HIFK end 44-year wait to paint Helsinki red

Long-awaited joy was bestowed upon HIFK's faithful fanbase on Friday night as their side claimed bragging rights from the Stadin derby for the first time since 1972.

The thrilling 2-1 win over their rivals, league leaders HJK, was HIFK's first of the modern era since their 2015 return to the top flight of Finnish football.

Victory provided a crucial 3 points for HIFK's survival hopes as they tightened their grip on 10th position and moved 5 points clear of Inter Turku who occupy the relegation playoff spot.

The result compounded HJK's stuttering form which has seen their hopes of a 28th Finnish championship falter in recent weeks.

Last night's result has opened the door for Åland based IFK Mariehamn who can move one point clear at the top on Sunday with a win over cellar-dwellers PK-35 Vantaa. Tampere's FC Ilves are also nipping at HJK's heels and can draw level on points with a win in Lahti with only 3 rounds remaining.

Stadin Kingit lit up Sonera Stadium before kick off (Photo: Tommi Hänninen)

Juho Mäkelä and Pekka Sihvola did the damage for HIFK with two well taken goals before Alfredo Morelos pulled a goal back for HJK late on to make the closing minutes interesting.

Journeyman Mäkelä returned to haunt his former club by opening the scoring with his eighth goal of the season; a deft header soon after the half hour mark.

The striker enjoyed three successful spells at HJK in between stints in Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, and Australia, however fan's affections went out the door when his pen touched paper for HIFK earlier this year.

Mäkelä clearly remembered his hostile reception from Klubipääty back in May in which fans burnt his old jersey. Such treatment dispelled former loyalties, allowing Mäkelä to wheel away in celebration without remorse for his former employers.

Sihvola was on hand to double HIFK's advantage in the second half, running onto Ville Salmikivi's insightful pass to tuck the ball past Thomas Dähne before celebrating with the elated Stadin Kingit behind the goal.

Morelos provided hope for HJK with a late header, however the Colombian's fifteenth goal of the season proved to be little more than consolation as HIFK held on for the win with some inspired last ditch defending in the closing minutes.

The final whistle brought jubilation for the HIFK fans in Pohjoispääty (the north stand), the majority of whom had never witnessed a Stadin derby win in their lifetime. Fans spilled onto the pitch to celebrate the historic win with the players to begin a party of red that would burn long into the night.

Klubi will require a drastic turn in fortune in their final few weeks if they are to claim the Finnish championship. By cruel coincidence all three of their remaining fixtures are against clubs in the top four, providing a challenging October for the reigning champions as the 2016 Veikkausliiga rolls on toward an epic conclusion.

The Stadin Derby

Tension hung in the air surrounding Sonera Stadium on Thursday evening as Finland's capital braced itself for an intense ninety city-dividing minutes of football. HJK versus HIFK. Blue versus red. Derby day was upon Helsinki.

The peaceful backstreets of Töölö were transformed into a football festival as hoards of fans descended upon the stadium to witness the next installment of Finland's most highly anticipated football clash.

The history of the Stadin Derby stems back to their first meeting in 1909 in which HIFK prevailed on the day by a 3-1 scoreline. Its title translates to "derby of Helsinki", with stadi being slang for Helsinki derived from the Swedish word stad, meaning city. At the time both clubs were associated with Helsinki's middle class and allegiance was decided by your mother tongue, with HJK and HIFK representing the Finnish and Swedish speaking populations respectively.

Nowadays the significance of language and class has somewhat faded due to social changes and the increasing multiculturalism of Helsinki, yet the rivalry remains strong having been recently renewed by HIFK's 2015 return to the Finnish top flight. Their relegation back in 1972 kept the rivalry bubbling under the surface for over four decades as they toiled in the lower divisions of Finnish football.

During their plight HIFK dropped as low as Nelonen in the early eighties and again as recently as 2003-05. Nelonen translates to four and operates as Finland's fifth tier of football. Under the guidance of current manager Jani Honkavaara they earned back-to-back promotions from Kakkonen (meaning two, third tier) in 2013 and Ykkönen (one, second tier) in 2014 after narrowly topping the table on goal difference.

Their long-awaited return to Veikkausliiga sparked an atmospheric explosion as the Stadin Derby reignited for the first time in 43 years. On the 23rd of April in 2015 both sets of teams and fans became fiercely reacquainted in a shared home stadium which had yet to witness the likes of such an atmosphere having only opened in 2000.

During HIFK's absence HJK had won the league 17 times, yet this counted for little on the day as they fought out a tightly contested 1-1 draw. This scoreline was the result of all three of their Veikkausliiga meetings in 2015, leaving neither side with bragging rights going into this season.

HJK fans pass HIFK fans en route to the stadium. Image by Niko Karumaa (link)

In the build up to kick off it was HJK's army that were first to march into the stadium for what was technically their home game. Quiet streets were quickly flooded with blue smoke and chants which echoed off the surrounding apartment blocks. The chanting intensified as they passed by a side street filled with HIFK's fans, Stadin Kingit (the kings of Helsinki), who were kept at a distance by a strategically placed police blockade.

A small handful of adventurous HIFK fans had crept their way around the block to greet their rivals, however their ill-advised ambush was dispelled as quickly as it formed with only a few punches and half-empty beer cans thrown before the alert riot police quickly forced their retreat with their handy batons and pepper spray.

Once the blue army were ushered into Klubipääty (The Club stand) the blockade parted to allow Stadin Kingit to charge into their northern stand to continue the confrontation in the more civilised form of chanting and tifos. The opposing blue and red ends of Sonera Stadium combined to create a highly impressive atmosphere, with the sell-out crowd of 10,500 creating volumes far greater than a stadium of its size would traditionally be capable of producing.

Klubipääty show their colours before kick off. Image by Niko Karumaa (link)

Stadin Kingit unfurled their tifo as they lit up Pohjoispääty (north stand). Image by Kalevi Hämäläinen (link)

Once the smoke subsided the match got underway. The fans were duly rewarded for the intense atmosphere they had created with a high tempo match featuring a flurry of early goals.

The hosts were ahead in just the second minute when Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos beat his marker to Taye Taiwo's cross to head in the opening goal and send the HJK fans into delirium.

Their lead was short lived as HIFK hit back in the fifth minute with the equalising goal. Joni Korhonen's long throw was helped on by Jukka Sinisalo's flicked header for Juho Mäkelä. The former HJK striker failed to connect with his finish, inadvertently knocking the ball on for captain Esa Terävä to tuck the ball past Thomas Dähne and level the scores.

Klubi soon restored their lead in the eleventh minute when Atom curved an inch perfect ball over HIFK's backline for Odu. The AC Milan loanee controlled the ball gracefully on his chest before bursting across the box to leave two defenders and goalkeeper Carljohan Eriksson floundering in his wake. With the open goal at his mercy the Nigerian winger placed home the simplest of finishes for what would prove to be the decisive goal.

A HJK fan expresses his opinion of Mäkelä's
choice of rival employer by burning his old jersey.
Image by Niko Karumaa (link)

Morelos came close to doubling his tally and his side's advantage around the hour mark yet could only direct his header into the side netting.

At the other end Mäkelä should have equalised when a left wing delivery put the goal on a plate for him, yet his horrendous day in front of goal continued as he knocked his finish over the crossbar and into the HIFK supporters before collapsing to the ground in disbelief of his misfortune. Perhaps it was best for him that he didn't see HJK fans burning his old jersey in Klubipääty moments later.

HIFK pressed forward in search of an equaliser while the hosts sat deeper to protect their lead and hit their opponents on the counter. The strategy almost backfired in the closing minute as Tuomas Aho came painfully close to levelling the scores with final touch of the game, yet the defender sent his header wide under pressure in the air from Dähne.

The final whistle then sounded, calling a thrilling derby to a close and ensuring that Helsinki remains blue as HJK kept themselves clear at the top of the Veikkausliiga table. HIFK now languish in the relegation scrap in eleventh, level on points with FC Lahti and PK-35 Vantaa who sit in tenth and at the foot of the table in twelfth respectively.

Klubipääty spills over the barrier in the full time celebrations.
Image by Niko Karumaa (link)

The exceptional atmosphere surrounding the encounter provides the perfect advertisement for the modern Finnish game. While the inevitable hostilities of the derby may prove intimidating for both youngsters and the conservative, the adrenaline of the occasion speaks to any passionate football fan holding a genuine appreciation of the game and understanding of true fandom.

Whether your blood runs blue or red, or you're a neutral spectator searching Veikkausliiga for a strong pulse, the Stadin Derby is a must. The reverse fixture is scheduled for August 10th. Be there.

No pyro, no party

HIFK and their travelling fans literally came blazing into PK-35 Vantaa's stadium on Saturday afternoon for their opening Veikkausliiga fixture.

The visitors came away with a 2-0 victory courtesy of Juho Mäkelä's early opener followed by Jani Bäckman's second half volley which sealed the three points for HIFK.

For their away day in Vantaa, just north of neighbouring Helsinki, the HIFK supporters brought the atmosphere up with them, lighting up Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion with around a dozen flares in the lead up to kick off.

Image by Kalevi Hämäläinen (gallery link)

HIFK's 12th man is supporter group Stadin Kingit, which translates to "the kings of Stadi". Stadi is slang borrowed from the Swedish word stad, meaning city.

Their vocal and visual support gave their side an early lift as they began the match on the front foot.

Mäkelä took all of three minutes to mark his HIFK debut with a goal. The pacey striker found himself in the right place at the right time to poach the opener from a goalmouth scramble.

During the weekend prior former Finnish international Njazi Kuqi looked to be having a dream debut of his own as he bagged two goals. The striker's brace helped PK-35 race to a three goal lead only for RoPS to miraculously turn the match on its head to prevail 4-3. 

Despite Kuqi's impressive start for the club Jekyll quickly turned into Hyde in his second appearance when he was shown a straight red card midway through the second half for what can only be described as a despicable display of aggression.

A heated confrontation resulted in Kuqi grabbing the throat of defender Tomi Vesala and throwing his head into Bäckman to earn an inevitable dismissal. He then capped off his appalling outburst by smashing a window as he stormed toward the dressing room. Ramifications aplenty are expected to come his way in the coming days.

With the dust having barely settled HIFK had their second moments later. A well rehearsed set piece found Bäckman unmarked at the back post and the defender took full advantage to volley home and wrap up the win for his side.

It was a bright start to their 2016 campaign for Jani Honkavaara's men as they look to build upon last year's respectable seventh-placed finish.

Shefki Kuqi on the other hand has undergone a baptism of fire in his first two top flight games. He is most fondly remembered for his lengthy career in the English game and for his ever-present role in the national side.

The high-profile manager and part-owner of PK-35 made a bright start in his first season at the helm to secure 2nd to earn his side's promotion from Ykkönen (Finnish first division) to Veikkausliiga.

Fortunately time is on the young manager's side as he faces the early task of turning fortunes around on the pitch and keeping his fiery younger brother's temper in check when he eventually returns from suspension.

Next up HIFK face Inter Turku at Sonera Stadium while PK-35 travel to Kuopio in middle Finland in search of their first points of the season against KuPS.