The last Flying Finn was a generation or two before, indeed he was from a different sport entirely, but if young Lassi Lappalainen goes on to achieve even half that level of acclaim, he’ll be doing ok.
He shares the same christian name (although varied spelling) as the great Lasse Viren, Finland’s double Olympic Champion distance runner of 1972, but there the similarities end.
The youngster has been setting tongues wagging in the Veikkausliiga (Finland’s top division) for a couple of seasons now, and at 20, is ready for the next stage in a budding career.
His footballing education has not been unlike that of Impact’s current Finnish international, Jukka Raitala, each starting their careers off at the country’s biggest club HJK Helsinki, having both come through the third tier reserve team Klubi-04.