Looking for Jari: Lahden Reipas and Jari Litmanen.

Words: Matt Barnes

Images: Matt Barnes

One hour outside of Helsinki, Finland’s buzzing capital, is the municipality of Lahtil.

Not the first place that comes to mind when thinking of football, but it is certainly a worthwhile journey.

Look up ‘sleepy town’ in the dictionary and you will find Lahti, surrounded by postcard worthy dense forest, the town is known as the ‘Chicago of Finland’ and perhaps more famous for its winter sports.

The huge ski jump looms over not just a stadium, but the entire population. Ski jumping is not why we are here though, the reason is Lahden Reipas, and Jari Litmanen.

In the Kakkonen Group A, you will find a historic team, with truly special roots and pioneers in many ways.

©Matt Barnes/ Terrace Edition. Lahden Reipas. Jari Litmanen statue.

One person connected with this team more than most is Olli Tynkkynen, CEO, Assistant Coach and Mr Everything. His Great-Grandfather was the goalkeeper for the very first game in 1907, and Olli himself played a season with the club in 2018-2019, so who better to explain how they got here today.

Olli picks up the story from here: “The roots of Lahden Reipas extend to Viipuri (Vyborg) during the Tsarist era, where the club was founded as one of the first Finnish sports clubs in 1891. The evacuation caused by World War II ended in Lahti, where the club has grown deep roots over the decades.”

“The club, strongly established for the growing Finnish-speaking middle class in Viipuri, first became a unifying force for all Karelians in Lahti, and eventually the cornerstone of Lahti’s football.”

“The team underwent a major transformation in 1962, changing its name to Lahden Reipas and updating its logo to better appeal to the citizens and businesses of its new home.”

“The foundation for future success was laid in the 1940s, when the club began to strengthen its identity. Reipas was a pioneer in many ways in Finland. Our famous chairman Martti Mikkonen and coach Martti Kosma understood that learning from others can lead to development, and the team played many international friendlies annually in the 1960s.”

©Matt Barnes/ Terrace Edition. Lahden Reipas.

“In December 1964, Reipas embarked on a historic tour of Africa, which was highly unusual even for top European football clubs. Mikkonen personally funded study trips for Kosma, including visits to England and Germany, where Kosma absorbed knowledge and experience.”

“One funny anecdote is that Kosma was also watching the World Cup in England in 1966, where he adopted an active man-marking style of play for Reipas, which was a novelty in Finland.”

“Fast forward to the 1990s, Finland and Lahti were severely affected by a deep economic recession, which had an impact on Reipas and Kuusysi (our ‘rival’ and another club from Lahti that achieved success in the 1980s). In 1997, Lahden Reipas merged with FC Kuusysi to establish FC Lahti. Following the merger, Lahden Reipas still maintained its existence and kept up its veteran activity. After a brief period of inactivity, Lahden Reipas’ men’s team returned to the field in 2012.”

The stadium today is buzzing with activity. There is a beautiful, slightly dilapidated main stand, and the statue of legend, Jari Litmanen, seems to be a draw, a meeting place, as well as an opportunity for photos. It’s fair to say, Jari is the most well known Finnish football export of recent times.

World class players are often immortalised around stadiums, but few deserve it more than Jari, here, as Olli explains:

“Undoubtedly Jari Litmanen is the greatest legend for us and Finnish football. Jari’s father Olavi was one of the prominent players of the 1970s, and Jari’s mother also played for Reipas; women’s team. Back in the days, the coaching at Reipas has also been heavily based on family.”

“Fathers coached their own children and their friends’ teams. Families who grew up together in the youth teams became intertwined with each other. Teammates became godparents to each other’s children.”

“That’s why Jari is still very involved with the club and wants to help as much as possible. Our head coach, Tommi Kautonen, is one of Jari’s closest friends. Jari has been a great help and heavily involved in our activities. His contribution is extremely valuable to us, for which we are grateful.”

Inside the stadium, there is a glorious atmosphere. Families milling around the beer and ice cream tents, the older generation catching up in the shade, and what has to be the youngest Ultra group on record.

As the players make their way out, drums, flags and cheers from these incredibly high pitched fans, who have somehow discovered Freed from Desire. It’s rare to see such a unique kit, orange and black stripes, but not only is it a cult favourite, it has a story.

Over to Olli: “The black and orange stripes of Reipas originate from the Viipuri (Vyborg) era. Before Finland gained independence, Tsar Alexander III served as the Grand Duke of Finland, and the black and orange colours were the imperial colours representing the Russian Empire.”

“Unfortunately, at the moment, black and orange colours are being seen in the media in connection with Russia. However, for us, these colours are not political but rather reflect our history as a Karelian club.”

“Our jerseys have changed very little over the years because orange and black are relatively rare colours in football, and we have been specifically known for our striped jerseys.”

“Our jersey also won the (unofficial) Finland’s Most Beautiful Football Jersey contest organised by Byyri (Finland’s largest football-specialised social media site) in 2020.”

“In 2021, we launched the Jari Litmanen retro jersey to commemorate the old times, and we expected to sell a few hundred jerseys at most. “

“On the first day, I received 300 orders, and in the end, we sold over 1,000 jerseys, which is an incredible number”.

Wearing the jersey today is a very young squad, aged 16 - 23, with 27 year old captain Onyray Kose the elder statesman. Despite the inexperience, Reipas have most of the play, triangles and slick moves.

It’s 0-0 at the break. In an incidental tribute to their globetrotting past, Liberian Kossigbo is subbed on at half time, and the changes pay off. Some incisive passing and we are 1-0 to the delight of the locals, Asaad Babiker grabs the opener. Then it’s two from the corner via the Liberian himself and everyone in attendance is happy but the coach, still demanding in a Mourinho manner.

Three points secured, and it’s time to think about what is next. Olli is always looking ahead:

“In collaboration with FC Lahti, we offer young players the opportunity to take important developmental steps in the national adult leagues. Since we do not pay players, our team changes significantly each year, and we do not have grand plans in place.”

"This year is significant for the club due to the league restructuring. The reform will introduce a new tier between the current Kakkonen (third tier) and Ykkönen (second tier). The new tier will be nationwide, which will increase costs, and we will need to assess if we have the means to participate. Last year, we were close to promotion, and reaching the second-highest tier would have required at least doubling our budget. Thus, we take it one season at a time and strive to develop our organisation gradually. I want to believe that now our key objective is to provide experiences and urban culture with a low threshold of entry. Sporting success is a bonus, but the most important thing is to bring football fans back to the stands and serve the residents of Lahti.”

“If I win the lottery, we can start reconsidering our approach to sporting success”

Another game is over, in the long storied history of Lahden Reipas. What a club. You can feel the history, but also the future, and it’s bright orange (and black).

You can find Matt on Twitter: @gazzetta_stadio and Instagram: @gazzetta_dello_stadio

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