Ilves Tampere

Ilves had a great 2024. They lifted the Finnish Cup and also finished the season as runner-ups. The Lynxes had by far the best attack in Finland last year. They scored 56 goals, no other team scored more than 46. Ilves also showed ability to beat the top sides. They enjoyed a perfect play-off run – 5 wins in 5 which lifted them from third after the regular season to the second spot. Missed out on the title by mere 2 points. Veteran striker Roope Riski had a bounce-back season last year. He netted 11 goals and led the attack very well. The main departures in the winter were in defence. Regular defenders Pikkarainen and Jorginho are no longer in the team. Added 4 new defenders though so replacements have been found already. Rale returns to Finland and he should be the new main left-back. Sauli Väisänen is also back in the homeland to take the vacant starting role in the heart of the defence. Arifi also left but he had started to lose his role in the team late in 2024 anyway. The fact that no new midfielders were signed shows that Ilves are happy going forward to trust the core that gave them a perfect play-off run. Riski will be hoping for another 10+ goal season. He will have quality support now too. Talented young striker Teemu Hytönen (7 goals in 2024 for VPS) is now a Lynx. He will be learning from Riski and also will give the veteran much needed cover when the schedule gets congested. The size of the squad remains a concern though. Not so much in the early months of the season but when summer comes and the schedule congests with lots of qualifying matches in Europe. Ilves have only very limited experience at juggling domestic games and European fixtures.