FC Jyväskylä Blackbird

FC Jyväskylä Blackbird

Full name	FC Jyväskylä Blackbird
Nickname(s)	FCJ Blackbird
Founded	1996
Ground	Hippos nurmikenttä Jyväskylä Finland
Chairman	Nellu Petrescu
Manager	Harri Huttunen
Coach	Paul Taylor Timo Laakso Nellu Petrescu Jaakko Hilpinen (GK)
League	Kakkonen
2009	9th – Kakkonen (Group C)
Home colours

FC Jyväskylä Blackbird (abbreviated FCJ Blackbird or FC Blackbird or FCJ) is a football club from Jyväskylä in Finland. The club was formed in 1996 and their home ground is at the Hippos nurmikenttä. The men's first team currently plays in the Kakkonen (Second Division). The Chairman of FCJ Blackbird is Nellu Petrescu and Harri Huttunen is the Manager.

Background

FCJ Blackbird spent their initial seasons in the Kolmonen (Third Division) of the Finnish football league in the section covering Central Finland (Keski-Suomi). They were promoted to the Kakkonen (Second Division) at the end of the 2007 season. In their first season at the higher level in 2008 they faced an uphill struggle in Group A and just avoided relegation. In 2009 the team were moved to Group C and although they gained less points they were able to finish in ninth position some distance from the relegation spot. The club are now in their third season in the third tier of Finnish football.

Season to season

Season Level Division Section Administration Position Movements 2006 Tier 4 Kolmonen (Third Division) Central Finland(SPL Keski-Suomi) 1st Play-offs – Promoted 2007 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group A Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th 2008 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group A Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 11th 2009 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group C Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 9th 2010 Tier 3 Kakkonen (Second Division) Group C Finnish FA (Suomen Pallolitto) 4 seasons in Kakkonen 1 season in Kolmonen

Club Structure

FCJ Blackbird currently has 2 men's teams and 1 boys team. An important initiative of the club is the Nappulaliiga (Little League) Champions for boys and girls of 5 to 10 years of age. The League is targeted towards children who are not involved in football activities and who want to explore the world of football.

2010 season

FCJ Blackbird Men's Team are competing in Group C (Lohko C) of the Kakkonen (Second Division) administered by the Football Association of Finland (Suomen Palloliitto) . This is the third highest tier in the Finnish football system. In 2009 FC Jyväskylä Blackbird finished in ninth position in their Kakkonen section.

FCJ Blackbird / Mustarastas are a new team participating in Section 2 (Lohko 2) of the Vitonen section administered by the Keski-Suomi SPL.

Current Squads for the 2010 Season

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 Antti-Jussi Karnio 2 Erkka Pönni 3 Olli-Pekka Höynälä 4 Antti Vanhala 5 Sampo Ojala 6 Joona Ala-Porkkunen 7 Niko Kautto 8 Sükrü Uzuner 9 Janne Veija 10 Stefan Petrescu (captain)

No. Position Player 11 Jasin Abahassine 12 Matti Kari 13 Miika Nykänen 14 Antti-Pekka Kesonen 15 Adil Hatni 16 Mikko Pietilä 17 Anssi Nurminen 20 Caius Forsberg 21 Antti Peltomäki

Mustarastas (Reserve Team)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player Ville Harvia Jussi Toivonen Teemu Ahonen Henri Koljonen Ville Santala Toni Lavia Ville Antila Miska Autio Mika Jalkanen Jari Lampinen Juho Yläjärvi Sampo Rossi (captain)

No. Position Player Toni Sironen Matti Petrescu Jarno Huupponen Atte Juurinen Jussi Kautela Alex Polenov Jussi Kovanen Tomi Issakainen Heikki Vierimaa Miika Tiihonen Markus Jokinen Toni Sivonen

References and sources

• Official Website
• Finnish Wikipedia
• FC Blackbird Facebook