Finland preparing for big kick-off

With Finland's Veikkausliiga season commencing on Saturday, uefa.com assesses the runners and riders and who is likely to provide the biggest challenge to 2008 champions FC International Turku. The season concludes on 17 October with the club finishing bottom automatically being relegated and the 13th-place finishers contesting a promotion-relegation play-off with the runners-up from the first division.

One-title wonders?
Inter Turku have lost several of the players who helped win the club's maiden title in 2008. Centre-backs Jos Hooiveld and Diego Corpache have respectively left for AIK Solna and FC Haka, who have also signed midfielder Mika Mäkitalowhile Dominic Chatto has gone to BK Häcken, and coach Job Dragtsma was only able to draft in replacements a few weeks before the start of the season. Argentinian Claudio Verino and Finnish international Ari Nyman – who previously left Inter for FC Thun in 2007 – have arrived to bolster the defence while Mexican midfielder Alberto Ramírez has also signed.

Title rivals: Honka, HJK, TPS and Tampere
Inter, FC Honka Espoo and FC Lahti unseated the established order in 2008 by finishing in the top three for the first time. Of that trio, however, only Honka are fancied this time around with the likely challenge expected to materialise from HJK Helsinki, FC TPS Turku and Tampere United. The latter, who finished seventh last term, will certainly be full of confidence after defeating HJK 2-0 in the League Cup final. Jonne Hjelm, who scored both goals in that match, said: "We did not lose a single game in the League Cup; that tells you something. We are ready for the league and await the first games in confident mood."

HJK have bolstered their strike force with the signing of former players Juho Mäkelä and Sebastian Sorsa from Scottish sides and have also recruited Russian Valeri Popovich, the Veikkausliiga all-time top scorer, from Haka. Last season's runners-up Honka have been relatively quiet in the transfer market but had their squad finalised for the beginning of pre-season, giving coach Mika Lehkosuo ample time to mould it into a solid unit. Like Tampere, TPS endured a disappointing campaign last year but will start with renewed hope and a new coach in Pasi Rautiainen, formerly of Estonia's FC Flora.

One to watch: Mohamed Kamara (HJK)
Big things are expected of Mohamed Kamara, or Medo as he is also known, in 2009. The Sierra Leone-born player is only 21 but already has three seasons in the Finnish top flight under his belt. Strong both in defence and attack, the midfielder has the potential to become one of the Veikkausliiga stars of the season.

Dark horses: MyPa
Myllykosken Pallo-47 had a quiet 2008, losing a couple of key players as a result. New coach Janne Lindberg, a former MyPa player and assistant, has lured back Tuomas Aho, Miikka Multaharju and Tuomo Könönen, all of whom boast overseas experience. Solid defensively, should Lindberg find the right formula in attack then MyPa could build on their fifth-placed finish last term.

Relegation worries: RoPS, KuPS, JJK
The battle to avoid relegation is expected to be between three teams: Rovaniemi PS, KuPS Kuopio and newcomers JJK Jyväskylä. KuPS survived after a play-off last term and will find the going tough again while JJK, keen to make an impact in the top flight, should view survival as a big achievement.

New contract: Jari Litmanen
The 38-year-old, Finland's most-capped player and leading international goalscorer, has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Lahti. The former AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC striker played the latter part of last season for Lahti and had trained with the club in pre-season but did not put pen to paper until 16 April. "This was something we had waited and hoped for," said coach Ilkka Mäkelä. "This is very positive piece of news and it will undoubtedly lift the spirits in the team."