Youngster realising dream in Scandinavia

PYRY Henri Hidipo Soiri dreams of one day playing for English Premier League club Chelsea.

But first, the 19 year-old winger of Finnish-Namibian descent intends to establish himself as a regular at Finnish Premier Division (Veikkausliiga) club Myllykosken Pallo -47 (MYPA).

Pyry has rapidly risen through the youth ranks since joining the club in 2010, making his league debut aged just 17 years, six months and 27 days in 2012.

And after helping the club to a sixth place finish last term, having played in 22 of their matches (six starts), signs are that he will play an even bigger role for his side in the coming season after being handed a junior professional contract.

The club, which has a solitary league triumph and three Finnish Cups to date, is best renowned for having kickstarted the careers of Ajax Amsterdam legend Jari Litmanen and former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypiä.

“It’s tough but I like the challenge,” says Pyry. “I’m the youngest in the team at the moment so I have many senior players to look up to.”

That he is now a professional footballer, is something of a dream come true for Pyry, who played high school football “just for fun” in Namibia and Tanzania before settling in the industrial village of Myllykoski, part of the city of Kouvola.

Born to a Finnish mother and a Namibian father, Pyry is still undecided about which country he will represent at senior national level.

However his performances for Finland’s under 19 and 20 sides have earned him rapid promotion to the u21’s, who are midway through their 2015 Uefa Under 21 Championship qualifiers.

He is still eligible for the Brave Warriors under Fifa rules.

“I have four caps for Finland at junior level so far,” says Pyry, who speaks fluent English and Finnish but can only master a few words of Oshiwambo.

“I was on the bench when we played England in the qualifiers. It was a good experience.”

While he admits to having little knowledge about Namibian football, Pyry says regular contact with another new Brave Warriors recruit Miguel Hamutenya, who plays for Strømmen IF in the Norwegian First Division, has given him some insight.

“I won’t mind being called up [by Namibia] for a camp but for now I have not decided if I will one day play for Finland or Namibia [at senior level]. It’s still too early to say,” he says.

Pyry, his mother Lina and younger brother Juri spent much of the festive season in Namibia visiting friends and relatives.

One such relative is none other than former Namibian boxing Olympian and Kilimanjaro Boxing Club owner Joseph Bernard – Lina’s adopted son.

“I like the sun mostly,” Pyry says in reference to his affinity to Namibia. “I will miss that when we return to Finland on Saturday.”

Upon his return, Pyry will join his club’s pre-season as they prepare for the another testing Veikkausliiga season from March to November.

Like many youngsters the world over, he too aspires to one day play in the English Premier League – which he considers to be the best.

He admires England international Frank Lampard the most, but rates Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as the best player in world football.

Pyry also hopes to be coached by Chelsea’s controversial Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho in the future.

“I love Chelsea. I hardly miss a game of theirs. Former Chelsea striker Mikael Forssell also plays in the Finnish league,” he says sheepishly, before answering in the affirmative when asked if he’d play for them should the opportunity arise.

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