Jukka Jalose now has a big question.
Does Jukka Jalonen still coach in Finland and in the SM league? Jussi Saarinen
Three-time world champion coach and Olympic gold pilot Jukka Jalonen is still coaching the Italian national team in the spring season. After that, an interesting question hits the table:
What next?
– The probability that I would coach somewhere in the fall is pretty much zero. Let’s see what happens during the season, Jukka Jalonen says about his situation to Iltalehte.
According to Jalonen, he has no “active” search for the next coaching position.
– At least I’ll take a moment of oxygen. It could be that this is the final oxygen intake, and I won’t coach anywhere anymore. Let’s go one day at a time and see what the future holds, Jalonen thinks.
The last time Jalonen piloted the club team was in the 2017–18 season, when he was the head coach of the Helsinki Jokers, who played in the KHL.
After that season, Jalonen returned to the helm of the Lions. When Leijonat-pesti ended in the spring of 2024, Jalonen soon became the pilot of the Italian national team.
– I don’t close any doors. However, the next thing has to be something that gets you fired up. However, this is getting old enough (63 years) that some special story must be in the background. I’m not even interested in basic coaching anymore, it’s such a hard job after all. Some juju must be involved. For example, a pattern that has not been experienced before or something different. It could motivate, Jalonen spins.
Have there been inquiries from SM league clubs?
– It may be that it has come and has come, but I have announced that I am not available now, Jalonen reveals.
– Then, when the spring World Cup is over, I bet that then the jacket will be quite empty. However, before the Games, we will have a four-week preparation period, where we will be in Italy, France and England. We travel quite a lot in it and on top of that there are a lot of games and so on. In addition to that, the World Cup is a tough wrinkle when we want to keep ourselves in the A series.
He thinks that after the spring the puddle quota will be full for a while.
– Let’s see how long it will be full and how things will continue on time or if they will continue at all. Sen has learned here that things can happen quite quickly – for better or for worse. Surprising things can come up. But as I said, I will hardly be involved in anything in the fall when the season starts, Jalonen sums up.
