and finishing.  He's a good aggressive defender, however, but is particularly poor off the ball.  That said, he is the finest specimen of natural fitness, and has decent jumping reach, but struggles to accelerate and has boor balance

Midfielders

Younes Belferoum - A 24 year-old Winger, with a balanced personality.  He's a good passer and finisher, but poor at heading.  He does show good leadership skills, but that is marred by his lack of vision.  He has good fitness traits, such as acceleration, agility, and  pace, but like many in this squad, lacks strength.

Tarek Toumi - a young 15 year old midfielder, with a low determination.  A shame, as he is a very good heading midfielder, who makes good decisions and makes for a good teammate.  He also has good natural fitness, but is a very poor leader, and again, lacks strength.

Youcef Haddou - 25 years old, a pay per appearance midfielder with a balanced personality.  Good at marking and with good football technique, but lacks on set pieces and throw-ins.  He is another good teammate and has above average aggression, but lacks flair.  A good natural athlete, but again, poor in strength.

Mourad Mahsas - 24 years old, an unambitious winger.  Good technique, but pretty poor technically aside from first touch and crossing.  He is a very aggressive player, but struggles with knowing where to be on the pitch.  Another natural athlete, but he is also a good jumper.

Islam Rachedi - 25 year old, balanced attacking midfielder.  An excellent level of natural fitness, with a good first touch and a good instinct to make decisions.  Again, poor with strength and poor with determination

Adel Sahraoui - 24 year old, an unambitious attacking midfielder.  He is an average player at best, with good technique, flair, and natural fitness.  He is an atrocious tackler

Abdennour Meziane - The old man of the group at 26 years old, he is a determined winger, with phenomenal determination and excellent natural fitness.  He is definitely one of our better players, with good aggression and leadership.  Thad said, a poor set piece player who also lacks tackling ability.  He has decent strength, probably the best on our team, yet far from strong.

Strikers

Younes Belhadj - 18 years old, Younes is a balanced young striker.  He is an excellent penalty taker, and an above average all around player, with good balance, natural fitness, and work rate.  He struggles with marking and tackling.

Abdeslam Zerrouki - 21 years old, an unambitious striker with excellent bravery.  He is a good leader, plays with flair, has good technique and finishing.  He plays off contract, and is stressed by the number of teams that are interested in him, albeit the teams are all of equal calibre to us.

Noureddine Aribi - Our team star, and our best physical player, with good acceleration, agility, balance and stamina, as well as good mental skills such as aggression, determination, and flair, as well as good finishing and technique.  He also plays off contract, and is also pressured by the interest in him at present.  He has been offered a role on a free transfer to League 1 USM Khenchela, as well has rumoured interest from USM Alger

That's the team.  We have 20 players on the U21 team, and certainly we will introduce them as the season progresses.  We have 5 firendlies to get our team ready for a long, 30 match season!

We have received some commitments from a couple of our youth that they are going to stick with our program.  Being an amateur club, it's pretty common for there to be lots of turnover in the club - anyone who gets a sniff of some pay is off to take it.  One of our rules in Brunei that we are beholden to is honouring amateur commitments.  An amateur club can't poach another amateur clubs players if those players signed commitments, so it is a bit important for us to nail these down.  Our first was with Muhd Fitri Jaafar, a 15 year old goolkeeper.  He's fairly tall for his age at 6'-4", and has above average reflexes and natural fitness.  He has made an agreement to stay until his 17th birthday next year.

Mohd Hafiz Ramlan, 16, is an attacking midfielder who prefers to play in the centre.  He is one of the bravest players I have seen in our league, and he also has some very good acceleration.  Muhd Amirul Abdul Malek is 15 years old and plays centre back.  He also has a very strong tact for bravery, and has good natural fitness.  Lastly, 15 year old Syazani Abdul Rahim has agreed to stick with Panchor Murai.  Syazani is a young striker, who is a good teammate and has a little bit of flair.

These four youths should help strengthen the U21 side!

Hello, allow me to introduce myself.  I am Mohammad Abd Karim, 27 years old, and passionate about football.  Growing up in the tiny sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, I have always enjoyed everything football.  Sadly, from an early age, a heart condition prevented me from chasing my dreams on the field - I instead sought out all the details and science of the game - watching football almost every night, and learning how to inspire.   I have a large outgoing personality, and am really good at chatting, and it doesn't take much for me to get to know people and what their goals are.  It was through a personal relationship of my father that I received the opportunity to pursue my hobby, and volunteered to be manager for Panchor Murai, Panchor is a 14 year old amateur club on the north central side of Bandar Seri Begawan, our capital of 100,000 inhabitants in our nation.  I find it funny that I - a 27 year old - is the head manager in the top division of our nation - it makes me believe trips of glory are possible to far off lands like Japan and Arabia, via the Champions League - and though anything is possible, its more than likely I'll just pursue my hobby and have a go at competitive football.

The league has just expanded to 16 teams, and Panchor was promoted last season.  The previous manager got an IT job in Kuala Lumpur, and so left the amateur squad as the sole manager in the teams history.  We have a tough season ahead - I don't think there's a lot of talent on the team - not that there is talent in spades in Brunei anyway.  Our Superleague is about ⅔ semi-professional, ⅓ amateur with a single professional squad, Kuala Belait in the far flung town of the same name, on the far end of our nation, all of 115 km away.  It is a full staff of volunteers - we may be doing this pro bono, but at least we will all pretend to be a football squad!  We have Hafiz Amran, our 47 year old GM and Shahrul Redzuan, our 44 year old technical director - both fun to spend time with.  My assistant coach - who's a couple years older than me - and my buddy - Ishak Mohd Rashid.  We have two other bonafide coaches in Anuar Ramli who looks after our keepers and Muhd Firdaus Chuchu who helps our team with set pieces.  My youthful mates - 24 year old fitness coach Hassan Wan Omar, 26 year old performance analyst Lim Shaun, 26 year old physio Muhd Haziq Ahmad, and 24 year old sports scientist Asyraf Abdul Razak all love hanging out on the pitch in their free time.

Shockingly, despite the small population in our city and nation, our people are football mad, and we are able to field a full reserve team and youth team, which is overseen by Zainal Abidan Hamzah.  We will all share time helping to coach those squads - as they play full fixture calendars.  We've got a lot of reservists - mostly those who really have a tough time making practice regularly, most in their mid to upper 20s.  Our U21s are super young - most only 15.  Sadly, we only have 7 players who are super dedicated to training, and they constitute what I call our Senior squad:

Sulaiman Abdul Rahman - our keeper, 19 years of age, who has been with the club since he was 11.  He's got good reflexes, and loves to play as far from the goal line as possible.  He's a decent decision maker, and a decent leader.  

Muhd Azrin Untong - a left defender, 20 years of age, he too has been with the club since he was 12 years old.  Muhd has very good natural fitness and also likes to lead, he is a good decision maker, but tends to be a tad aggressive.

Ahmad Asyraf Mohd Saudian - a central defender, 22 years of age, with the club since age 14.  He has some natural fitness about him, and he accelerates well - also a sound decision maker.

Mohd Nazirul Azmi Ali - another centre back, 22 years of age, best buddies with Ahmad Saudian.  Mohd has great fitness, has strong determination, and another good decision maker.  Mohd's toughest trait is his height - just 5'-7".

Sahrul Sabut - our old man, 29 years old, and our closest thing to a striker.  Sahrul is a fairly good physical specimen, and he likes to play in the air.

Mohd Idzarul Hidayat Matassan - Wing back on the left side, 18 years old.  Mohd has got some leaping prowess - and being 6'4" is a bonafide offensive threat.  He's also naturally fit, and has good stamina.  Despite all that, he is an atrocious header - he'll get to the ball, but no telling where it will go.

Jude Ezeagu - our lone foreigner, Jude comes to us from Nigeria.  He is agile and has good pace.  At 27, he seems happy to be in Brunei, and likes to lead the attack from the midfield.  

We've got about a month until our season starts, so I've got some friendlies lined up.  We'll head accross the street from our home field to the national stadium for our first match against Darussalam Soccer Players United FC (DSP United) who play in the the third tier of our national league.  Will be weird playing in the cavernous stadium!  Will be fun to be manager for my first game!

Monday, June 12th, 2023

It has now become public how upset Titi is, with the Finnish Soccer Free Press identifying the spat.  We have full on insurrection and an across the board poor morale.  Funny, when we were winning games, everyone was happy.  Two players vocalize how much more improtant they are than the team, in stating that despite our strong form, they were unhappy.  Whatever happened to team players?  Now they've started a locker room schism, and we look like trash on the pitch.  Maybe I'm not cut out for management…

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023

I think we can walk away with a point in this match.  We are fairly evenly matched with LPS.  I am pleased to be sitting in 4th position in the table, and a point here would keep us from falling further behind LPS who sit in 3rd.  I'd like to be top 3 this season - I think we have the talent (just maybe not the personality).  In the presser before the match I was asked about Orishani's departure.  I admitted there is some risk in him leaving, but at the end of the day his move to professional can't be helped.  We will see if we can plug the gap in the the lineup without him.

Wednesday, June 14th, 2023

Samuli Aalto is good to go, so we are going to put him in the starting XI.  Turns out it wouldn't matter, as we played the most lackluster/milquetoast football I have seen us play.  Nary a shot on goal, and only 5 feeble attempts.  I know the team has the talent - they've showed it this season.  They just seem hell bent in woe is me.  We fell 2-0, and now sit in 6th place as both PJK and PuiU have now passed us.  Next up is 10th place FC Kontu - but I am starting to feel that there is no real shot with our morale in the trash.  Nothing I say at this point receives anything but negative feedback.  Again, I reiterate, we were on a really strong winning streak.  2 players complained about PT, the players took their sides, and now we stink.  

Saturday, June 10th, 2023

Indeed ToTe/2022 were not as good as their parent club.  Didn't stop us from playing well and dropping points at home.  We rescued a draw in the 88th minute in what was a game where again we struggled to finish.  Outshooting the opponent 24/5, and drawing 2-2, is again a disappointment.  It would have been a cataclysm had we lost, but Jere Koistinen baled us out with an 88th minute equalizing header.  Our form is strugglin now with a loss and a draw in our last two matches.  Next up is the team directly above us in the table, Laajasalon Palloseura (LPS) based just outsie Helsinki.  And insult to injury, Samuli Aalto had some tightness in his groin - don't think he'll miss much, but I had to sub him out.

Sunday, June 11th, 2023

I met with Felix Orisshani and we said our goodbyes to the team this morning.  Felix is heading to Heartland F.C. in Nigeria.  He will up his income from $0 p/a to $82K p/a.  He is not a bonafide professional for the first time in his career.  I am so happy for him!  He left with 9 appearances for the senior squad this season, and 53 total in three different stints for OPS.  The fans our outraged - both of them, lol.  It's football - some folks get to make a living doing it - can't fault them for that!

Reflecting on our draw with ToTe/2022, I am still very disappointed.  We outplayed them in many ways, just not in sticking it in the net.  We had much stronger momentum all match.  Our xG was 2.34 to their 0.23.  We conceded 1 of 3 shots from inside the box.  On the flip side, our passing was less than stellar.  Only 226 complete passes for the match.  I am thinking the locker room discord is showing itself on the field.  

On the youth front, Ville Bjorklund has made a commitment that he will stay with the club once he turns 17.  He is a decent prospect - one who didn't come through our youth program - just someone who hung out near the pitch where we practice.  He's  performed decently in 2 U-20 matches over the last few weeks.  We welcome Ville and hope he can contribute to our mission!

The weather for Wednesday's match should be decent, in the range of about 15.  Their form has been fairly decent - similar to ours over the last 5 matches.  They also haven't played ToTe or MuSa yet, so we may be their first decent test of the season.  Let's see if the boys can pull it together and right this slide.

Friday, June 9th, 2023.

Like lambs to slaughter.  6-1.  All six conceded in 46'  It was a rout.  An absolute humiliation and embarrassment.   But at least the petty players got all the play time they wanted.  You want to be on the field so bad?  Enjoy the embarrassment.  Aapo Haanpaa was so lost I pulled him at the half.  Tommi Kovanen was placed in goal - not the way you want your senior squad debut.  He only allowed one, but that was mainly since ToTe stopped trying all together.  Titi was the dog of the day - and serves him right for acting like a petulant teenager vs his forty-two years of life experience.  Perhaps our youth is running off on him.  Way to end a 5 game W streak boys!

Ironically we not play ToTe's reserve squad, ToTe/2022.  What brainiac Kolmen official managed to put the reserve squad and the senior squad in the same division?  Suprisingly the Reserve squad lost the match to the seniro squad.  Regardless, they can't be as potent as the mother - perhaps if we pull our head out of our arses we will make a show.

The U-20s played their last match of the spring, and will go on hiatus (minus training) for the next 6 weeks.  They defeated Ajax Sarkkiranta U20s 4-3.  Since I left Armend Jakupi out of the match against ToTe, he went on an absolute tear in this match.  Probably the most dominant performance I had seen in my football career.  He had two assists and a goal of his own in dominating the Ajax youth.

For ToTe/2022, our starting XI will look as follows:

GK - Aapo Haanpaa

DR - Kai Ollikainen

DCR - Eelis Koskinen

DCL - Mikko Lapa-aho

DL - Samuli Aalto

MR - Titi

MCR - Felix Orishani (his final match for OPSI - he transfer back to Nigeria tomorrow)

MCL - Tobias Poutiainen

ML - Mikko Viljanen

STCR - Jere Koistinen

STCL - Matias Juntunen

Tuesday, June 6th, 2023

5 wins in a row.  And a player mutiny.  This group of volunteer players seem to think they are more effective at managing then their volunteer manager.  Both Matias Juntenen and Titi are with abysmal morale and are bringing the rest of the team down.  THere are now a whole bunch of players - Kositinen, Salonen, Lapa-aho = who are irate with the fact that they are receiving playing time and we are winning matches.  Perhaps I should walk away and watch the train wreck.  I don't understand how if everyone is an amateur why we all feel obligated to keep working together.  I am not looking forward to our big match against ToTe, who are second in the league, because no one seems to give a f*ck.  I can only imagine what these whiney b*tches would be like if they were paid.

So F it - both Juntenen and Titi can start, and the first one to open their mouth about losing PT to either of those players is getting a free transfer out.

Yes we won against Esse IK, by a score of 2-0.  We scored both goals from set-pieces in the first half.  Sami Aalto put us ahead with a low drive in the 18th, and Pekka Lapplainen put one in from a corner in the 23rd.  We also gave 15 year old (!) Kevin Ayina a start today, and he became the youngest player ever in the Kolmonen League.  ToTe is going to be tough - 10 wins, one loss - 2nd in the table.  And a bunch of players who don't want to play…even though they have b*tched about wanting to play…

I shake my head…

Saturday, June 3rd, 2023

It's been awhile since I've written, so quite a bit to catch up on!

We had some wonderful weather for the match in Tampere against ACE.  We put together a very strong opening and parlayed that into a 4-2 victory, that actually had me a good deal nervous.  After a match out of the squad, Jere Koistinen had a stellar match, putting in two more goals (numbers 9 and 10 on the season), that were key to giving us the victory.  We got started with a surprising goal from Kari Huttenen, who was in the right place at the right time to head down a rebound from a Koistinen point blank shot that was blocked.  Veeti Kokkonen doubled the lead in the 23' on  header from a perfectly placed looping cross from Tony Salonen from a throw-in.  Kositinen put his first in the bottom corner in the 34' to give us a 3-0 lead.  Salonen then made a bit of a blunder marking ACE forward Santeri Kallio, who finished from close range in the 52nd minute.  Koistinen added his second in the 56th, after a 1-2 with Veeti Kokonen, which gave Jere an unmissable shot into the net from point blank.  Though on crusie control, we did have a frenetic last few minutes.  Substitute Arttu Virtanen picked up a second yellow in the 87', and conceded a penalty to boot.  The penalty was taken by Ardit Topalli, but our young stud Aapo Hannpaa parried it away - his second saved penalty of the season.  Nevertheless, we managed to concede one minute later, and the final stood at 4-2.

Was happy to blood another Opsi senior team player when 16 year old Joonas Huovinen was brought on as a sub in the 64th minute.  Another product of our youth system, he's been with the club since 2019, when he was 12 years old!  We not have to deal with Arttu Virtanen's match suspension due to the red card.  I informed Arttu that he would be warned, and that is is very likely he will likely be more of a fringe player than an imapct sub.  He was pretty upset about that, but I informed him these are tactical decisions.  

Koistinen is the talk of football in the Oulu circuit, now being tied for 7th in the entire 3rd division (of 104 teams!) with the 10 goals.  He was featured both in Goal! and The Finnish Soccer Free Press.  It's good to see the 17 year old get so many kudos - I just hope he takes it in stride.  

Up next is a home fixture against Esse Idrottsklubb - who sit last in the table, winless through 10.  Despite their poor standing, across the entire 3rd Division they rank 14th in xA from set pieces.  Thad said, they aren't so great from open play - their leading goal scorer has only found the net twice this season.  They also lack for team cohesion, so I am thinking we can use Jere to strike at that.

With a whole week off between matches, we will finally get some good training time in.  We'll train Tuesday/Thursday and have our match focus session Friday evening.  The U20's will got Tues/Thurs/Sat

I am having issues with Titi.  Being 42 years old, he is still clinging to the dream of regular football, but I just am struggling to see the point of playing him with so much youth in the squad.  He has been very upset - borderline furious - with the lack of starts I have given him.   This is his first season at OPS, but his entire career is build up in Oulu.  He had a four year professional stint in Kazakhstan, but has been local for the last decade.  The two goals he has scored for us are the first since the 2020 season, and he really hasn't regularly in the last 2 years.  Hate to break it to him, but he's past his prime and needs to focus on mentorship and coaching more than being on the field.

Saturday, May 27, 2023

It wasn't pretty, but we took a 1-0 home victory from STPS.  We definitely should have shown a little more offensive prowess, especially off of 18 shots and 68% possession.  But a win is a win is a win, and I was proud of the boys for sticking with the plan, even if they were struggling - their persistence kept us from conceding something stupid.  Felix Orishani was the lone goal scorer in the 9th minute.  We were home clear by the 87th minute when STPS' AM(R) picked up his 2nd yellow, to put us up a man for injury time.  STPS played a very physical game, with frequent fouling, which kept us from getting in rhythm.  The win put us back above PuiU into 5th, however we've got a pretty weak GD at +5, vs the squad in 4th - PJK, who are +14.  MuSa still sits top of the league - undefeated through 9 - and likely a shoe in for promotion.  

Up next is AC Estudiantes on the road in Tampere.  ACE is in 15th on the table, flirting with the relegation places, but did pick up a win in their last match.  Again, their strength seems to be their keeper, who is a heads up in 1v1 situations, and distributes the ball well.  ACE tend to struggle from set pieces, especially corners - so we might need to play rough a bit to keep them from playing too fluid.  

The U20s played another match against OLS on Thursday.  It was another 2-2 draw, but this time we did the coming back after going up 1-0 with Screve Lusamba - out Congolese (Kinshasa) youth striker - putting us in the lead in the 15th minute.  We coughed up two goals before Kai Ollikainen leveled us in the 66th.  Tommy Hakala was probably the best performer at right midfielder.  He did a lot of intelligent things, and set up a goal.  The U20s play again in two weeks time.

After experimenting with the 4-2-2 diamond, we are going to move back to a traditional wing based 4-2-2 against ACE.  Line up will look as follows:

GK - Aapo Haanpaa

DR - Juha Arponen

DCR - Mikko Lapa-aho

DCL - Eelis Koskinen

DL - Tony Salonen

MR - Veeti Kokkonen

MCR - Felix Orishani

MCL - Tobias Poutiainen

ML - Armend Jakupi

STCR - Jere Koistinen

STCL - Kari Huttunen

The media is calling us heavy favourites.  ACE is lean on talent, and their form is poor.  Famous last words though…

Wednesday, May 24th, 2023

First off, we brought a new pair of youngsters into our U-20 program.  Eelis Eklund, age 16, moves from our youth squad where he is a midfielder to the U20 team.  He agreed to commit to 3 years with OPS.  Jari Berg, age 16 and also a midfielder, has committed to four years.  Both hail from Oulu and have experience with our program.

I then watched our team play at our home field against the U20 team of Kellon Tyovaen Urheilijat - or KPU for short.  They are a local squad that play a division below us.  Our key standout was Juha Arponen - which makes sense given the number of first squad minutes he has gained this season.  The teams drew 2-2.  We took a 2-0 lead - and almost a 3-0 except for a call back of Screve Lusamba's score.  Nonetheless we gave it back to KTU - but that's ok - I was more interested in getting our boys some competitive space.  Armend Jakupi and the new kid - Eelis Eklund - also looked well.  Eklund opened the scoring - not bad for a new call up!

This will be another rough week for training, as we have a Wednesday home fixture and a road fixture on Saturday again.  We agreed to practice Monday, and do two match focus sessions, Tuesday night and Friday evening.  The U20s have another match against OLS on Thursday, but they will practice their wing attacks and over all attacking this week.  

Luukas Manninen went public with his disappointment at lack of playing time by speaking to the Finnish Soccer Chronicle.  I had some harsh words for him - telling him a public forum to express displeasure does little to help our team image.  This might not be the program for him - he's a very me first player, and I don't have much tolerance for that.  Again, we're amateurs, so if he needs to walk away he is free to do so.

I also sent Samuli Alto on a one week vacation.  He'd played in 4 matches over the last two weeks and had been fatigued.  He could do without travelling or practicing for a bit.  He has started all 8 of our matches - quite impressive for just being 16!  I'm also leaving Jere Koistinen off the squad this week - he'll play in the U20 match, but he could do without the first team riguor against STPS - who aren't a very strong team.  That will allow me to get Callistus Chukwa some solid mintues, as he has been displeased with his back-up role so far this year.  We are going to try a 4-4-2 diamond this next match as it intrigues me.  Since Ojala is out for the next couple months, I'm going right back to Aapo Haanpaa in goal.  Our wingbacks will be Salonen and Virtanen with Koskinen and Lapa-aho holding the central defense.  Felix Orishani - who has just a couple more weeks with us before he transfers back to his native Nigeria, will fill the BWM role, with Tobias Poutiainen and Mathia Juntenen int he central midfield, with Timo Helenius in the attaching midfield role,  Veeti Kokkonen will pair with Chukwu up top.  We'll see how the new tactic goes.  

Thursday, May 18th, 2023

I have made the decision to move Aapo Haanpaa, Armend Jakupi, and Luukas Manninen up to the Senior squad, bringing our team size to 26.  We have 16 in on our U-20 squad.  Our U-20s will take on KTU U-20s on this upcoming Sunday.

Monday, May 15th, 2023

Well sweet Mary, someone awoke the beasts and they let loose a flurry!  I was anticipating we could get our mojo back, but playing a team equivalent to us in the table - especially with our present form - I wasn't anticipating much.  It was very much a match of loose offense on both sides, with PuiU and OPS unleashing quite a few shots.  Ours just came with more quality, as our 4.02 xG attested to.  Jere Koistinen netted a brace for goals 5 and 6 of the season.  It wasn't too long ago he was moping about his playing time and giving half hearted efforts.  He's started every league game so far this season since!  Jere opened scoring in the 19th minute with kind of a fluke goal.  Juha Aponen sent a through ball into the box to find Koistinen.  Unfortunately for PuiU there was a bit of confusion as the defender and the goal tender collided, which allowed Jere to just tap in.  Titi then scored his first goal of the season in the 22nd with a well struck drive that stayed low and ricocheted in off the post.  In the 36th Koistinen netted the second of his brace with a skidding drive shot uncontested.  Our 3-0 lead lasted for a sole minute when PuiU's Samy Talat put a placed shot from close range which hit the inside of the post before crossing the line.  Titi completed his brace in the 77th with a point blank header bounced off the ground a meter from the keeper.  Talat again put one in a minute later, but it was to be nothing more than a consolation that completed our 4-2 win - a hopeful return to form.  We leapfrogged PuiU into 5th in the table with the win.

The match also marked Kai Ollikainen's senior debut.  The 16 year old Oulu native has been part of Oulu's youth squad since May of 2019, where he started at age 12.  I was over all very happy.  We did everything we set out to do and proved to be the far better team.  Also of note, Titi became our clubs oldest scorer, at 42 years, 131 days.  

I got some disturbing feedback from Felix Orishani that Luukas Manninen was getting frustrated by his playing time.  I moved him to the U-20 team so he go the message that he isn't quite ready to feature for our squad.  Next up is a trip to play Keupa in Keuruu, about 5 hours south of Oulu.  We are going to make that an all-day trip, and attempt to travel all on Saturday.  We will actually get a pair of trainings in this week on Tuesday and Thursday - we haven't had a Wednesday off from matches in three weeks.  KeuPa sit in 14th with 2 wins and 5 losses.  They are dangerous on Set Pieces, being 4th in the league in xG from those situations.  They seem particularly strong at the near post on corners.  That said, they struggle defending crosses.  They've also only scored 9 in 7 matches, so our defense should be able to stifle them a bit.

May 12th, 2023

Well the wheels have completely come off at this point.  We are losing to bottom feeders, which makes me think our path to become one is well established.  A complete trash performance on finishing saw us lose the 2-1 to winless NiemU.  NiemU had a whopping 5 shots, 3 on goal.  We had 21 shots with 11 on goal.  We found the back of the net in the 90+4'.  I am at a loss.  To make matters worse our fickle and feeble players can't seem to appreciate that losing to this group of farmers aroused my anger.  Both Eelis Koskinen and Veeti Kokkonen were furious with me calling out the team for their poor performance.  Meeting with me didn't make them any happier - I have no idea what they expect - sunshine and smiles and a pat on the head … good job, you tried hard…  Like we are 10 years old.  

Perhaps we can figure out how the hell to play football again by the weekend so we can stem this run of poor results.  We did sign another centre back, Kasper Meltoranta, but the coaches don't think much of his ability.  I'm looking for someone to spell the Aalto's from time to time, as well as Mikka Lapo-aho.  Meltoranta is 22 and hasn't played senior league football yet.  PuiU is our next opponent, and they sit one spot ahead of us in the table, and have a 3 match winning streak.  Oh joy.  They also have a decent keeper in Tomi Honkaniemi.  The team seems to lack some teamness - but I guess that doesn;t make them special.  We will focus on possession and doing something other than lobbing shite long balls past our strikers.  We'll work on our corners as well.

I just can't believe how needy these amateurs are - if they can't take criticism they ought to go seat out Sunday league play as opposed to the organized ball we are pursuing.  Sheesh.

May 9th, 2023

Can't beat a top team and the referee in the same match.  Clearly the league had no intention in us playing a competitive game as they sent Petri Tarkianen - some hack of a 4th division referee to give the match to MUSA today.  All anyone is talking about are the 4 goals that MuSa striker Juuso Aalto scored.  That included 2 freebies from the penalty spot for some phantom infractions.  Just a sickening display of power from Tarkianen.  We took a lead with a goal off a crisp volley by Jere Koistinen in the 35th minute.  We were unlucky to concede right before half due to a Matias Ojala blunder.  Then the referee started handing out penalties to MuSa like they were candy.  We equalized in the 52nd minute off of Felix Orshani, but…  I'm so hot I can barely speak.  It was a sh*t result, 4-2 to now 2nd place MuSa while we fall to 6th in the table.

Next up on Wednesday we have Niemisen Urheilijat down in Raakkyla.  They are winless so far this year and sit toward the relegation spot, so we will need to rebuild some confidence in playing them.  They are a fairly smart team and are technically sound, but they tend to suffer from a lack of work ethic as a whole.  It's an 18:30 match, and about a five hour drive, but we are going to make the trip all in one day.  We practiced yesterday, but then likely no training until next week - these fixtures are very tight!

Saturday, May 6th

That was a dog of a match against KoIPS.  There was really no reason we should have walked away with points in that game; we pulled out a 1-1 draw, but really it was a rescue more than anything else.  As is typical, we had a pretty brisk start, and inside the opening minute we had a free kick 3 yards outside the box.  Time Helenius gave it a go, was successful in getting it over the wall, by couldn't get it on goal.  Arponen gave a clear lateral pass to Pekka Lappalainen, who one timed it only for the KoIPS keeper to turn it away for a corner in the 4th minute.  in the 16th, we concede a free kick about 23 yards out, Haanpaa was right there but the ball glanced off the cross bar and out of play.  After a questionable nothing call in the box, the referee gifted KoIPS a penalty, and this time Haanpaa  couldn't make the magic, and we fell down 1-0.  KoIPS kept the pressure on from the 30th to the 35th minute, missing by fine margins twice.  

In the second half there was not much to see.  KoIPS took a thrown in in the 64th that set up a one time shot that was sent just to the left of the goal.  Then, in the 83rd, Arponen was unmarked in the right channel.  He passed into a well covered Jere Koistinen right in front of the goal.  Jere ran it down the goal line towards the corner, ticked it back to Arponen.  Juha faked a shot and crossed it right to the penalty spot where a waiting Lappalainen blasted a powerful shot into the next to equalize.  With that goal, Pekka becomes the youngest ever scorer for our club, at 16 years, 253 days - passing the record that Jere Koistinen set the previous month.

Now we face Musan Salama - 2nd place in our D group and 4 wins from 4 matches at home.  This team plays with some flair, and has a tremendous goalkeeper in Max Eklund.  They are also semi-pro - which sometimes brings some more talented players.  We are going to go with our most senior team for this match:

GK - Matias Ojala - recently recovered from injury and has received a clean bill of health.

DR - Arttu Virttanen

DCR - Eelis Koskinen

DCL - Mikko Lapa-aho

DL - Tony Salonen

MR - Callistus Chukwo

MCR - Felix Orishani

MCL - Matias Juntunen

ML - Armend Jakupi

STR - Veeti Kokkonen

STL - Titi

Big match - most important of the season at home so far!

May 3rd, 2023

It was a very busy last couple of days!  We can start by reviewing our match with TamU/2, a 1-0 victory that came with a lot of drama.  We definitely had a different style than TamU/2 - we pride ourselves in controlling possession while the opponent favoured the catenaccio system.  Veeti Kokkonen gave us the lead in the 19th minute with a cleanly struck effort close to goal.  Timo Helenius fed him in the box and astoundingly there was not a defender within 4 yards of Kokkonen.  But all of Veeti's magic was wiped away in the 25th minute when he made an egregious tackle in the left channel at midfield, earning a straight red.  It was a completely unnecessarily cynical tackle that had no place in the game.  We were down to 10 with over 65 minutes of regulation to play.  In the 68th minute, TamU/2 was awarded a penalty, but young Haanpaa held his ground and steered the shot to the right of goal,  TamU/2 had another great chance in the 80th minute when Severi Jaatinen had momentum an sprinted into the box, requiring Juha Arponen to block a point blank shot from 3 yards out and steer it over the end line.  As a whole, we dominated possession with 63%, and had and xG of 2.39, and walked away with the victory

The post match presser was all about Kokkonen's egregious tackle.  I had no choice but to speak the truth in that it was an ugly tackle, but I tried to give Veeti the benefit of the doubt.  Veeti will now miss our next match against KoIPS.  We opted not to fine or appeal with suspension.  We gave the kudos to Timo Helenius, who was never afraid to take on his man, and used great awareness to feed the early goal.

It's going to be a busy week with a match all the way down in Vantaa on Wednesday, and a home match on Saturday.  We are only going to get in one training on Tuesday, before we take the 7 hour bus ride again.  The U-20s will work the typical Tuesday/Thursday training, with a match practice on Thursday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.

With Aapo Haanpaa playing so well in Matias Ojala's absence, I had a conversation with Matias indicating there will likely be more sharing of duties in goal.  Matias was not very pleased.  I had Matias Juntunen speak with him, an Ojala seemed in a better place.

The Board and our Supporters both gave me some feedback that they are pleased with how things are going.  Both groups are most happy with our tactics, and they really like the pressing style.  The board's also happy with our club atmosphere.

With KoIPS up this evening, we did some scheming to try and address the fact that they are strong crossers and heavy tacklers.  The struggle to finish, and when they do it is from aerials - so I am thinking Lapa-aho's height will be needed in this match.  Being a road match, I'd be content with a draw, even though KoIPS is winless thus far in the season and sit in a relegation spot.  

Did get word that Toni Personen already got a match in with KajHa and he played ok.  I also extended two more youth contracts to Mikko Viljanen, a 17 year old winger and Kari Huttunen, a 18 year old striker.  This should bolster the youth squad with the loans we have out.

We are going to pivot to a 4-4-2 for the upcoming match, with the following selections

GK - Aapo Haanpaa

DR - Juha Arponen

DCR - Mikko Lapa-aho

DCL - Sami Aalto

DL - Samuli Aalto

MR - Callistus Chukwu

MCR - Timo Helenius

MCL - Pekka Lappalainen

ML - Mikko Viljanen

STCR - Jere Koistinen

STCL - Kari Huttenen

Sunday, April 30th, 2023

After our last U-20 game, I realized that there are a few players that are going to need a loan to get more regular playing time, as our U-20 team doesn't have a competition in which it plays in.  Thankfully we have an affiliation with Kajaanin Haka - who also play in the third division, just in Group F.  Kajaani is about 2 hours from Oulu, but I still believe its a great opportunity for some players to get some more exposure.  As such, Nenad Nikolic, Mika Laaksonen, and Toni Personen are all going to begin training and playing with KajHa effective immediately.  We wish them well, and we'll look to recall them when the time is right.  

We began prep for our next league match against TamU/2.  We are again going to focus on the transition phase, as I think that's where I tend to worry the most - our defense doesn't have much speed so we need them to move into formation quickly when possession swings.  We are going to do some work on defending free kicks and practicing throw ins as well.  

The senior squad had an ok week in training - though the team seems to have fairly good spirits.  Tobias Poutiainen had a very good week of training.  The U-20s had a more productive week, with Arttu Virtanen having an effective week.  I've settled on my starting XI for our next match.  We're going to go as follows:

GK - Aapo Haanpaa

DR - Juha Arponen

DCR - Mikko Lapa-aho

DCL - Sami Aalto

DL - Samuli Aalto

DM - Felix Orishani

MCR - Timo Helenius

MCL - Tobias Poutiainen

AMR - Veeti Kokkonen

AML - Armend Jakubi

STC - Jere Koistinen

Let's see if we can get to top of the table!

Thursday, April 27, 2023

After our U20's match I immediately approached both Kevin Ayina and Ville Bjorkland to thank them for playing the match without being members of the club.  They both told me they had a lot of fun.  I asked both to make a commitment to join our club, and both did.

Kevin is a 15 year old Congolese who also has Finnish nationality.  Communicating with him is a bit tough, as he only speaks French (English or Finnish I can roll with).  He seemed to fit in fairly well with the squad, and he seems committed to give all of his efforts to developing and to his new squad.  He seemed to have his head screwed on straight, and I think he has a lot of potential to grow in his career - perhaps even to become a professional.  That said, he has some work to do on his passing.  We need to get him to channel his eagerness into becoming consistent.  He needs some help marking (he is still only 5'-9" and 138 lbs), but I think Kalle Riski can get him there.

Ville Bjorklund is a 16 year old defender from Finland.  He is delighted to be at the club and is looking forward to learning a lot while here at OPS.  He also fits in well with the current personalities on the club, and has some experience being an attacker as well as a defender, though he told me he prefers left side defender the best.  He's fairly fast as well, and has a good balanced mentality about life.  I think he's got a lot of room to grow too.  He does need to hit the weight room, though, and he needs to focus on his athleticism outside of the field if he wants to be a footballer.  Both Ville and kevin will be part of OPS until they are 19 years old.

I got good news about Matias Ojala and his shoulder injury.  His physiotherapy is coming along well, and he's close to rejoining training.  After only two weeks out, i'm impressed - we might get him back a week or two earlier than anticipated.  Good news is that Aapo Haapaa has been doing well in Matias absence - we might have a teenage battle to sart in goal!

On Sunday we will host TamU/2 - Tampere United of the Second Division's reserve squad.  TamU/2 is coming off a 2-0 win at KoiPs after a loss at home to MuSa.  They sit 7th in the table.  I think being at home we have a good shot to win; they have some strong goaltending coming from Veikka Stalhand.  They tend to struggle in in the middle of the first half, so we are goign to have to strike quick and build up a lead.  Their defenders tend to get confused in the box, so this will not be a long ball dominated game.  

Monday, April 24th, 2023

That was a really busy weekend in Oulu.  Both our senior side and our U20 team had matches this week in town, so it was a full day on the pitch both Saturday and Sunday.  On Friday we recognized Samuli Aalto and Arttu Virtanen for their dedication to training and the hard work they both put in. I decided this week to make sure that the U20s team was mostly composed of U20s - I thought it would be important for the youth to play, even at the expense of our senior team leaders who are less in form.  For the Senior match against Jaro U23 I opted to stick with Aapo Haanpaa in goal, Virtanen in RB, Eelis Koskinen and Sami Aalto as CBs, and Samuli Aalto on the LB wing.  Tobias Poutiainen held the DM spot, with Timo Helenius and Pekka Lappalainen in MF.  The attacking wings were held by Veeti Kokkonen and Armend Jakupi, with Jere Koistinen as striker.  

The match  had another delightful result, with a successful 3-1 victory over Jaro U23 after dropping down a goal early.  In the 11th minute Jaro's Alban Tema scored a beautiful header from a throw-in/cross combo and it caught Haanpaa unprepared and he jumped late.  2 Minutes later Jamu was almost up 2-nil, when Teemu Jarvenlahti send one just inches wide of the right post from the top of the box.  Our best chance came in the 19th when Jakupi send a picture perfect lobbing cross in and Kokkonen just missed the header high over the cross bar.  In the 23 minute, Walter Moore of Jaru took a direct kick from about 27 yards that the left post pushed wide.  Then in the 35th, Samuli Aalto pushed a 30 yard through ball onto Koistinen's left foot.  Jere one touched and then send a rifle into to the opposite corner for his 3rd goal of the season, and we were knotted at 1.

At the start of the second, Tema had another breakaway but he fired just over the net.  Things were quiet until the 77th when Kokkonen ran deep in the right channel, and then spun away from the defender to hit a wide open Timo Helenius.  Timo chipped it to a racing Jakupi who stock out a leg to bury it into the top netting of the goal, and our 2-1 lead.  5 minutes later Samuli Aalto kicked an in swinging corner from the right side and Eelis Koskinen was present to head in for a 3-1 lead with only 7 minutes remaining in regulation.  Albin Bjorkskog had a close chance to bring it close again in the 89th but his running header was wide of goal.  We finished with 70% possession and now have 6 points in 2 matches, to keep us in the top few of the table.

The U-20s did well to win their match as well, also coming back from a deficit.  The boys do need to tone back the aggression a bit, as they picked up four yellow cards in the match.  We blooded a pair of players as well who don't train with the U20 squad yet, one of whom - Kevin Ayina - scored a beautiful goal from 18 yards and ended up as man of the match.  Kevin's from Congo-Brazzaville - but I am thinking he might get an invitation to keep practicing with the U20 squad.  The other rookie, Ville Bjorklund also played a solid match.  The U20s beat our rival OLS 2-1 in the freindly.

On another positive note, we've got 50 season tickets sold, so we will start to have at least a few more supporters in the future!

Friday, April 21, 2023

Well, I had my pre-match press conference with Benjamin Oksanen of the Oulu Soccer Gazette Wednesday morning.  Benjamin's a fairly respectful journalist, so I appreciate his questions.  In short, I wanted to make it clear that one match is not a precursor or indicative of the a whole season - whether good or bad. I am going to put the best squad together for the match, and I don't expect that who makes the starting XI is any indication of what our strongest XI is.

Early Thursday morning, I caught up with a kid I had heard about who was in Helsinki.  Nikita Furin is a Russian Defender who's on Trial at TUS in the 3rd division.   He's on Krasnador's squad, but hasn't played for them in 4 seasons.  I let Furin know he'd fit in nicely with our squad in Oulu.

Onto the game - it was a fantastic season start, with a 3-2 victory (that should have been 3-1!) That puts us 5th in the table on GD.  We used a gegenpress style tactic and Aavo Sarap - Kirkkonummi's manager - focused on a control procession style.  The superstar for us today was very much Jere Koistinen who put 2 goals in today.  I feel like it was just a few weeks ago I was complaining about his indifference, and he was whining about his PT.  Amazing how fast things changed - he's found the back of the net 7 times in the last 5 games!  I made a bit of a risky move my starting Armend Jakupi out as AML - he really understood our tactic, but was light on minutes.  Unfortunately he took a knock early, so I subbed him out in the 10th minute with Matias Juntunen who was the games other star.  Almost immediately upon coming on, Juntunen fed Koistinen in the box for a simple header goal in the 12th minute.  Juntenen then put in a goal of his own right before the half time whistle from close range.

In the second half, Kirkkonummi's MF Joachim Boeckerman scored a brilliant non contested goal from 24 yards into the top corner.  I hate to admit it - but it was beautiful - and we suddenly had a match on our hands again.  But Koistinen sealed it for us in the 70th with a pointblank header.  He conceded one more in the 92nd, but that was a consolation more than anything else.

Koistinen became our clubs youngest ever scorer at 17 years and 63 days, and it was a brace to boot!  We had 5 other players get their senior debut - Pekka Lappalainen, Juha Arponen, Armend Jakupi, Mikko Lapa-aho, and Aapo Haanpaa.  We took quite a bit of good press out of the match.

Now we have a super short turnaround, with Jaro U23 coming to Oulu tomorrow.  We won't get any training in between now and then, and we're going to have some tired legs with a match just 3 days later - but Jaro U23 will be in a similar spot!  We're off an running!

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023

So with Matias Ojala's injury, I thought it would be wise to add a new keeper to the squad.  Patrik Vatanen had trained with the club in the past, and had played a lot of youth football for the club.  He had floated away from the program to focus on his studies, but reached out when he heard of Matias injury to see if he could return to his hobby.  Since we don't have contracts - and we could definitely use some help with the reserves, I was more than happy to bring in Patrik - though I can't guarantee any match minutes.  

I received some good reports on the development of both Uku Kask and Mika Laaksonen - both of whom are fairly low on the depth chart.  Mika seems to be progressing a little better, and has definitely become a more fit reserve.  

We got word back from Mikke Kiljunen that he isn't willing to join our club without appearance fees or unused substitute fees.  I explained again that we are an amateur squad, and indicated that we wouldn't be the right fit for the team.  Bummer, but c'est la vie.  

Out squad used Monday to work on tactical form in advance of out match.  We are going to focus again on our match transition as I recognize we don't have the speediest defenders, and we are going to have to pivot in that space effectively.  Kirkonummi has some taller players, so we are going to focus on defending corners and also our own attacking corners.  The U-20s have added a match to their schedule this upcoming Friday to play our rival OLS on Sunday evening.  OLS is also based in Oulu, so not much of a trip.  The U-20s will work on outfield training this upcoming Wednesday, and then focus for the match on our Friday session.

We are heading to the bus in the next couple hours to Kirkkonummi.  It's a long, almost 8 hour drive, that we are deciding to do today in prep for our match tomorrow night.  It's time for things to get real.  I'm going to push for the draw - first match, on the road - I think that's something we can accomplish!

Saturday, April 15, 2023

No match this weekend, so catching up on some errands around town.  Things are going to get a little frenetic once the league season starts.  We'll be playing upwards of two matches a week, so training time and free time will be curtailed. We are going to do a full scrimmage today to prep for the match against FC Kirkkonummi.  We are also going to work on a recovery session with the physio.  

I had a conversation with Matias Ojala about his shoulder.  He is very disappointed to have to miss the start of the season after working so hard all pre-season.  I feel for the kid, but in my mind this is a great opportunity for him to build up his mental resilience and constitution.

I read the Finnish Soccer Free Press on Thursday and they are predicting we finish 7th in our Group (Group D) of 18 teams.  I guess that's fair enough based on how little they know my coaching style and this team.  It's going to be a marathon.  34 matches, only one promotion spot, and 3 relegation spots.  The favourites for our group are Musan Salama, a team out of Pori.

I did have a conversation with Mikke Kiljunen, a 20 year old left midfielder about joining our team.  Mikke is with RoPS, and was a contributor last season in the 2nd Division, making 22 appearances.  He would bring some depth and provide cover up front.  

Looks to be a beautiful day on Wednesday, with temperatures close to 10 and a partly sunny match.  I've learned that Kirrkonummi is an aggressive and committed squad, but they lack finishing ability.  So  I expect a low scoring, physical match.

Short of that we've had some great training this week from both Samuli Aalto and Arttu Virtanen.  Let's go Opsi!

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

Well, there could not have been a better way to end the pre-season than the match we played against Tornion Pallo-47.  I did not project that we would dominate the match to the extent that we did.  I figured TP-47 would put up a fight given that they are a division above us, but this match built tremendous confidence for our boys.  A 4-0 drubbing, where we held possession for 65% and included a brace by Jere Koistinen - it was a prideful moment for me, and I felt upon exiting the stadium, that we are absolutely ready for the league to begin.  We got things going quickly - in the 4th minute Koistinen looped an early corner in the box that Jan-Erik Rautio put just wide of the post.  It was a great start to the match.  In the 11th minute, after a healthy buildup, Timo Helenius put a great through ball into Koistinen's right foot, and he easily slotted past the keeper for a one - nil lead.  In the 32nd minute Tommy Hakala set up a similar play, and Koistinen again but it in the net, giving him a brace in the first third of the match.  After a foul 4 yards outside the box, Helenius gave it a go around the wall, though he pushed it slightly wide - regardless it was a legitimate shot that with a bit more curl would have been unstoppable.  Shortly before half, a build-up coming out of the defensive half saw a solid run up the wing by Juha Arponen.  Arponen found a sprinting Helenius, how took two quick touches and smashed one in at full speed giving us a 3-0 lead at the break.  I couldn't have been prouder of the boys, and I let them know it in the dressing room.  Then, in the 64th minute, Matias Juntunen took a free kick 15 yards outside the box that deflected off a pile of defenders right to a wide open Hakala on the right flank.  It wasn't even a challenge for Tommy to score unmarked from 8 yards out.

It was such a surprise to have such a strong performance.  However, after the match I got some terrible news from the physio.  Matias Ojala - our regular keeper all preseason - had complained of some pain early in the 2nd half.  I pulled him for Aapo Haanpaa not thinking much of it.  Markku Lehtimaki our head physio informed me that Matias had damaged his left shoulder, and would need to spend the next 4 to 5 weeks resting it.  Murphy's law - I hadn't really given many minutes to anyone else all preseason, and now we are going to start league play with either Haanpaa or Tommi Kovanen in net - our defense is going to have to be on point.

We have no match for the next 10 days, so the team is going to take it a bit easy in training the next few days.  Having played 8 friendlies and a cup over the last two months, we all need a bit of reset before we start playing games that count.  We had 5 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws - along with that first round cup loss - we should be competitive this season for sure.  

I did do the task of nominating our captains this year.  Tony Salonen has the strongest leadership skills on the team, so he will wear the armband this year.  As Vice Captain, I have chosen Eelis Koskinen - who's done a good job of leading the team in the dressing room.  Lastly, Petri Nylund opted to sign with someone else.  he didn't think he'd see too much playing time, so he opted to head to a lower division squad in Tornio.

We are all now champing at the bit to get to the matches that count.  We will head all the way down to Helsinki for our first league match against FC Kirkkonummi in 10 days!

Saturday, April 8th, 2023

It has been a frustrating effort to try and recruit for some specific needs for this team.  I never realized how tough it would be to get adults to join an amateur club.  We’re in a big town, but we’ve got so many teams in Oulu - including a Premier League Team AC Oulu - that its hard to find folks that live nearby.  I’m most concerned about centre-back.  We’ve got folks who know how to play the position, but really, only really only Eelis Koskinen knows what he’s doing there.  I’ve given Sami Aalto lots of minutes in friendlies, as I think he’s got some potential - he’s done well, but still needs a lot of growth to be dependable.  I brought Mikka Lapa-aho into the squad - he was a keen football player, but really hasn’t played organized football beyond beer league fun - and he’s 35.  Luukas Manninen signed in the squad too - he’s only 20, so he’s young, but I don’t even know that he has the tools to play in the Third Division.  We also have Uku Kask - but I think he’s already playing at a level above his capabilities.  If anyone knows a centre back - I wish they’d call me!

In a bit of good news, Planet Football listed Matias Juntunen as a potential contender for top player in the Finnish Third Division.  He ended up 6th on the list.  Seems like the media is thinking the shoe-in is Luka Kuittinen of FC Inter Turku 2.  He’s a pro rather than an amateur - so that seems to make some logic - maybe he’ll get a call up to the premier league and give Matias a better shot.  

We did have a conversation with Petri Nylund, a 23 year old DM from Rovaniemi - I saw him down at the rec centre last weekend.  He mentioned he hasn’t played for a couple seasons since youth league - he looked like he had some talent, so perhaps we can convince him to join our club!  

Miika Juntunen sent me a note about Timo Helenius today.  Timo’s being doing great in training, and his leadership and decision making are really shining through.  He’s a 16 year old AM, but I’m hoping he can become more of a CM.  He’s definitely close to ready to getting selected on a regular basis once the season starts.  I told Miika to have Timo keep working on his agility and balance.

With TP-47 coming up tomorrow, I want to work on our transition game.  They’ve got some quick forwards that we need to be able to keep tabs on.  We’ve been killing it in posession this pre-season - I am so proud of how well the boys keep care over the ball.  I’ve set my mind on our starting XI for this least warm up:

GK - Matias Ojala - 16 y.o

DR - Juha Arponen - 16 y.o.

DCR - Kai Ollikainen - 16 y.o.

DCL - Sami Aalto - 22 y.o. 

DL - Jan-Erik Rautio - 16 y.o.

DM - Felix Orishani - 29 y.o.

MCR - Timo Helenius - 16 y.o.

MCL - Pekka Lappalainen - 16 y.o.

AMR - Tommy Hakala - 16 y.o.

AML - Christ Diafouka-Otta - 16 y.o.

STC - Jere Koistinen - 17 y.o.

9 young teens…against a Division 2 side.  I must be nuts!!