Time to put an end to an unnecessary trend in Finnish football? The Swedish agent does not understand why many talents leave Finland so early

Can Finnish teams dream of the millions of talent pouring into Scandinavia? Fully possible – but then coaches must dare to risk their jobs and match young players, says player agent Nima Modyr.

Dare to bet on your own and young.

That is the call to the Finnish football clubs from the Swedish player agent Nima Modyr.

– It is not possible to reduce the importance of that. Investing in young players has worked for big clubs like Ajax and Barcelona for decades. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

In an interview with Yle Sporten, Modyr talks about his thoughts on Finnish football and the league’s role as a springboard for talent. In recent years, Modyr’s football agency has made acquaintances with the clubs, established itself in the market and started cooperation with several younger players with future potential.

The representatives include Otso Liimatta, Daniel Håkans, Eetu Vertainen, Saku Ylätupa and Hugo Keto.

According to Modyr, the soccer league is a more than good enough environment for younger players – as long as the coaches are willing to give them playing time.

– The clubs have an obligation to be loyal to their best talents and their development. They need an environment where they get the chance.

Modyr believes that a lot is about the clubs’ level of ambition.

– What do you want with Finnish football? What are the requirements for foreign reinforcements? How much better than their own talents should they be? Do you want the Finnish national team to assert itself against the best national teams? Then young, Finnish talents need to get the chance here at home. It is here that the players have gone to school and had youth coaches, you know the players inside and out.

Advocates staying in Finland

An early move abroad has been a trend among Finnish football talent. The academies of German, French, Italian and English clubs have become a destination for many of the best junior players.

– The most important thing is that the majority of the players stay in Finland. It is ideal to play senior football early. Clubs around Europe invest money in the idea that players will become the next big name, and the only way to make an evaluation is if the players get playing time, says Modyr.

– Many talents have gone to big clubs, but when we started to review the Finnish market, we saw a lot of people who do not blossom in bigger clubs – for example Hugo Keto in Arsenal and Saku Ylätupa in Ajax. We have felt that we can make a big difference in the way of thinking in Finland.

In the U21 national team’s latest squad, over half of the players came from a club address abroad. Modyr emphasizes that there are of course good clubs abroad and mentions the Danish top team Nordsjælland as a shining example of a talent factory. In the end, however, much depends on the individual’s own ability.

– I think that most young people would have felt good about staying and playing in the Finnish league. And then there must be coaches who are prepared to risk their jobs to give them the chance.

There are clubs that have chosen this path. HJK and Honka are doing well in the densely populated capital region, Ilves has the mass via its junior activities and AC Oulu has had strong cohorts in the north.

– I have been impressed by how HJK works with young people and believe that it is a better environment than many other Scandinavian clubs. When looking a step further in the process, it is necessary to review how to sell players on to the best possible environment to take the next step in their career. It will push Finnish football forward.

The Norwegian success has sold to big clubs

For agents, the potential in sales is A and O. Nima Modyr says that the first image of Finnish football was that the market had not exploded. Compared to Sweden and Norway, Finland is still far behind.

The football association’s new sporting director Aki Hyryläinen said in Urheiluheti at the beginning of the year that the clubs should think about their profiling to develop young players and sell them. According to him, Finnish clubs have sold players for one to two million euros per year lately – sums that are an infinity after our Nordic neighbours.

Modyr takes the successful northern Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt as an example. Thanks to success in Europe, the small club has sold multi-million euro players to Roma, Lorient, Lens, Hertha Berlin, Schalke 04 and Krasnodar.

– I want to point out that Honka works in an exciting way with young players, but no one from Honka is sold to Roma’s A team.

The question is whether it is even possible for Finland to reach Sweden’s and Norway’s sales level in the future. With the right leader it is possible, says Modyr.

– If a seventeen-year-old goes in and scores ten goals for HJK in the Europa League group stage, his price tag is ten million euros. And in such a case, Toni Koskela as a coach would have taken that risk and played his seventeen-year-old.

“I feel that the requirements have been raised”

In a football world driven by transitions, Finland is a bit down the food chain, the league is ranked low in Europe and you have to respect the mechanisms of the market. It takes active work over time to raise the quality of the team and that way be able to perform better in the European Games.

– As an agent, I still feel that the requirements have been raised when clubs have invested time and resources to refine. I’m not saying that the clubs here should be satisfied, but you should be satisfied with getting more money from sales step by step, says Modyr and continues.

– Finland is an absolutely excellent environment for young talent. I don’t understand why so many leave early.

Going forward, the key is how the clubs invest in coaches, sports managers and conditions.

– Young players need the right leaders who are there full-time to develop them. It is important to continue on this wave and think about how to increase the investment, says Modyr.