The HJK Courier
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Lassi Lappalainen runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 41. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Tempers go at HJK
Lassi Lappalainen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom12 Apr 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at HJK
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Cesar Meza Colli wants to go home
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and HJK know it.
The terraces12 Apr 2027
The crowd has taken to Liam Möller
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market12 Apr 2027
HJK promote Aleksi Jensen from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Aleksi Jensen has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market12 Apr 2027
Amos Hradecky steps up from the HJK academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Amos Hradecky has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market12 Apr 2027
HJK promote Joni Kamara from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Joni Kamara has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market12 Apr 2027
HJK promote Saku Karjalainen from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Saku Karjalainen has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Match HJK find a way past VPS
- Player ratings A masterclass from Liam Möller
- Squad The manager makes an example of Cesar Meza Colli