Jukka Jalonen introduces himself and is candid about Italhockey’s goals
The words of Jukka Jalonen
The newly appointed coach of Italhockey è officially introduced himself to the fans during the press conference called by the FISG and the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation by immediately making clear the goals he hopes to achieve: "“The goal è is to build something that goes beyond the Olympic review. I’ll give everything I can for Italian field hockey. Of course, we know that nothing happens all of a sudden: we will have to be good at working methodically, also in concert with the clubs, step by step. È a stimulating task, a challenge, but also an opportunity that Italy can exploit to make a leap forward. As in any national team we will have few tournaments to prepare ourselves at our best for the World Cup: players will come from different clubs and different systems of play, the task of the coaching staff è to quickly make the group compact, create a good atmosphere, a relaxed environment where everyone canò compete at their best”.
Also attending the press conference was CONI President Giovanno Malagò who did not spare words of esteem for the Finnish coach: "I believe a lot in the work of the FISG and the decision to entrust the bench of the Italian men’s national field hockey team to an icon like Jukka Jalonen è a very strong signal. It has taken a coach of international caliber, capable of dragging Finland to its first Olympic title in Beijing 2022 and now è called to lead this team in front of a public that hopes to experience something magical. We hope that his enthusiasm will be good for the boys, who will be up against battleships from around the world".
FISG President Andrea Gios also did not want to fail to lend his support to the 61-year-old coach: “Jalonen è a profound connoisseur of European field hockey, having gained extensive experience in both international competitions and major continental championships. He is also familiar with the Italian reality and his career è has been studded with great successes. He has shown an extraordinary ability è to field highly competitive teams, often composed of lesser-rated players than those of opposing teams. What makes Jalonen particularly suited to lead our national team è is his ability to make the most of the resources made available to him and the cohesion of the group, managing to get the most out of each individual athlete. Under his leadership, we are confident that our team will be able to continue to grow and face future challenges with determination”.
