RTamID
Well-Known Member
Jouni Hyytia, the Finnish FA’s head of refereeing, says opponents were afraid of the man known as ‘The Buffalo’.
But he also revealed that Morelos earned a reputation as a good guy after joining HJK in February 2016.
Hyytia told SunSport: “I know Morelos has had some problems in Scotland but I can say that, from our point of view in Finland, he was never a troublemaker.
“In fact, while he was here he had a reputation as a very nice person away from the stadium.
His behaviour was always completely correct. You would see him smiling and talking to supporters after matches.
“He was a gentleman when he was here. There was never one problem with him. When he played, of course, it was different.
“He is a physical player and he soon became known as ‘The Buffalo’ because of the way he played.
“There were occasions when referees here would show him a yellow card, but he was quite clever in the way he handled situations.
If he had to speak to our officials he would speak to them in Spanish and then they wouldn’t know what he was saying!
“If he did something that deserved a caution, he would say in English ‘I do not understand’ or ‘What do you mean?’
“Of course our referees knew he understood them perfectly well, but he pretended he didn’t!”
Hyytia believes Finnish defenders were bullied by Morelos and gave him more room to operate because of it — as 27 goals in his 42 HJK games showed.
He added: “Alfredo is a powerful, strong player. If you compare him physically against a typical Finnish defender, there’s a big difference.
“Not only was he stronger than most of them, he was also quicker than them. He had the strength to create space to control the ball, then run with it.
“Many of our defenders found they couldn’t play in their normal way against him. He was a big problem to a lot of them.
“Because of that a lot of them became a little afraid of playing against him.
And the result was they would stand off him and he would have space to play, so there weren’t so many tackles.
“That was why he did well at HJK — because there wasn’t as much physical contact, he enjoyed playing here and did well.
“HJK is Finland’s biggest club and when teams go to play them, especially in Helsinki, they defend to try to leave with a point.
“They dominate games, so he probably found the football relatively easy here.
“He also had players in the team, who have since moved to play in Norway or Sweden, and who created a lot of chances for him.
“But, of course, since he has gone to Scotland, he is up against stronger defenders and doesn’t have as much time and space.
“Perhaps that is why he is finding it tougher there.”
But he also revealed that Morelos earned a reputation as a good guy after joining HJK in February 2016.
Hyytia told SunSport: “I know Morelos has had some problems in Scotland but I can say that, from our point of view in Finland, he was never a troublemaker.
“In fact, while he was here he had a reputation as a very nice person away from the stadium.
His behaviour was always completely correct. You would see him smiling and talking to supporters after matches.
“He was a gentleman when he was here. There was never one problem with him. When he played, of course, it was different.
“He is a physical player and he soon became known as ‘The Buffalo’ because of the way he played.
“There were occasions when referees here would show him a yellow card, but he was quite clever in the way he handled situations.
If he had to speak to our officials he would speak to them in Spanish and then they wouldn’t know what he was saying!
“If he did something that deserved a caution, he would say in English ‘I do not understand’ or ‘What do you mean?’
“Of course our referees knew he understood them perfectly well, but he pretended he didn’t!”
Hyytia believes Finnish defenders were bullied by Morelos and gave him more room to operate because of it — as 27 goals in his 42 HJK games showed.
He added: “Alfredo is a powerful, strong player. If you compare him physically against a typical Finnish defender, there’s a big difference.
“Not only was he stronger than most of them, he was also quicker than them. He had the strength to create space to control the ball, then run with it.
“Many of our defenders found they couldn’t play in their normal way against him. He was a big problem to a lot of them.
“Because of that a lot of them became a little afraid of playing against him.
And the result was they would stand off him and he would have space to play, so there weren’t so many tackles.
“That was why he did well at HJK — because there wasn’t as much physical contact, he enjoyed playing here and did well.
“HJK is Finland’s biggest club and when teams go to play them, especially in Helsinki, they defend to try to leave with a point.
“They dominate games, so he probably found the football relatively easy here.
“He also had players in the team, who have since moved to play in Norway or Sweden, and who created a lot of chances for him.
“But, of course, since he has gone to Scotland, he is up against stronger defenders and doesn’t have as much time and space.
“Perhaps that is why he is finding it tougher there.”