On Saturday evening TamU-K starts this year’s Piiri Cup campaign in a match against FC Tribe. This is a very interesting opponent, because a lot of the people who started the team were Tampere United supporters. From what I have heard, many of them have conflicting feelings before the match, because the prospect of playing against TamU-K is at the same time exciting as well as difficult. I suppose it is a lot of the same feelings that players sometimes have when they have to play against their old club where they had a good time. On the one hand you want to show them what you can do, but on the other hand you don’t wish them ill. FC Tribe is also having their 10th anniversary season, and as their Kutonen season has not started as well as they expected (2 wins, 3 losses), they are probably going to put a lot of effort into the cup fixture.

For TamU-K of course Piiri Cup is a secondary competition due to the clear goal of earning promotion in the league. However, the cup has a tantalizing prize that can be achieved with just three wins: the final will be played at Ratina Stadium, the stadium where Tampere United played their home matches 2004-2010. A return there would be emotionally important for the supporters and many players alike. Even for those players who do not have an emotional tie to the old Tampere United, playing at a large stadium would be a rare experience that they probably would like to get.

And of course winning Piiri Cup would be great as such, even if it is just a minor competition for clubs in the lower leagues in the Tampere region. It would obviously be the first piece of silverware for TamU-K. This is actually a very realistic goal, because most clubs in the competition play in Kutonen like us. In fact, there’s only three that don’t and they are all just one division above us in Vitonen. Any match we get in this competition is perfectly winnable.

Another reason why supporters really want a win tomorrow is that it gives us an opportunity to play competitive matches in July, when we otherwise wont have any due to Kutonen taking a summer break for over four weeks. It would probably be good for the team too. A month without matches could be harmful for us as we are a new team whose best way to improve team play is to implement things planned in practice in competitive matches.

The match kicks off at Pyynikki Stadium at 6:15 pm Saturday evening. This is our second match of the season there, and would be our preferred venue for all matches if it was available for us. We will surely make the most of the echo provided by the wooden stand and roof. Best atmosphere in a football match in this city, maybe even the whole country. Be there.