Mäkinen bringing it all back home

Anne Mäkinen will have a unique honour on 23 August when she becomes the first footballer to captain Finland in a major senior final tournament on home soil. The leader of their UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ squad has plenty of experience for the role in an international career dating back 18 years.

Long career
The defensive midfielder was 15 when she made her Finland debut in June 1991, and had to wait 14 years to appear in a major tournament, helping her nation in their memorable run to the UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ semi-finals. Mäkinen actually bowed out of international football the following year, but returned last summer and is relishing her leadership role as Finland prepare to meet Denmark at Helsinki's Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

Responsibility
"If someone has a question or wants to talk, I am here to help," Mäkinen told uefa.com. "If I see myself that something is not working properly, I will go and discuss the matter. On the pitch it is very much about solving problems and everyone is involved in that. There is no larger role in that for anyone in particular."

Preparations
Finland have not played a competitive game since 27 September 2006, when a 1-0 loss in Denmark cost them a place in the FIFA Women's World Cup finals. Friendly results since have been mixed, but they complete their preparations with a 4-0 defeat of Northern Ireland in Helsinki last week and Mäkinen is keen to repeat their 2005 run in England, when after losing to the hosts they held Sweden 0-0 and beat Denmark 2-1 to reach the last four, where they were defeated by Germany.

Semi-final aim
"We are aiming for the semi-finals since we got that far last time," the AIK Fotboll player said. "Of course every player may have expectations of her own. It will be interesting to play at home. You can either feel a lot of pressure or just enjoy playing on home soil and in front of the home crowd. There is no sense in talking too much about pressure. If you do your best and know you have prepared well, there is nothing more you can do."

Strengths
After facing Denmark, Finland take on fellow Group A rivals the Netherlands and Ukraine, both making their finals bow as Mäkinen's side did four years ago. The Finland captain is wary of teams that came through eight or ten tough qualifiers. "Those teams who have qualified for the finals have been playing tough competitive games all the time, unlike us," she said. "Certainly we have played against very good opponents, but it is always a little different when it is a friendly. I think we have had a good programme and we have been able to prepare for the finals in a manner we have wished ... All in all, I think we have a good squad with plenty of options up front. The whole team defends well and goalkeeping is top class."

To read about Mäkinen's experiences in 2005, and other exclusive interviews with stars of past UEFA European Women's Championship final tournaments in the uefa.com Golden Player section, click here.