Football Season Guide

KTP achieved a dramatic promotion back to the top flight in 2022 after tipping TPS by 3 points to the title in the second division. This was first year in charge for coach Jussi Leppälaht and he impressed with his progressive tactics and strong leadership skills even when things were not going so well. In the end KTP won 17 of their 27 games last season and had by far the strongest attack in the division with 60 goals scored in 27 games. This was the main reason why they got promoted too. The only important players to leave in the off-season were goalkeeper Lepola and playmaker Suarez. This was addressed very well though and Ilves’ main goalie Leislahti + HJK’s backup keeper Niemelä joined to make the goalkeeper’s position even stronger. KTP also loaned in 3 young midfielders from Venezia and between them they should find a way to fill the void left by Suarez. The manager also addressed well the one weakness from last season, the defence. Experienced Dutch centre-back Klinkenberg and the Greek full-back Manthatis were added to the group, both quality players and expected to improve the stability. Tarvonen was scoring goals for fun last season and he will continue to be the main figure up front. To boost his chances in the top tier KTP signed 2 new wingers, Pozo and Furtado. Both are set to be responsible for delivering quality crosses. Also, experienced striker Roiha joined from last season’s main rivals TPS so he will be a useful option to have on the bench. Overall KTP look to have some quality in their ranks. However, the top flight experience is not much and it will be challenging for the newly promoted side so they will have to do much better defensively this season.