When Yuri Romano sent the last ball out of bounds in "PalaVela", the Finnish volleyball players flew into each other's arms. Finland had just eliminated world champion Italy with a 3:2 victory and, for the second time in its history, had qualified for the semi-finals of a European Championship.
By the court, Olli Kunnari remained as his own players describe him – calm.
Finnish Yle called him a man with "nerves of steel". Kunnari rarely raises his voice, and he himself sees little point in shouting. Setter Fedor Ivanov jokes that he doesn't remember his coach ever getting angry over volleyball, and Luka Marttila says that emotions are visible inside him, but Kunnari controls them "like a maestro". When he needs to demand more from the team, he does so, but without losing his composure.
This seems an especially fitting description after what happened against Italy. Finland was trailing 8:11 in the tie-break against the world champion, in front of more than 8,000 Italian fans in Turin. They turned it around to 15:13.
After the match, Kunnari pointed to the psyche as one of the keys to victory. According to him, his players now believe and know what they are capable of when they play their best volleyball.

19 years ago, he was on the other side of the line.

History has a beautiful symmetry. Finland's last and only semi-final at a European Championship until now was in 2007 in Russia. Back then, the team came within a whisker of the medals and finished fourth.
Olli Kunnari was also on the court.
The receiver is part of the generation that, in Finland, is still referred to as the "golden" one. It also includes Tuomas Sammelvuo and Mikko Esko. Nineteen years later, Kunnari is once again in the EuroVolley semi-finals – this time on the other side of the sideline.
Behind him stands a huge career. Kunnari played 251 matches for Finland between 2002 and 2015, participating in five European and one World Championship. His debut was on July 23, 2002, against Tunisia, and his last match in the national jersey was on October 13, 2015.
And here, history offers another incredible coincidence.Olli Kunnari's last opponent as a national player was Italy.
Eleven years later, it was against Italy that he achieved his biggest victory as a national coach.

We also remember him from Sofia.

For the Bulgarian audience, there is another connection. In May 2012, Kunnari was in Sofia with Finland for the European Olympic qualification for London 2012. He wore number 12, and the team's coach was Daniel Castellani.
And from that tournament, we keep our own archival shot – Kunnari receiving in the then "Arena Armeec".

Back then, he was 30 years old and still in the prime of his career. Today, the man from that photo is leading the next Finnish generation to its biggest matches.

Seven seasons abroad and 528 matches at home.

Kunnari's career is not limited to the national team. He played 528 matches in the Finnish league, won six championship titles and five Finnish Cups, and was named the country's top volleyball player in 2012 and 2014.
He spent seven seasons outside Finland – in France, Poland, Greece, and Turkey. He won the French Cup in 2007 and became champion of Greece in 2010. He also has a silver medal from the Polish Cup.
The interesting thing is that a person with such a career was initially not at all convinced that he wanted to become a coach. The idea only started to appeal to him towards the end of his playing career. After retiring, he immediately joined VaLePa's staff as an assistant, and in 2021, he got his first job as a head coach at Akaa-Volley.

From club volleyball to Finland in just a few years

The ascent is rapid. Kunari was an assistant at VaLePa during the 2020/21 season, then led Akaa-Volley from 2021 to 2025. In 2024, the Finnish Federation also entrusted him with the men's national team.
It was then that the team we see today at EuroVolley began to take shape. This is not a revolution accomplished overnight. Former national player Mikko Esko points out to Yle that the foundation was built over years, but it was during the two years with Kunari that the current generation grew as a team. More and more leading Finnish national players are now playing in strong foreign leagues, and the competition for a place in the squad has significantly changed. Results are also coming quickly. Finland won the European Golden League in 2025, and in 2026, they defended the trophy in an undisputed manner – 10 wins in 10 matches. In the final, Kunari's team defeated the Netherlands twice with 3:1 each, and next year they will play in the VNL.

Freedom instead of fear

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Kunari, however, is not visible in the statistics.
Yle describes a coach who does not try to manage the team through fear. He gives his players significant freedom and expects them to understand the game and make decisions themselves. The players, in turn, speak of trust and calmness in tense moments. Former Finnish national player Matti Oivanen explains to Yle that Kunari had natural authority even as a player.

The current head coach was not the person who constantly talked, but when he said something, the others listened. According to Oivanen, this quality has carried over into his coaching work.
And former national player Markus Lehtonen sees another important thing in the current team – the players can be themselves and accept their roles. According to him, Kunari has obviously managed to create an environment where everyone has a place and receives respect regardless of their role.

From Kunari and Sammelvuo to Jokela and the Marttila brothers

This is where the two Finnish generations meet.
In 2007, Kunari, Sammelvuo, and Esko were on the court. In 2026, much of the responsibility is already borne by Joonas Jokela, Luka and Nooa Marttila, Miika Haapaniemi, Veikka Lindqvist, and the rest of the new generation.
Kunari turns out to be the link between them.

He knows what it means for Finland to be among the top four teams in Europe because he has already experienced it as a player. Now he has to prepare his volleyball players for something his generation in 2007 failed to do – to reach a European medal. And against them in the semi-final in Milan will stand the Olympic champion France.
14 years ago, we photographed Olli Kunari with No. 12 and the ball in hand in Sofia. Today, the same man stands by the court almost without raising his voice, and Finland is once again where it hadn't been since he himself wore the national jersey.
The man with the nerves of steel returned to the semi-finals. Only his role is different.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov and cev.eu