The HJK Courier
Squad12 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikolai Alho
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. HJK lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad12 Apr 2027
101 days out for Jesse Öst after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HJK will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market12 Apr 2027
Lassi Lappalainen hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HJK can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Lucas Lingman: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HJK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A defender's goal wins it for HJK — 7.87
1 for Lucas Lingman, marked 7.87, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Boardroom12 Apr 2027
Graduation day at HJK
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Transfer targets12 Apr 2027
Haka tell HJK: Teppo Marttinen 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.
Market12 Apr 2027
HJK promote Teemu Taylor from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Teemu Taylor 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 Riku Soiri from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Riku Soiri 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
- Market Joel Lam steps up from the HJK academy
- Match HJK get the job done against Inter Turku
- Squad Leonel Montano falls out with a teammate over standards