When Eveliina Summanen joined Tottenham from the Swedish facet Kristianstad in January 2022, all the things modified for her. The 27-year-old knew she was coming to a league with ambition, a league more and more catching the eye of the very best European expertise, and a league that stood to profit from a house European Championship that might catapult curiosity and progress additional.
“At Spurs I received sufficient assist and time to form of develop into issues,” Summanen says. “I wasn't simply thrown into the deep finish instantly. I received the fitting assist, proper assistance on and off the pitch to get to the place I'm now. It didn't simply occur in a single day, I simply slowly, slowly stored constructing and that's nonetheless what I wish to do, preserve taking steps ahead.”
Summanen has turn out to be a key midfield cog for Tottenham, and earned the award for the Ladies's Tremendous League purpose of the month in November for her gorgeous 40-yard winner towards Aston Villa, which was additionally voted Tottenham followers' purpose of the season, a purpose she describes as a “one-hit marvel”. The Finland midfielder says: “It's an excellent factor to remember, getting targets and assists and to be a part of that attacking sport as effectively. However I'm not anticipating the identical form of purpose.”
Her purpose was a uncommon spotlight amid a troublesome season for the north London facet, who completed eleventh, six locations decrease than within the 2023-24 season, the 12 months additionally they reached a primary FA Cup remaining. What went improper? “To be trustworthy, I haven't had a lot time to mirror on final season myself, due to the Euros after which having to modify on to making ready for the brand new season,” Summanen says. “However, clearly it didn't go as we wished for. That's only a studying curve for all of us within the membership and in and across the workforce, simply to do not forget that nothing comes free of charge on this league and also you simply have to work for it.
“Now we've a brand new probability with a brand new coach and simply quite a lot of new constructive vitality coming to the workforce. So, the very best factor is to give attention to what's coming subsequent and never fear an excessive amount of about what occurred final season. That's up to now now and we are able to't change it. On the finish of the day, that's a part of soccer typically. It's going to be powerful and there will likely be powerful occasions through the upcoming season as effectively.”
The disappointing marketing campaign led to the departure of Robert Vilahamn as supervisor on the finish of the season. The previous Manchester United assistant Martin Ho, who spent two years in Norway as supervisor of Brann, was appointed the membership's new head coach.
“There's not been that a lot time but with him however he's given us quite a lot of good vitality and that's typically a very powerful factor,” Summanen says. “With out going into an excessive amount of element, he's simply tweaking small issues. It's nonetheless fairly laborious to evaluate, however the first impression has been actually good and actually constructive and I really feel like there's a route for us to go down. There may be a lot extra potential than what we confirmed final season and I feel he can convey that potential out of us.”
Summanen doesn't simply should throw off the frustration of final season; she additionally has to exorcise her frustrations at Finland's exit from the European Championship in Switzerland this summer season, with Riola Xhemaili's injury-time leveller for the hosts guaranteeing the certified from Group A forward of the Finns. “It was an enormous disappointment that we didn't undergo,” Summanen says. “That was our clear purpose. We have been so near it and, in my view, we performed effectively sufficient to deserve that probability within the knockout stage. However when you don't win the fitting video games you don't get sufficient factors, and that's what it's all about.”
There have been positives to take from the match for Finland; after three defeats in 2022 they not less than earned 4 factors in Switzerland. “We've been taking the steps in the fitting course on a regular basis,” Summanen says. “We've proven now on the Euros that we are able to compete towards good groups, however we're not there but and the outcomes present that. So we have to carry on working and clearly we're specializing in difficult for the following issues forward of us when we've our subsequent camp.”
Summanen has come a great distance from Lappeenranta, the small city she grew up in. “I don't assume I had every other possibility if I needed to remain in my house city than to play with the boys. In order that was form of placed on the desk for me and I felt like that was the very best factor to take action I might be extra at house and the place I've my household assist round me, which has all the time been huge. Now, there's increasingly choices for youthful gamers, youthful women, to play with and towards women. You've extra groups, you've extra competitors.”
Competitors couldn't be fiercer than within the WSL. “I feel the English league is the very best on this planet,” Summanen says. “There are increasingly Finnish gamers coming to the league, which is de facto good for us. And the Finnish women are additionally getting good roles of their groups, not simply being rotation gamers.
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“It's nice that gamers are in a position to take these steps. In different international locations as effectively. We now have quite a lot of gamers which are taking the fitting steps proper now and looking for the absolute best setting, and I feel I'm in a single right here.”
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