HJK and Eerikkilä will enlarge their cooperation
Ekkono Method is a proven coaching philosophy that has been used by many international clubs and federations. HJK has become aqcuainted with this approach in its participation in Eerikkilä Sport & Outdoor Resort’s Sami Hyypiä Academy.
HJK will now increase its investment in this method: HJK and Eerikkilä have signed a cooperation agreement which enables HJK to utilize the Ekkono Method more extensively in its coaching. The deal between HJK and Eerikkilä is an important step towards HJK’s ambition to be the best football club in the Nordic countries.
The Ekkono Method has been developed by the Catalonian football consulting company Soccer Services Barcelona S.L. In Finland the representation of the company has been with Eerikkilä, which has utilized the method in its Sami Hyypiä Academy program since 2015. The head of the operation has and will be in the future Pol Deulonder whose knowledge HJK can now use more than before. Deulonder has in the past consulted the coaching staff of HJK’s men’s reserve team HJK Klubi 04 as part of the cooperation between HJK and Eerikkilä.
HJK’s sports and development director Miika Takkula believes that the deal will prove to be a big success.
– We trust that we will have the most advanced coaching program in the Nordic region. We have systematically developed our coaching system since 2015. We are not making any revolutionary changes in our present operation but fine-tuning our existing model. Soccer Services offer us key expertise that we lack. Since our coaching system is heavily based on Soccer Services’ Ekkono Method this step is only logical.
Soccer Services Barcelona S.L. was founded in 2006. In other parts of the world the company’s partners have been, among others, the football associations of Japan and Thailand, Swedish Allsvenskan clubs GIF Sundsvall and IFK Göteborg and the number one French club of recent years PSG. One of the founders of Soccer Services, Carles Romagosa, has worked before at FC Barcelona’s La Masia Academy.
According to Takkula, however, the fine achievements of the Catalan company were not the main factor behind the deal.
– Every new project has its risks but now we have as much information about our future partner as is possible. One could say that Pol has been through the most rigorous job recruitment process possible. We have seen him working at Sami Hyypiä Academy both as an instructor and as a coach for many years. For me he is one of the most impressive coaching experts that I have ever met. In addition, Pol has a very suitable personality; an excellent work ethic combined with remarkable patience, Takkula concludes.
The director of Eerikkilä’s football services Mika Laurikainen is satisfied with HJK’s investment in the club’s football know how.
– It is great that Finland’s biggest club has taken this big step forward. But it also tells us that we at Eerikkilä have made a wise choice when we decided to start our cooperation with Soccer Services. Our own programs will continue to work with the same high quality as before.
Soccer Services Barcelona S.L. CEO Miquel Farrerons underlines as well the importance of this new step with the most successful club in Finland.
– On behalf of all SSB consultants I want to highlight the tireless work done by many great people from HJK and Eerikkilä’s Sami Hyypiä Academy to make this deal happen. We are very comfortable working hand in hand with HJK’s staff. We are ready to invest time and resources to support HJK’s youth Academy in their ambition to move to the next level.
– During the last two years, the Ekkono Method research and development center has been focusing on a new release of the Method. Together with other clubs around the world, HJK will benefit from the outcome of this a research from November onwards.
More information:
Mika Laurikainen, Eerikkilä’s director of football services, p. 040-590 6941 Miika Takkula, HJK’s sports- and development director, p. 044-970 0522