Sami Ristilä celebrates Drogheda's first ever championship. Photo cortesy of Drogheda United FC

The Boyne Valley In County Louth is a place often affiliated with the legends of Irish myths, some legends are born and others are made. Over a thousand miles away in Valkeakoski, Finland on August 15th 1974 ,a new icon for the valley was born.

Sami Ristilä made his first appearance for his hometown club FC Haka at the age of 17 . After five years at Tehttaan Kenttä  he left the club he dearly loved and moved to FC Zwolle in Holland. Spells at FC Jokerit and Mypa would follow before 2002 saw his second coming at Haka.

Though the combative midfielder only featured 49 times over the following three years, he did enough to win a Veikkausliga winners medal in 2004.The Haka story was far from over but a new fairytale was about to begin.

Drogheda United brought Ristilä to the League of Ireland in 2005 for what would prove to be the most successful period of his career. The performances of the Finnish international at the heartbeat of the Drogs midfield saw him become a firm fans’ favourite. His ability to score goals when they were dearly needed further cemented his position amongst the United faithful.

Journalist Eimear Taffe remarked shortly after his arrival that “Sami is an extremely technically gifted player with an excellent footballing brain . His experience will be vital to all those around him”.Taffe was proven right as the Finn became a catalyst for Drogheda`s success.

During his silverware laden spell at United Park, Sami captured the FAI Cup in 2005, two Setanta Cup winners medals in 2006 and 2007, and in that same year he helped the club etch their name into Irish football history by claiming their first League of Ireland title.

That inaugural title victory paved the way for the Boynesiders to grace the Champions League Qualifying rounds. This was not Ristila’s first taste of European Football at the club as they had during his time played in the Uefa Cup, clocking up victories against HJK Helsinki and Libertas in the first rounds in 2006 and 2007, only to be eliminated in the second rounds by IK Start and Helsingborgs respectively.

Damien Lynch played with Sami during both cup runs and is full of praise for the Finnish star “I loved playing with Sami. He always gave 100 % and the supporters knew that. He was technically brilliant and the best trainer I have ever seen. He boasts a top pedigree and is an overall nice lad. His ability to use both feet is tremendous”.

Mark McCadden backed up Lynch’s claims. McCadden is a renowned football journalist who purely deals with League Of Ireland affairs. ”Sami was very intelligent and cultural. His creative awareness allowed him to find positions others wouldn’t think of. His technical ability was far superior to most of our players”.

While the mighty Drogs became used to Europe, they could not have predicted their fate in 2008. A first round 3-1 aggregate win over Estonians Levadia Tallinn set up a tasty but tricky tie against Dynamo Kiev. The Ukrainians left Ireland with a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg, while many thought the second leg was a mere formality, Doolin`s men proved otherwise. Ristila and Co battled back twice after going a goal down, with the tie hanging by a knife edge at  2-2, one more goal would have seen the Drogs through. Late efforts by Adam Hughes and Shane Robinson proved in vein, as a determined Drogheda were dumped out by an undeserving Kiev team.

Ristilä later moved into management at Drogheda,  a club that was by now dear to his heart. He had a unique relationship with the supporters and was dearly loved for his efforts on the pitch. Sami took up the role of player/coach alongside Paul Doolin and also became head of youth development at the club.

Declan O`Brien played with Ristilä during the Drogs famous European adventure. O’Brien – who himself made a mark in Europe last season as he helped St Patricks Athletic to the brink of the Europa League group stages – had nothing but admiration for Ristila .”Sami is a top quality player, he is definitely one of the finest ever to have played in the League Of Ireland. His work rate is what impresses me most”.

January 2009 marked the end of an era for Ristilä. After four years of service in his adopted home it was time for him to head back to his native Finland and once again pull on the Haka jersey.The team were flying high by May, standing proudly on top of the table but as fortunes dipped legendary Haka Goalkeeper and then manager Olli Huttunen was sacked.  Sami assumed the role as player/coach on September 7 and guided the nine time champions to a sixth placed finish.

The Veikkausliiga currently sits in 29th position in the Uefa ranking of leagues, one place ahead of the League of Ireland. Ristila maintains that Finnish clubs are more financially viable than their Irish counterparts, although they boast less media coverage. While the Veikkausliiga does manage to gather larger attendances, Ristilä proclaims “ football in Finland is played at a slower pace but technically its superior to what is on offer in Ireland. However in terms of the quality of the player, I believe it is equal”.

The two time capped Finnish international may soon hang his boots up as injury limits his playing time. Nonetheless he will be looking to guide the nine time league champions to a better finish in 2010.

His time in Ireland will never be forgotten. On a personal level I have witnessed four Scandinavians grace the League Of Ireland. The others include Norwegian Glen Atle Larsen (Ex St Pats and Kongsvinger), Finnish goalkeeper Miiko Vilmunen who Drogheda also signed from Haka  and Swedish shot stopper Ola Tidman who represented Derry City.

This trio of Scandinavians had a forgetful time in Ireland, although Vilmunen enjoyed a rare moment of glory by saving two penalties in the Setanta Cup Final, whereas Ristilä is one of the finest foreign players ever to have graced the league. McCadden declared that “Sami was the most successful to have ever graced our league. It is difficult for technical players to settle in here but he adapted well and had no problems”.

Drogheda fans would long to one day see the current Haka manager take the reigns at United Park. This is a view envisaged by lifelong Drogs fan Martin Boland (63) “Sami worked his socks off for this club. Not many fans would know but he also did his fair share of work behind the scenes. Wherever his managerial career will take him, it will certainly be bright. There would be nobody I would rather see in charge of our great club than the great man himself”.