Antti Niemi reveals the Hearts factor he didn’t see coming this season as hilarious Tynecastle story shared
Hall seems to have a bright career ahead of him and, if acquired, might be a wise signing for Stoke City.The former goalie has given his assessment of Hearts this season and told a humorous story about his trip to Tynecastle a few years back.
In addition to sharing his thoughts on the season thus far, Antti Niemi revealed an amusing story about going back to watch Hearts.
Under the new coach, Neil Critchley’s team has improved, but they are still ranked eleventh in the Premiership. This week they travel to Brechin City for the Scottish Cup, and on January 25th they return to league action against Kilmarnock.
After playing with Hearts from 1999 to 2002 before moving to Southampton, former goalie Niemi is currently a coach for the Finnish national team. He is famous at Tynecastle for a number of things, including a classic radio phone call inquiring about his eligibility to play for Scotland.
The star’s exclusion from the Scotland national squad shocked a Hearts supporter who contacted to express his surprise. His Finnish heritage was one issue, but it seemed like it took him a long time to realize it. He was informed that he was Finnish by the host, former Scotland and Manchester United defender Arthur Albiston, which led to the famous comment, “No, not finished, he’s from Finland.”
Niemi has now stated on talkSPORT that she had a phone conversation with the fan that confessed everything when she returned to Hearts a few years back. He stated: “I was in one of those lounges when I went to a Hearts game a few years back. I was in Gary Locke’s care. In those lounges, I conducted interviews and spoke with sponsors and fans. One of the guys passed me.
“Listen,” he began, drawing me in, “have you heard about this phone call? I thought, “Here we go again.” I am aware of it, yes. What about it? “Listen,” he says, “that phone call was from my best friend.” Oh, I thought, really? “Yes, he is truly sorry for it.” Why, I asked. It’s comical. I’m not bothered. “Listen, do you think you could talk to this guy?” he said. And he grabbed his cell. I said, “Yeah, definitely.” And I recognized the voice, so it was a strange feeling.
Then I said, “Tell me about it. Apparently, he intended to be hilarious and did that after drinking a few beers, I believe. Additionally, he was somewhat of a prank call. However, he had hoped that the presenter would see right through it and realize that, come on, it’s not funny.
However, after a few minutes, he realized that the host was completely buying it. He is also unaware that this is a prank. Therefore, you must really act it out. However, he was good. I told them not to worry. All is well.
Regarding Hearts’ season thus far, the former goalie has expressed shock at the dismal campaign in Gorgie and said that he continues to follow everything Jambos. Like every other player, he continued, “I always look for results on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or whatever.”
I believe it is completely natural for us to do that for all of my clubs, including Southampton, Hearts, Fulham, and Rangers, which I follow. It has been a really difficult season, and no one could have predicted that. I hope they go up the table soon, and I’m cheering them on.