Finlandia, Again!

The men’s national football team has never made it to a major tournament – this is the best know fact in Finnish football. In the autumn of 2014 however, the atmosphere was full of hope. Qualification rounds for the Euros were about to begin, and Finland had been lucky in the draw; there would be no top countries to play against. But the result had been seen before: getting there was not even close. Mikko Mattila’s documentary film Finlandia – Again! follows the via dolorosa of Finnish football team. Helsinki, Belfast, Budapest – nothing but disappointments. Finally the supporters start to insist the head coach Mixu Paatelainen to be kicked out. Even the players are beginning to be cheesed off with the negative atmosphere. But amongst all this, there is a string of hope. When the qualifications were drawing to close, Finland played some good football. And when Finland ended the campaign with a draw against Northern Ireland, the team and the supporters were united at last. Someday, maybe.