The Finnish Football League is down to its final 4 teams, and this weekend will widdle the total to the last 2 for 2011. A long summer season has culminated in a few of the typical finalists from Finland, with a newcomer to the final fiesta players. In the first game Saturday the top ranked Seinajoki Crocodiles who are also the 11th best team in Europe face off with the Lappeenranta Rajaritarit translated to Border Guards. Sunday the 21st ranked team in Europe and last year's Finnish champion the Porvoon Butchers face off with the Helsinki Wolverines from the capitol city.
The Crocodiles' hard work has brought them to this astounding position of the top ranked team in Finland after the regular season at 9-1. They have come a long way since 2010's final game in which they lost 30-17 to the Butchers. The Crocs season has been as close as 1 point from being flawless in their single loss of the season 66-65 to the team that they face in the first round, the Border Guards. 
The Guards finished the regular season at 7-3. They lost to the Butchers twice, this last time by just 3 points and have that monumental win over the Crocodiles, the only team to do so in 2011. The game this weekend will be hard fought and will face a top 11 team in Europe against probably the most fierce 4th place team that any league in Europe can boast. Be prepared for a barn burner in this affair. Read more about the game matchup by following this link: Crocs vs. Border Guards.
Sunday provides another amazing matchup and is a testament to the diversity of the clubs in Finland. Last year, with both clubs from the Helsinki area making the playoffs was a huge feat. The Wolverines are the classic underdog in this scenario. They also have experience in this setting. Not just that they lost in the semi-final last season, but they lost in the semi-final to this very Butchers team in Porvoon to boot. 
Another year has passed, and here they are again, having lost to the Butchers in the regular season by a single point. The Butchers boast a 21st European ranking according to europlayers.com. Their single loss was back in the second week of the season, probably before the snow was completely melted to the Crocs. Since that game the Butchers have rattled off 8 wins with their closest game being against this very Wolverines squad in a 34-33 victory. Pregame report: Butchers vs. Wolverines.
Each matchup offers us the exciting opportunity to have no idea who is going to be the winner. We could have a rematch of last year's final, or we may have a changing of the guard in Finland. Each team has played one another this season, and surprisingly have played to within 1 point of each other. Watch this incredible series come to a close this weekend by following the score updates on the scores page of the Finnish football Website. Go to the official Finnish football website for more information.
