2011 was a season to remember for HJK. Not only did ‘Klubi' won their third consecutive title and the Finnish Cup (overall their 24th league championship and 11th cup victory), but they did this in a swashbuckling fashion. The Helsinki team finished the season with a 24-point lead to second-place Inter and scored a whopping 86 goals in 33 matches while conceding only 23.

2011 was a season to remember for HJK. Not only did ‘Klubi' won their third consecutive title and the Finnish Cup (overall their 24th league championship and 11th cup victory), but they did this in a swashbuckling fashion. The Helsinki team finished the season with a 24-point lead to second-place Inter and scored a whopping 86 goals in 33 matches while conceding only 23.

Mason Trafford and IFK Mariehamn went down to JJK while Etchu Tabe and RoPS went down to champion's HJK.

It has been a highly eventful start to the autumn for HJK. First, maintaining their devastating form in the league, the Helsinki club all but secured the Veikkausliiga title already in August. Then, ‘Klubi' gave Schalke a proper run for their money in the Europa League play-offs, beating the Germans 2-0 at home until imploding in the second half of the away leg as the hosts ran rampage with a 6-1 victory.

It has been a highly eventful start to the autumn for HJK. First, maintaining their devastating form in the league, the Helsinki club all but secured the Veikkausliiga title already in August. Then, ‘Klubi' gave Schalke a proper run for their money in the Europa League play-offs, beating the Germans 2-0 at home until imploding in the second half of the away leg as the hosts ran rampage with a 6-1 victory.

It was a night to remember at the Sonera Stadium last Thursday as HJK recorded a historical victory with a battling performance over the German giants Schalke in the Europa League play-off first leg. Teemu Pukki scored two fantastic goals to cap a magnificent team performance by the home side which put the Finns on the threshold of the group stages of the competition.

It was a night to remember at the Sonera Stadium last Thursday as HJK recorded a historical victory with a battling performance over the German giants Schalke in the Europa League play-off first leg. Teemu Pukki scored two fantastic goals to cap a magnificent team performance by the home side which put the Finns on the threshold of the group stages of the competition.

It is a tedious cliché that Finnish football is small-time and insignificant, but it is unfortunately also kinda true. Precarious finances and a disinterested public make the professional game here seem lower profile than, say, crown green bowls in the UK, or cricket in the United States.

That is a little stark.

HJK is the Finnish team which famously thrashed Welsh club Bangor City 13-0 on aggregate in the Champions League early round playoffs. They were then unkindly dispatched from the CL by Dinamo Zagreb, making their way to the red-headed stepchild, the Europa League.

Teemu Pukki, formerly of Sevilla and still only 21, seems perfectly pleased with this development.

[Photo: Ed van de Pol/AZ] We will be easing into things today, as our two earliest featured starts (see previous post) will not have an American starting. But that doesn't mean we can't get our afternoon kicked off. Schalke, who have dressed somewhat of a junior varsity side in Helsinki, have left Jermaine Jones out (supposedly because of HJK's artifical turf).

HJK entertain Schalke tomorrow in the play-off round of the Europa League. Despite the undeniable fact that HJK are marching towards the Veikkausliiga title, the home tie against the German giants is an event that eclipses their whole season (unless they make it into the Europa League group phase of course).

The more important and titillating Champions League all apologies to HJK and Bangor City begins today, and UEFA have marked it by announcing last season's financial haul from the tournament.

And at least Manchester United beat Barcelona in something, as they've come first, which should come in handy on the day news reports indicate they're ready to float the club on the Singaporean stock market for some added loot.

There was a real sense of expectation in the air at the Sonera Stadium last Wednesday as HJK took on Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of the Champions League third round. Few HJK fans may have pinned their hopes on actual UCL qualification, but many regarded the home team having at least a solid chance of beating the Croatian champions in the two-legged tie.

There was a real sense of expectation in the air at the Sonera Stadium last Wednesday as HJK took on Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of the Champions League third round. Few HJK fans may have pinned their hopes on actual UCL qualification, but many regarded the home team having at least a solid chance of beating the Croatian champions in the two-legged tie.

HJK made Champions League history trashing Bangor City 13-0 on aggregate in the second round of the competition. Both the second leg 10-0 victory at home and aggregate result are the biggest goal-fests ever celebrated in the Champions League. The result is a remarkable achievement in its own right, especially by a team from Finland, but, in truth, Bangor never represented a real test for HJK.

HJK made Champions League history trashing Bangor City 13-0 on aggregate in the second round of the competition. Both the second leg 10-0 victory at home and aggregate result are the biggest goal-fests ever celebrated in the Champions League. The result is a remarkable achievement in its own right, especially by a team from Finland, but, in truth, Bangor never represented a real test for HJK.

HJK entertain Inter tonight in one of the most highly anticipated matches of the current campaign. Inter, second in the table, chase the hosts by seven points with a game in hand, so if the Turku team manage a victory in Helsinki all the talk of handing the Veikkausliiga trophy to HJK may just turn out to be premature.

HJK entertain Inter tonight in one of the most highly anticipated matches of the current campaign. Inter, second in the table, chase the hosts by seven points with a game in hand, so if the Turku team manage a victory in Helsinki all the talk of handing the Veikkausliiga trophy to HJK may just turn out to be premature.

English homophobia: uniting Brazilians and Finns Finnish football descended into a bout of televised homophobia this week. The match between KuPS and HJK featured HJK's Brazilian star Rafinha testing his language skills on opponent Pexi Oravainen. He was caught on camera unleashing a torrent of homophobic abuse towards the KuPS.

By Chris Wright

Charming stuff from HJK's resident gobshite-in-chief Rafinha, who has caused somewhat of an stir in Finnish footballing circles after he brazenly, agressively and repeatedly yelled 'homo' in KuPS midfielder Pexi Oravainen's mush when the two sides met in Helsinki last night.

By Chris Wright

Charming stuff from HJK's resident gobshite-in-chief Rafinha, who has caused somewhat of an stir in Finnish footballing circles after he brazenly, agressively and repeatedly yelled 'homo' in KuPS midfielder Pexi Oravainen's mush when the two sides met in Helsinki last night.

Etchu Tabe and RoPS will try to break their four-game winless streak against HJK while Josh Wicks and Mason Trafford should both be in Mariehamn's starting lineup on their trip to JJK.

The surprise Veikkausliiga leaders from Jyväskylä take on the reigning champions at the Sonera Stadium at 6:30pm tonight. JJK remain unbeaten with sixteen points after six matches while HJK sit third with twelve points. Therefore, even with a limited grasp of arithmetic, the hosts are in for a match they need to win.

The surprise Veikkausliiga leaders from Jyväskylä take on the reigning champions at the Sonera Stadium at 6:30pm tonight. JJK remain unbeaten with sixteen points after six matches while HJK sit third with twelve points. Therefore, even with a limited grasp of arithmetic, the hosts are in for a match they need to win.

Josh Wicks and Mason Trafford helped Mariehamn knock off Finnish powerhouse HJK, while Daniel Stevens opened his scoring account for Kemi Kings in their win over HIFK.

Etchu Tabe and RoPS will hope to run their winning streak to two games while the Yanks at Mariehamn have one last warmup at home against league powerhouse HJK before next week's crucial cup semifinal.

HJK host Jaro at the Sonera Stadium tonight at 6:30pm. The home side have recorded three straight victories (KuPS (H), Inter (H), VPS (A)) after the opening day defeat against TPS in Turku and sit second in the table, a point behind JJK. Jaro have also recovered from their dodgy start to the season, that saw them get beaten by biggest relegation favourites RoPS (A) and Haka (H), by taking all three points at TPS and drawing at home to KuPS.

HJK host Jaro at the Sonera Stadium tonight at 6:30pm. The home side have recorded three straight victories (KuPS (H), Inter (H), VPS (A)) after the opening day defeat against TPS in Turku and sit second in the table, a point behind JJK. Jaro have also recovered from their dodgy start to the season, that saw them get beaten by biggest relegation favourites RoPS (A) and Haka (H), by taking all three points at TPS and drawing at home to KuPS.

O HJK da Finlândia, foi o campeão da Finlândia em 2010, e será o representante do país na 2ª fase da Champions League 2011/2012.
Esse foi o 23ª título da Finlândia na história, sendo seu 10 títulos na copa da Finlândia.
Será sua 13ª participação na Championas League.

Did you miss NFN's three-part Veikkausliiga preview? Don't worry, you can find it here, just click on the linka. Part I -Part II - Part III.

Nordic Football News has once again brought you the most definitive Veikkausliiga preview concievable. Now for the final part, our standings prediction.

The 2011 Veikkausliiga season kicks-off in two months so let's not waste any time trying to make up witty introductions to the ever so fascinating world of Veikkausliiga transfer tittle-tattle and instead, mimicking the transfer market behaviour of most Finnish top tier teams, the Merry-go-round is just going to plunge in among the transfers news and take any piece it can get its hands on.

The Union announced on Friday that they have declined the option to renew midfielder Toni Stahl's contract.

Stahl, a second round pick—17th overall—in the 2010 SuperDraft, started one game for the Union last year. He played 41 minutes in that game, the Union's season opener against Seattle, before being sent off after reason a second yellow card.

When you go for a Sunday stroll around the Finnish transfer circus at this time of the year, in this bleak financial and meteorological climate, you would expect to see a sad merry-go-round sitting stranded in the cold, transfer ponies buried under five feet of snow, emptiness echoing in the absence of laughter, shrieks of joy and the sound of little feet of transfer rumours scampering merrily around the ride.

When you go for a Sunday stroll around the Finnish transfer circus at this time of the year, in this bleak financial and meteorological climate, you would expect to see a sad merry-go-round sitting stranded in the cold, transfer ponies buried under five feet of snow, emptiness echoing in the absence of laughter, shrieks of joy and the sound of little feet of transfer rumours scampering merrily around the ride.