Joni Vesalainen returned to JJK – interview

Joni Vesalainen remembers the JJK boom well. Now there is something similar in the air, he believes. Mikko Vehviläinen

On the wall of JJK Jyväskylä’s office, which can be found in the courtyard of Harju Stadium, is a picture of the first major achievement of Finnish basketball, the team that reached the bronze medal match at the European Youth Championship in 1981.

The team photo also includes the host of the study room, Joni Vesalainenwho is better known than basketball as the background influencer of ball clubs.

Vesalainen, who became known as a salesman for the ice hockey SM league company and numerous league clubs, is busy again with his great love, football from Jyväskylä.

– I was gone for six years. I see the time as in-service training, says Vesalainen, who himself played football at B-junior level.

“Training” included pesti as sales director of the SM league and two years of work at Rauma’s Luko, Mikkeli’s Jukurei and Seinäjoki’s Football Club.

Vesalainen’s eyes light up when he tells about the current situation and plans of his club, which is making a new rise.

There is something in the air like in 2007, when he started his previous job at Harju. At that time, the club was purposefully promoted first to the Veikkausliiga and then, with the medal position, to the Eurocourts.

– We were able to give birth to a great boom. We had an excellent body from Jyväskylä in the team, which helped in building community and engaging the audience.

Success is a good catalyst, but Vesalainen says that according to research, only seven percent of the public come to the game because of the final result.

– We played 26 home matches in the league, of which we won only three. Still, our average viewership was around 3,500 and we were awarded for the marketing work of the year, Vesalainen recalls.

At risk

JJK’s peak years were built with great financial risk. With the set goals, first promotion and then a European place, it was possible to prolong the escalation of the problems.

– Already in the first season, we practically had to go up. After that, I had to create a limited company, in which I put my own money. At the beginning, half of the share capital was used to pay the club’s old debts. The Europels gave a little relief, but without them we made the season a big minus.

Vesalainen considers the Veikkausliiga to be an economically unhealthy league.

– In the SM league, everything is invested in the development of their own product and five are cut from the European games, while football bows down and seeks money from Europe, because its own series is only a way to get there. This easy money has completely disabled the development of the Veikkausliiga. There are only two ways: resort to patronage or seek money from European games.

The biggest problem is the small number of matches.

– What company can withstand the fact that income is only received for 13 days a year, when the salary has to be paid for 365 days? And you can’t ask for too much from a thirteen-game season ticket, unlike 30 games on the disc. We have the longest training season in the world, but we don’t want to play games that would bring operational conditions to our football.

An empty jacket

Healthy lifestyles helped with stress tolerance. The sober man is said to have run fifteen kilometer runs in Jyväskylä, during which he had to do a thousand push-ups.

In the end, even Vesalainen’s jacket was still empty in JJK’s risky game.

– I was CEO and owner at the same time. I completely burned myself out. I still don’t regret anything, because we had wonderful experiences with people. However, I had to come up with something else, so I set out on new challenges. The wiser ones said that you are at your best in sales and marketing, and since then I haven’t accepted the CEO’s insults.

Nowadays, he works as JJK’s sales and marketing director.

– I don’t even want to know about the buying side. They tell me what amount needs to be collected and I take care of it.

Real

Along with sales, Vesalainen has mentioned that his mission is to drive people crazy. In later years, he was often seen in the supporters’ stands, sometimes even grilling the opponent’s goalkeeper.

A colorful character always shares opinions in a gray country.

– I throw myself into my work and I am completely on my own side. I don’t distribute clichés, and I don’t look for friends. Not everyone likes these things, but I can have a clear conscience that at least I haven’t lied. I am just being myself.