New season kicks off in Finland
With the global financial crisis biting into ticket and sponsorship income – and little in the way of broadcasting revenue anyway, there has been a wide divergence in approaches to the problem in the run-up to the new season. As the richest club in the country HJK have been unaffected, and the Helsinki club's coach Antti Muurinen flashed their cash to secure the services of FC Lahti defender Pyry Karkainen, iconic Russian striker Valeri Popovitch, midfielders Sebastian Sorsa and Cheyne Fowler, plus striker Juho Makela, who returns permanently to HJK after an unhappy spell in Scotland with Hearts. HJK will start as overwhelming favourites, but they have been in that situation before and failed to bring home the trophy – not least last year, when they suffered the indignity of having to qualify for Europe via the Cup after finishing fourth in the league. Honka have kept hold of last season's joint leading league scorer Aleksandr Kokko, have exciting young talents like 17-year-o