Eero Raitala

Attacking Midfielder (R) - Ilves U18
13 Dec 2026
Sunday
Process

Marked for Eero Raitala

13 Edition

The Ilves Post

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Sauli Väisänen in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ilves this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

When it matters, Jardell Kanga plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Market

Maksim Stjopin linked with a move away

The name of Maksim Stjopin keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ilves say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Oliver Pettersson asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

The dugout

A door opens for Faris Krkalić

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

Squad

Weeti Wimmer finally belongs at Ilves

The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.

In brief

Back issues
2 Edition

The Ilves Post

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Ilves say no — this time

The offer from FF Jaro for Otto Tiitinen was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Édouard Dupuy rejects the move

Ilves had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Tours, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Player ratings

Maksim Stjopin was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Transfer targets

Ilves bid $22.0K for Emil Leveälahti

The offer went to HJK this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Boardroom

Ilves agree a free transfer for Adam Vidjeskog

Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.

Transfer targets

Manchester City tell Ilves: Pierce Charles is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Tempers go at Ilves

Stanislav Baranov 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.

Market

One of our own: Joel Taylor joins the Ilves first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Joel Taylor is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Ilves promote Eero Raitala from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Eero Raitala 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