Europe North News
New dawn at Helsinki?
Posted by: Newswire, 2020-05-03, 1083 Views
Last few seasons haven’t been easy for the Helsinki fans.
The club once challenging for the old EN1 title has been slowly slipping in
recent times. Finally everything seemed to collapse and they suffered two
consecutive relegations to the bottom division. However, there seems to again
be an air of positivity around the team these days. After 4 games they sit at
the top of EN3 with three wins and a draw. Goalkeeper Swed is performing
heroically in the nets while new striker Soare is in red hot form scoring 4
goals and adding 2 assists in the league already.
So what has changed? Many think it’s related to manager
Herra Pastori finding a new spark again. After being beaten to the title time
and time again he left for pastures new but ultimately returned to his hometown
club. After a slow start he may be finding the rhythm again and we met him to
ask a few questions on Helsinki’s current situation.
Reporter: Why did Helsinki relegate all the way to D3?
Herra Pastori: A good
question, Mr.Reporter. Most of the blame belongs to Stefan and the downsize of our
divisions. Helsinki was an EN1 regular but were bumped down to D2 with some
ridiculous reasoning. After that I decided that a total rebuild is what this
team and city needs. Staying in D2 was the goal of season 30, but some bad luck
concerning goalkeepers cost Helsinki the D2 spot. In the great scheme of things
this however isn't a big deal, as this squad will reach it's peak in the
following 3-6 seasons.
Reporter: How do you rate the current roster and is there
something in particular that still needs to be fixed?
Herra Pastori: The
current roster makes me happy. I have a lot of options, especially in midfield,
and managed to bring in some good players to strengthen the squad. The most
important things were to get in a solid GK, which Swed is turning out to be,
and a forward capable of scoring goals. That was found in the form of Soare
from Bern. A long injury and/or suspensions to Soare is the clearest risk
scenario, but for shorter absences Moron is a more than capable back-up.
Reporter: When can we expect Helsinki back in EN1 and can we
expect a title challenge in the near future?
Herra Pastori: The
goal is definitely to achieve two back-to-back promotions in seasons 31&32,
and then immediately start challenging for the D1 crown and WES cup spots. The
aging squad at Leverkusen and the very young squad at Liverpool leaves EN1
without a clear leader, and that spot is for the taking.
Reporter: Finally, I see you like to eat raisins whenever
you watch your team play or train or, well you seem to eat raisins all the
time. Why do you like raisins so much?
Herra Pastori: I absolutely love raisins. They have the
perfect taste, texture, smell, everthing. I would go as far as to say I couldn’t
live without raisins. Raisins are the elixir of life!
8 Comments
and they just traded for an excellent w/e defender. Big things happening in Finland. BIG THINGS.
