Football Season Guide

Gnistan had a historic 2025, which was just their second-ever top flight campaign. The modest team from the capital Helsinki made the top 6 for the first time in their history. Stayed well behind the top 5 all season but 7 wins, 7 draws and only 8 defeats during the regular campaign were enough for sixth place. The one red alert from last year was the poor defending. Had just 3 clean sheets in 32 games and ended up with the most goals conceded (65). Of course, playing extra 10 games against the clear top 5 teams in the league affected this, still Gnistan were struggling in defence long before that. Lost 3 regular starters from their defence this winter too. Young playmaker Ritari and the disappointing in 2025 main striker Väyrynen, only 4 goals scored, also left. New centre-backs Max Bjurström and Ayo Obileye give fresh options in defence. Keeping 36-year-old Ojala healthy will be vital though. When he played last season, able to make only a dozen starts, the back line looked solid. Sergey Eremenko was signed to replace Ritari in midfield. He will join forces with his 39-year-old brother Roman Eremenko, who despite his advanced age still dominates when on the pitch. The Eremenko brothers should give Gnistan enough control at least against the teams from the bottom half of the table. Adeleke Akinyemi joined from Ilves and he is widely expected to be the new main striker. He hasn’t proven yet he can be a prolific goalscorer but he hasn’t been given that many chances while at Gnistan he should be starting most games.