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Nordic Glory 3: All-conquering Liverpool suffer embarrassing defeat in freezing Helsinki

juhavaltteri-salminen |

May 11, 2020

In this series, Finnish football journalist Juhavaltteri Salminen recalls occasions when Nordic teams proved to be a match – and sometimes more than that – for some of the most famous clubs in Europe. Liverpool were regular visitors to Finland in the early 1980's, and one of their trips to the north went badly south…

European Cup 1982/83: HJK 1-0 Liverpool
 

A group of HJK players were waiting in excitement in the club's offices at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Having spectacularly overturned 2–0 first leg deficit against Cypriot side Omonia in the first round of the 1982/83 European Cup, they were anxiously waiting to hear who their next opponents would be.

Everybody knew things were about to get serious for the Finnish champions. The draw was a who's who of European club football. Maybe they would meet Spanish champions Real Sociedad? Why not Italian giants Juventus or eventual winners Hamburger SV?

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HJK (short for Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, or "Helsinki Football Club") were part-timers. Of course, that does not mean their trophy room was not respectable in its own right. They had won the domestic title 13 times, a feat no other club has managed even 38 years later (while HJK have won 16 more).

They had been perennial winners ever since the early days of Finnish football. For the last ten years or so, HJK had reigned supreme in the capital. While other Helsinki clubs had come and gone, HJK had always stayed at the top or thereabouts. 

But unfortunately, Finnish football as a whole had hardly been going places. The post-war urbanization of Finnish society had presented team sports with a golden opportunity in a country where athletics and cross-country skiing had traditionally captured the nation's imagination. Finnish football had enjoyed something of a heyday in the 1960s, with people flocking to the grounds and HJK's attendances regularly approaching 10,000 supporters.

However, it eventually turned out ice hockey was best placed to take advantage of the societal change and become Finland's sporting pastime of choice. While hockey leaders were innovative forward-thinkers who embraced professionalism early on, football could not find a way to compete. And so the game lost its standing. While HJK had remained succesful and celebrated their first double in 1981, their average attendances had more than halved since the glory days of the 60's and now hovered around the 3,000 mark.

In neighboring Sweden, football was going stronger than ever, and their top clubs had even ruffled one or two feathers continentally. But it was all quiet on the Eastern front. Finnish club teams could not even dream of similar heights.

The telefax started crunching in the little office, spitting out a paper with the UEFA logo. HJK vs Liverpool FC, it said. The Finnish amateurs would meet Bob Paisley's dominant LFC side, who had won the First Division five times and the European Cup thrice in the last six years alone.

Finns were no strangers to English football. Like in other Nordic countries, the English league had been televised since the 1970s. It is not uncommon to hear a middle-aged man romantically recall memories of sitting in front of a black-and-white TV shortly before 5pm on a wintry Saturday, just in time for what was the classic 3pm kick-off in England. Soon, legendary commentator Aulis Virtanen would start proceedings with the very basics: "The team in white are Leeds United, attacking right to left on your receiver…". And after the game, you would head to the sauna.

Liverpool were no strangers to Finnish football either. In fact, they were set to visit the country for the third time in as many years, and they should have been aware of the danger. In both 1980 and 1981, they had met then-champions Oulun Palloseura in the European Cup and struggled mightily in the away legs. OPS had actually snatched a 1–1 draw at home in 1980 and only lost 0–1 the year after.

On both occasions, Liverpool had trashed their lowly visitors at Anfield (10–1 and 7–0 respectively). That might have clouded their judgement in the nasty cold (–2°C) Helsinki night on October 19, 1982.

Finland was building a long-lasting love affair with English football and Liverpool were to become one of the country's most supported teams. But there were few signs of that at the Olympic Stadium. Only 5,722 people showed up. Afterwards, many surely regretted staying at home. By comparison, more than 20,000 came to witness Liverpool's revisit in a meaningless friendly in 2015.

Rotation was very much a thing of the future, so the Reds fielded a strong side. Bruce Grobbelaar played in goal. The likes of Alan Hansen, Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush all started the game.

As you would expect, HJK spent a lot of their time defending their own goal. But boy did they do it well. In goal, a 28-year-old Islington kid was having the time of his life.

In the early 1980s, English players arrived all around Finland, another example of the country's growing affection with the English game. Long-time Charlton goalkeeper Jeff Wood was playing his first season in Finland, following a short and disappointing spell at Colchester. He had been overjoyed upon reading the telefax that had told the result of the draw. Now he was making the most of the rare opportunity, frustrating one Liverpool star after the other.

"Surviving the most dangerous shots from (David) Hodgson and (Alan) Kennedy, Helsinki grew in stature, playing crisp passes to the wing and refusing to be overawed", wrote Donald Fields in The Guardian.

Then, on 42 minutes, Souness was caught napping. The captain was fooling around with the ball as if he was playing tricks on five-year olds in his backyard. HJK were not that bad. Finnish international Atik Ismail stole the ball from Souness, making the Scot look utterly ridiculous, and coolly finished in the bottom corner.

"I knew there was no way Souness could catch me any more, so I only had the keeper to beat. Grobbelaar was probably freezing and ready to head to the employment agency", said Ismail afterwards, implying that the South African had had very little to do up to that point. Now he had a job on his hands, but I was sure I was going to score."

There was a lot of football to be played, but Liverpool's luck was out. Wood was in inspired form and denied dangerous efforts from Souness and Dalglish, among others, in the second half. He was over the moon after the game. The final whistle had hardly gone when Wood, alongside centre-back and countryman Steve Wright, were already demanding keys to the club's offices. They desperately needed to get on the phone.

"Mom, you are not going to believe this. We have just beaten Liverpool", the Londoner exclaimed as soon as her mother picked up the phone, according to Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.

Paisley was not as talkative.

"Tell everyone we played badly and their goalkeeper was good", Paisley told a Finnish journalist. That was it.

The Guardian's Fields was less than impressed with Liverpool's attitude.

"Against inspired goalkeeping and a home side that raised its game to unexpected heights, their professionalism on the night proved little more than a paper tiger", he wrote.

For all their on-field success, HJK were not averse to partying. They had a reputation for regularly enjoying nights out. Sure enough, the players celebrated their unlikely win in the Helsinki nightlife like there was no tomorrow. And there wasn't, because training was cancelled the following day.

Again, it was not meant to last for Finnish football. What followed was another trashing for a Finnish club team at Anfield. Liverpool won the second leg 5–0, although HJK hit the post early in the game.

But the eventual defeat has done little to dampen the memories of a glorious October night in Helsinki. A prohpecy had come true, according to an interview Finnish media house MTV (no, not that MTV) did with Ismail in 2015.

"Before the (home) game, a journalist called me for an interview about the upcoming match. I told him I could see it in the look in Wood's eyes that he would keep a clean sheet. And I would score the winner, I added."

"Of course, nobody believed it would happen – but then it did."

Sources: The Guardian, MTV3, Ilta-Sanomat, Iltalehti, LFChistory.net, HJK.fi, Helsingin Sanomat
 

Nordic Glory 1: When Nottingham Forest spoiled Malmö's European Cup dream
Nordic Glory 2: Sven Goran Eriksson's IFK Göteborg shock "arrogant" German giants
Nordic Glory 3: All-conquering Liverpool suffer embarrassing defeat in freezing Helsinki
Nordic Glory 4: Swedish elation and Scottish disappointment in an unlikely European final
Nordic Glory 5: 'Miracle in Milan' as amateur Finnish side TPS shock Inter at the San Siro
Nordic Glory 6: One last hurrah for European greats IFK Göteborg at Manchester United's expense
Nordic Glory 7: Rosenborg humiliate AC Milan as Norwegian football emerges from darkness
Nordic Glory 8: "This is the f****** Champions League" – Stuart Baxter fumes as ref helps Barcelona beat AIK
Nordic Glory 9: Chelsea come undone on a "farcical" polar night in Norway as Ruud Gullit fumes

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