Congrats to Finland for qualifying for their first major tournament. @Tomi must still be out celebrating.
Finnish mate has just texted me. He is just coming around after last nights party. I reckon the Korskenkova will have run dry.
Thanks! Finland qualifying for a major tournament is something that I've been eagerly waiting for all my life - we've been painfully close a few times before and sometimes our dreams have been crushed so early on that it has been equally painful, but now that we've finally made it, it just feels kind of strange actually. What can I look forward to from now on?! Qualifying for the World Cup maybe, that's the real deal I suppose, but European Championships will do for now. I'm delighted of course, but we've been so bad in the recent years that I couldn't even expect this, until about two months ago when I realised that things are actually looking really good. Finland might not have any big stars, but we've got a proper team at last. I think I just need some more time to let this sink in! I absolutely love the big international tournaments, more than anything else in football to be honest (apart from Barnsley's big cup/playoff games), so it'll be brilliant to see Finland there at last. I don't think you'll understand when England qualifies for almost every tournament, but you can think of Finland as like the "Barnsley of international football" and you'll get the impression. We're not likely to win anything big ever, but there's something beautiful about being the eternal underdogs! (Someone else might call that masochism though. )
Awesome post Tomi and so refreshing to read such honest passion and joy of the realisation of such an achievement. As you know things are bleak for Barnsley at the moment but Finland’s achievement and your reaction is a reminder to us all that football still has the power to take us to some pretty special places . Enjoy the celebrations and get ready to enjoy next summers finals !!
