Following the departure of the majority of Hyderabad FC’s foreign contingent from last season, the fans should be satisfied with what the club has been doing in this transfer window. They have already acquired the services of foreign talents like Joe Knowles and Jonathan Moya, and now they have completed their third foreign signing of the season, Petteri Pennanen.
In this article, we’ll dive deep into the career of Petteri Pennanen and try to find how he can seamlessly fit into the game-plan of Hyderabad this season.
Who is Petteri Pennanen?
Petteri was a product of Finnish club Kuopion Palloseura and began his footballing career in 2007, plying his trade for a bunch of clubs in Finland, Netherlands, America, and Poland. The Finnish talent is coming to India for the first time at the age of 32, carrying some solid experience with him, having played across the leagues of four countries.
Petteri Pennanen has represented the Finnish national team in all possible age divisions ranging from the Under-16 team to the senior team, and has scored three goals for the U18 team and one goal for the Under-17 team at the international level.
From the 2007-08 season to the current point of his career, he has played a total of 409 matches, bagging 78 goals, and assisting 53 times. There is also an amazing stat about him that Hyderabad FC fans can be happy about, as he is coming to the club after scoring 14 goals and providing 9 assists for Ilves Tampere in the 2022-23 season across all competitions.
Petteri was also crowned as the Finnish League Cup winner and the Finnish champions once each in 2012 and 2019.
How will Petteri Pennanen fit into Hyderabad FC’s system?
Hyderabad FC was displaying a dominant style of play under the guidance of the Spanish mastermind, Manolo Marquez. He was a coach who mainly preferred using the 4-2-3-1 formation or the 4-5-1 variation where the midfielders play a key role in controlling the game.
With the presence of the trusted Brazilian midfielder Joao Victor, we already know who is going to lead the midfield for Hyderabad. With Petteri coming in, he is a perfect piece for the team as he is the kind of midfielder who can often drop deep to contribute to the team in defense and also building effective attacks, all the way from the midfield.
There are some cons in his game, for example, he often fails to create an impact or efficiently overcome the 1v1 scenarios in the midfield, and also sometimes lacks aerial dominance. However, that is not going to be a problem when he will be playing alongside the likes of Joao Victor, and Sahil Tavora, among others who can do the same fairly well.
The significance of this signing for Hyderabad FC
After the departure of Borja Herrera from the club, Hyderabad was in desperate need of a new midfielder to back Joao Victor in the midfield, and it seems like the fans have got the answer to that question. With the addition of Petteri Pennanen, he is more than likely to be a definite presence in the starting eleven as his capabilities and experience is evident. Now, it remains to be seen how he can make a difference to the team and help Hyderabad finish higher up in the league table.
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