It's not all too long ago since the Republic of Ireland faced Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
Four years ago at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, in the early part of Stephen Kenny's reign, the Boys in Green took on the Nordic nation in the 2020-21 edition and suffered identical 1-0 defeats home and away.
While Kenny's reign may have given way to the Heimir Hallgrimsson era which remains in its infancy, Finland still have the same man in charge who led them to their first major tournament appearance the following summer at the delayed Euro 2020.
But while Markku Kanerva - national team manager since 2016 after being assistant and Under-21 boss consecutively for 11 years before that - remains at the helm, plenty is changing around him as the Finns prepare to welcome Ireland to Helsinki in the third round of Nations Legaue Group B2 fixtures on Thursday.
Like Ireland, Finland are coming off the back of a September window which saw them lose to Greece and England.
"The last European (Championship) qualifying campaign was a disappointment," he explained.
"Obviously, Finland played in the play-offs against Wales but that match in Cardiff was a huge disappointment as well and after that there were calls in the media whether the (Finnish) FA should sack head coach Markku Kanerva and replace him with someone else."
After the Finnish FA considered their options, in the end Kanerva stayed in charge. But with the exception of goalkeeping coach Antti Niemi of Hearts, Southampton and Fulham fame, his entire backroom team has been changed and it is they - including one assistant in particular, former KuPS boss Jani Honkavaara - who are setting the tone when it comes to implementing a more progressive style of play on and off the ball that was visible in last month's 3-0 defeat to Greece in Pireaus.
"The ideas and the voices of the coaching staff is more loud this time," Virtanen said.
"They get their ideas through a little bit better than what previous assistant coaches were able to do and also the football association's chairman and sporting director have told to Kanerva that the playing style needs to change and maybe to be a bit more attacking or that they should at least create more scoring chances. So therefore there was a need for a new playing style. Now Honkavaara has clearly brought his own playing style to the national team."
Unlike the organised 4-4-2 that Finland often utilised at the height of their recent relative successes, around the time they beat Ireland four years ago, the shape and emphasis has changed in and out of possession from the evidence of the Greece game, with attempts to play through the middle and counterpress higher up the pitch more often.
"It's a style that tried to control the midfield so that there were four players occupying the midfield," said Virtanen.
"Two number sixes and then one or two number tens or eights, so there was kind of like a box midfield and then the wing-backs were pushing high and this similar style has been brought now to the national team which is interesting to see how it will develop and whether the players will adapt to it and whether they are comfortable with that style.
"But at least after the Greece match, Lukas Hradecky said that they have committed to this new style and they are trying to work with it."
Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper and national team captain Hradecky is one of very few standout individuals in the squad who play in one of the big five leagues, with midfield playmaker Glen Kamara - now of Rennes in Ligue 1 - the key influences on the pitch.
Veteran striker and Finland record goalscorer Teemu Pukki is still part of the squad but at 34, these days he has left Europe to ply his trade in Major League Soccer with Minnesota United.
Thus, similarly to Ireland, the focus for Finland will ultimately be a case of trying to be greater than the sum of their parts.
"If we look at the Finland and Ireland teams and their transfer market values, that tells a lot about the strenght of the teams," Virtanen said.
"Ireland has €181 million of their team's transfer market value, Finland has €42 million so that tells already a lot about the quality of the players and where they play.
"We only have five players who play in top five leagues; Hradecky obviously in Leverkusen, then Jesse Joronen and Joel Pohjanpalo at Venezia., Fredrik Jensen in Augsburg in the Bundesliga, and Glen Kamara in Ligue 1 in Rennes. So we don't have enough quality players that's for sure and that's one of the reasons why we are constantly underdogs in many matches."
In the full interview, Virtanen also discusses football's place within a Finnish sporting landscape with other rivals pursuits, the strenght of the domestic Veikkausliiga, the legacy of the Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia-led golden generation and the climactic conditions Irish fans can expect in Helsinki this week after an unusually warm September.
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