Topi Keskinen is Aberdeen marathon man as gruelling schedule almost over bar one more target to hit
Scottish Cup hero Topi Keskinen hasn't had a break for 18 months and won't get one until after this month's Euro Under-21 tournament finishes.
The Finnish star played half a season for HJK before he moved to Aberdeen in an £800,000 move last August, which has seen him play constantly for the last year-and-a-half.
It has been non-stop for the flying winger but he is looking for one last push, with Finland's young guns gracing the Euros for only the second time in their history.
Keskinen will head to the finals in Slovakia full of confidence after helping Aberdeen shock Celtic in last month's Scottish Cup Final.
When asked about his gruelling schedule, he said: 'Yes, of course it is. I knew already when I didn't get sold in the January transfer window, I was like, 'OK, now I'm in Helsinki.'
'I was like, 'OK, now the target is to go in the summer.'
'I knew already that it's going to mean I will have a long season but I've done better than I thought I would do.
'Of course it's mentally and physically tough. I think mentally it's even harder than physically. Yes, it is but you're still waiting for professional football.
'It's good that you have so many games, you don't have that much time to think about it, it's just football.
'I have the Euros and after that one I'll take it easy. But it's just football, it's not that deep, you know?
'If I play one-and-a-half years, everyone has different stories and all that so I just need to make sure I recover well to the different games.'
The 22-year-old's last lengthy break was back in December 2023 but even then he didn't get a long breather as HJK had group stage Euro football.
That's something he will be returning to with Aberdeen. He recalled: 'I came back to Helsinki in January and we had a longer season because we were in the group stage.
'We were still playing in the group stage and we had to come back from our holidays. So I had December off and then I was back in.'
Finland are out make their mark at the Euro finals but they have a tough opener against a talented young Dutch side next Wednesday.
They then take on Ukraine and Denmark in a whirlwind seven days. Keskinen and his team aren't going to make up the numbers, with the Dons star making it clear that progress from their section is the aim.
Keskinen, along with a handful of his team-mates, has already been capped at senior level so it shows the potential in their squad.
One of his four outings for the senior side came at Wembley and that experience will stand him in good stead for the Euro finals.
He said: 'It's in Slovakia and we play Holland, Ukraine and Denmark. It's an OK group. We want to go through because we have a really good team.
'Four or five of the group already have full Finnish caps.'
It is also a competition that will put Keskinen in the shop window.
It has been more than 15 years since the Finnish Under-21s last qualified for these finals. It has been a big thing back in his homeland as they look for a new golden generation to burst on to the scene.
Keskinen admitted: 'My friend Jukka Raitala, he's 36 now, he was in the group last time they were at the Euro finals.
'So it's been a while. Jukka was my team-mate in Helsinki, he played centre-back or left-back. He still plays now (for Gnistan).'
The Finn will get a break after the Euros to finally recharge the batteries before he gets ready to go with Aberdeen in the Europa League qualifiers. Jimmy Thelin will be looking to build on their Scottish Cup win as he prepares for his second season at Pittodrie.
Keskinen now has more competition in the wide areas with Aberdeen snapping up Australian winger Nicolas Milanovic from Western Sydney Wanderers.
But the Finn has been one of the first names on the team sheet and he's confident of rising to the challenge and shining in the new campaign at home and abroad.
The summer break will give him the chance to find some more energy and he said: 'After the last game of the Euros, I'll get some time off. June 18 is the last match of the group stage so it all depends on how far we get.
'When you play 18 months of football in a row, you don't really need a full pre-season.
'I'm likely to get extra time off having been involved at the Euros.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Celtic vs St Mirren: Visitors aim to spoil the party as Hoops hope to celebrate flag day with victory
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CELTIC will begin the defence of their Scottish Premiership title at home to St Mirren on Sunday. Hoops legend Paul McStay will unfurl the flag at Celtic Park before kick off after their success last season took their tally to 55 league trophies. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up It extended Celtic's title winning run to four as they finished 17 points clear of fierce rivals Rangers. St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson though insists they are not there to make up the numbers. The Buddies came within minutes of an upset on the final day of last season against Celtic before James Forrest struck an injury-time equaliser. It continued his remarkable success of scoring in 16 consecutive seasons. Celtic played seven friendlies over the course of last month, with standout victories over Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle United. They wrapped up their pre-season schedule with a penalty shoot-out win over Saudi Arabia side Al-Ahly in the Como Cup last week. But Rodgers has made no secret of his desire to strengthen the squad to replace the goals lost after the departures of Nicolas Kuhn, Kyogo and Matt O'Riley over the past 12 months. And fans are frustrated too with what they see as a lack of transfer activity. Meanwhile, Saints have punched above their weight in recent seasons securing three top-six finishes in the last three years. Stephen Robinson's men have made a promising start to the new campaign, qualifying for the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup after victory against Ayr Utd last weekend. They'll host Hearts later this month but for now the focus is on league action as the Premiership returns this weekend. When does Celtic vs St Mirren kick-off? Celtic face St Mirren on Sunday, August 3 The match takes place at Celtic Park. It kicks off at 4.30pm Don Robertson is the referee and Greg Aitken is on VAR duties Is Celtic vs St Mirren on TV? Can I live stream it? Celtic vs St Mirren has been selected for live TV coverage by Sky Sports It'll be shown live on Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Main Event and Celtic TV. Coverage gets underway on Sky channels after the Falkirk vs Dundee United game. Sky Sports subscribers can live stream the match via Sky Go The match is also available to watch with a one-off Now TV subscription You can also follow every kick with SunSport's LIVE match blog Latest team news Jota is out for the hosts and won't be back until after the new year after rupturing his cruciate ligament. Swedish star Benjamin Nygren, signed in a cut-price deal from Nordsjaelland, is in contention to make his debut for Celtic whilst there also could be second league debut for Kieran Tierney. Japanese striker Shin Yamada could feature as well but the game is likely to come too soon for Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, who is on the verge of joining from Manchester City on loan. For the visitors, Robinson has made nine summer signings as well as bringing back Roland Idowu and Killian Phillips. But he says not all of them will be in contention for starts on Sunday. Richard King though is expected to make his Buddies league debut at centre-back after joining from Cavalier FC in the Caribbean. Latest odds* Celtic 2/11 Draw 7/1 St Mirren 16/1 *odds as of Friday, August 1. 22:30
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Lionesses star fined for driving offence days after winning the Euros with England
England and Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating has been fined after being found guilty of driving without the correct tax just days after celebrating the Lionesses' Euro 2025 win Lionesses star Khiara Keating has been fined just days after she lifted the Euro 2025 title with England. Keating was part of the England squad that retained the Euros on Sunday by beating Spain on penalties in the final. However, just days after lifting the trophy in Basel, Keating was fined for not paying her car tax. On Wednesday, magistrates fined Keating £440 and ordered her to pay back duty of £79.17 and costs of £20 after she had been stopped for driving a Volkswagen Polo without the correct tax back in December. The 21-year-old did not attend Tameside Magistrates' court and the case was heard in her absence. Just a few weeks before the Euros began, Keating was cleared of drugs charges after Greater Manchester Police dropped them. Keating and her mother, Nicola, were charged last June with possession of the Class C drug nitrous oxide. They both pleaded not guilty and the charges were dropped in June. "I'm relieved the charges have been dropped — as I've always said, I did nothing wrong," Keating told the BBC. "It's been a difficult time, but I've always known the truth. Now I'm just looking forward to focusing fully on the Euros and spending time with my family." Keating did not play at the Euros with Hannah Hampton starring as first-choice goalkeeper, but she was an important part of the squad and was part of the jubilant celebrations that took place after they returned to the UK. A victory parade took place on Wednesday in front of more than 50,000 fans, with England captain Leah Williamson stating: "I'm holding back tears. I've been crying all down The Mall. "This is unbelievable, this is probably one of the best [things] we have ever been a part of, so thank you for coming out. "There are many ways to win a football match. And we repeatedly did it the hard way, but you can see how much we care about playing for England and how much we love it." Chloe Kelly added: "It feels so good to stand side by side with each and every one of these girls. It's so ******* special. It's incredible to stand here today with a winners' medal around our necks and I'm so proud to be English."
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Celtic defender vows to make Scottish Cup separation temporary
Canadian right back Johnston was devastated when he had his penalty kick saved by Dimitar Mitov in a dramatic shootout at Hampden back in May and his side failed to triumph in the Scottish Gas-sponsored competition and complete another domestic treble. The defender put the painful reverse firmly behind him when he married his long-term partner Peyton Pesavento at Pollok House in Glasgow in June with several of his team-mates in attendance. However, he has made being reunited with the Scottish Cup a top priority in the 2025/26 campaign. Read more: 'Once I got to the wedding and saw my friends and family I pretty quickly forgot about football,' he said. 'You remember that there are still more important things in life, your family, your wife. 'It was nice to kind of put the failure of that cup final behind me and kind of really just reset, focus on the people that were there and then get ready for the internationals. 'But once we got through that tournament, I remembered, 'Okay, we've got something to come back and try and win back when I get back into Scotland'. So I think there's an extra level of motivation now. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) 'You can see it through the entire group. There's definitely a bit of a burning passion there to get back what we think is our trophy. That's something that we have a challenge of this year.' Johnston added, 'If you never lose, then you kind of forget what the feeling of winning really is. I want to sit here and say that I want to win every single trophy. That is the case. 'But, at the same time, when you do lose one you probably come back with a bit more of a fire in your belly to go out there and really kick on that following year. So I don't think that it's necessarily a bad thing. Read more: 'It is in the past. Obviously, we would have loved to have won a treble. It didn't happen. But now that gives us all the extra motivation to go out there and try and make it happen this year. 'So that's a really positive thing that comes out of it. I think you need to try and find what are the learnings and the growths from that match so we can learn from it and make sure that doesn't happen again. But at the same time, that's football. You're not going to win every single match. 'We'd love to do that. So I think that, you know, going into this year, it really does just kind of add a little bit of extra fire to everyone that's in this. You want to put things right. Ideally, to have our trophies back is kind of the plan.'
