The top coach feels that he has betrayed the Finnish people

– This Olympic freak was a big disappointment. There are a lot of great moments out there in ten years, but that wasn’t the end of it. The goals were much tougher, says Petter Kukkonen. PASSI FLAME

Empty, peat and end.

So could be described as the head coach of the combined national team Petter Kukkonen40, the essence of Thursday night at the Zhangjiakou Olympic Ski Stadium in China.

– This shouldn’t have ended like this. The goals were much tougher, he sighed after the team competition when Finland flopped to eighth.

– An empty and lost feeling about what to do with life, he continued.

The coach, who enjoys appreciation in the domestic ski circles, has previously announced that the ten-year journey at the helm of the national team will end this season.

This week, Kukkonen wrote on the short message service Twitter that he will never train again.

– I deal with the dreams of athletes and people. If you are not able to do your own job, you cannot spin as a bread priest. There has to be a top coach that takes the team forward. When you look at my footprint, it’s not worth coaching this way, he says.

During Kukkonen’s head coaching period, Finland rose from the cellar to at least the main entrance. Ykköstähti Herola won World Championship silver and a total of ten World Cup prize places. Admittedly, no profit.

– I’ve put everything into the game and got top experts around me, but when nothing worked here in China, it doesn’t seem like a bother to go to coach anymore. I have sacrificed so much time for this that it would be nice to do something completely different in life.

Finland applied for a medal from China, but Herola’s sixth place in the normal hill was the best investment. The rest of the investments were etc.

“I feel betrayed”

Under Kukkonen’s ten years, Finland won four podium finals in the World Cup team competition. The victory was lost on February 9, 2019 in Lahti, when Herola and Hirvonen were number one in the doubles competition.

– Ilkka is the world champion, you have to be proud of it. But why the level of the whole team has not been reached there, I am disappointed, Kukkonen says.

– Then we go to the whole system: how the clubs work, how the children come and how the system produces. It is not okay in Finland. It’s a Ski Federation-led pattern, but we lack a sport leader. As head coach, it’s really hard to go on the field to help, he continues.

The coach apologized for the results in his text message.

– The point is that people support us a lot. Without incentive forces, there is no sport. I feel betrayed by the people who expected medals and everything from us.

In particular, the pilot takes a personal protective head Eero Hirvosen score. The performance of the talent who won six prize-winning places in the 2017–18 World Cup has been a huge disappointment at this Olympics.

– Eero is really a potential dude, but when he is 20-30 in the Olympics, the coaching has to turn inwards.

The cooperation with Hirvonen ends this period.

– I understand Petter’s outburst and disappointment. A similar reaction comes to me after weak races that I never fuck again. This is not the first time Petter has reacted with emotion, Hirvonen comments.

Letter of resignation

This season, after the Ruka World Cup, Kukkonen wrote a letter of resignation to the Ski Association, but eventually did not send it.

– There is a small feeling of inadequacy in my person. Sports are rugged because you always wonder how you could be better. Maybe it’s also a driving force, but it’s a heavy world, Kukkonen says.

You whipped yourself violently mentally. What about physically?

– A mental whip is much harder than a physical one.

Warm thanks

Although the ten-year period ends sadly, Herola warmly thanks the pilot.

– None of us would be here without Petter’s input. It cannot be annulled on the basis of one two-week Olympic trip for ten years. We have a system piled up by Petter that can be on top of the world, Herola says.

Kukkonen’s first book Olive trees never die was released a couple of years ago. The work is getting a sequel, as the text is with the publisher.

Many people working with the combined think that Kukkonen’s coaching career will also be a sequel in the future.