tickets geboekt (57 euro liverpool retour)
hotel geboekt (32 pond aan het strand van Rhyl)
Treinkaartje Liverpool - Rhyl c.a 14 pond retour
Jari is weer van glas, maar er gloort hoop
Enfin, elliquido is erbij. Misschien kan ik Jari een handje schudden
Ace Litmanen hopes to make Bangor tie
by Terry Phillips, Wales On Sunday
Jul 10 2011
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FORMER Liverpool, Barcelona and Ajax ace Jari Litmanen is still hoping to visit Wales this week.
Litmanen and his HJK Helsinki team-mates take on Welsh Premier League champions Bangor City in a European Champions League tie at Rhyl’s Belle Vue Stadium next Wednesday (6.30pm).
It has been a frustrating season for 40-year-old Litmanen, pictured below, so far because of niggling injuries, but HJK are hoping to include him against Bangor.
It is the third successive season Bangor have played Finnish opposition, having FC Honka Espoo in the Europa League twice.
HJK have won the Finish title 23 times and have been champions for the last two seasons.
“Jari is the one everyone is talking about, but there are plenty of other good players in our squad, many of them young,” said HJK coach Antti Muurinen.
“At HJK it is always the same. We aim to win the title, the Finnish Cup and achieve success in European competitions.”
HJK’s top scorer from last season, 16-goal Juho Mäkelä, moved to Sydney FC, while influential midfielder Medo switched to FK Partizan. But they are still powerful opposition for Bangor.
The Finns come to North Wales on Wednesday, with the return in Helsinki the following Tuesday.
“We know Helsinki pretty well because we have been to that part of Finland over the last two seasons,” said Bangor manager Nev Powell. “The players know what to expect from the weather conditions and that will assist us in our preparations.”
But Powell noted the dangers posed by Litmanen and internationals such as Gambian Dawda Bah, saying: “If we can keep the tie alive after the first leg, we are confident we can earn a positive result in Helsinki.”
HJK are 10 points clear at the top of the Finnish First Division after 15 matches and come to Wales in scintillating form. They have a 100% home record, having fired 27 goals and conceded six in seven League games, while they have won their last nine overall.
Litmanen and experienced midfield player Aki Riihilahti are HJK’s injury doubts, but both are close to fitness.
HJK would love to include Litmanen, who is one of the few to have played professional football over four decades, starting in the 1980s.
He has earned more than 100 caps for his country.
Bangor City’s first leg tie against HJK Helsinki on Wednesday will be shown live on S4C. The second leg is in Helsinki on Tuesday, July 19 (7pm kick-off).
The match at Rhyl is an all-ticket event, with no tickets available on the evening. The capacity is 1,800.
Tickets can be obtained by personal application at Bangor’s Farrar Road ground between 10am and 4pm on weekdays.
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