KAISERSLAUTERN will provide Hearts with the sternest examination during their ten-day German tour in Marburg this evening. The match assumes additional personal significance for Juho Makela, who reveals he was once a signing target for the opposition.
The Germans courted Makela's services in 2007 as he languished in the Tynecastle reserves and a prospective loan deal was mooted to the player. In the end, the deal did not materialise but he hasn't forgotten interest from a club still harbouring p
otential to be a Bundesliga heavyweight. Playing against them provides the obvious opportunity to show people what they missed out on.
Makela rejoined Hearts earlier this week from HJK Helsinki looking lean, confident and bristling for the challenge of first-team competition.
A three-month loan spell in Finland brought him the impressive scoring tally of 11 goals in 17 games, and he continued the momentum with the final goal of six against an amateur Rheingau select on Wednesday evening.
The effervescent Finn enters the final year of his Tynecastle contract having never properly established himself in Scotland, something which evidently still rankles deep within.
Hearts' dearth of experienced striking talent may therefore work in his favour during pre-season, as could the added spice of facing a team who once tried to sign him.
"Kaiserslautern are a very big and very famous club in Germany. I've been waiting for this game to come because they were interested in me in the past," Makela told the Evening News.
"There were talks with them about a loan move and I know they looked at me but it didn't happen. I'm looking forward to playing against them and I want to score goals.
"Most of the players only played 45 minutes on Wednesday so, although it's two games in two days, we should be ready.
"Kaiserslautern will be a much tougher opponent, but I think we should welcome that. We are getting closer to the season and this is the toughest test for the players so far. After tonight, we will be able to see where the team is going." More pertinently, supporters have for some time been asking where Makela's career is headed.
Perhaps it's a question the player has even muttered to himself during one-to-one chats with a mirror.
His talent lies in scoring goals, as re-affirmed by the recent spell in Finland. But proving that in Edinburgh has become akin to mission impossible under a succession of coaches. Like several of his Hearts colleagues, Makela hopes Csaba Laszlo's arrival heralds another a fresh start. If so, the forward simply must capitalise or face the ignominy of leaving Scotland without justifying his £500,000 transfer fee.
"My scoring record at HJK for the last three months is similar to what I had before I joined Hearts," he pointed out. "I feel like I have made a new beginning, I felt the same going back to HJK and it worked out very well for me.
"Mr Romanov was there on Wednesday and saw me score, the coach was watching me for the first time, so it was a good evening for me.
"I had a couple of other chances but it was a relief to get the first goal in my first game back.
"It's very important that I play. I was always in the team at HJK and I scored lots of goals in my three months there.
"For a striker's self-confidence, it's vital to know that the coach trusts you and you get playing time.
"You will never score in every game but when you have the coach's faith the goals will come.
"I want to play, there's nothing else to say, I want to play for Hearts. It felt fantastic to be back scoring for my club.
"The last time I scored for the first team was last pre-season, so that shows how long I have waited. It was great to have a Hearts jersey on again.
I hardly played last season, so hopefully this is my time now."
Laszlo has already proclaimed his wish for a new striker and welcomed Vladimir Romanov to Germany this week to discuss the subject along with several other matters.
Makela isn't perturbed by any potential recruitment drive, he simply wants the manager to appreciate his own strengths.
"I'm a penalty-box player, I'm a goalscorer," he said. "I live on crosses and supply. I'm not Maradona but I can score goals.
"I know my weaknesses and my strong points and I can live with them. Scoring goals is my job.
"I have pace and I can be in the right place at the right time. I feel I have that instinct and it's a big part of my game. I'm quite a tall player so I like to fight with defenders and score goals from headers.
"I'm here to show what I can do because I want to be the main striker here and to play regularly. Of course, there is competition at every club. We have three young lads, myself, and Christian Nade (pictured] who is not training yet. Competition is there and if a striker comes, he comes. But I want to be the number one."
Ultimately, Makela recognises his fate sits in Laszlo's lap. He hasn't said anything special to me, just in training he has shown some things he wants.
"I like that in a manager, the communication is clear and he tells me what he wants on the field. I've only been working with him for a few days but I can see he is a strong leader, he gives clear advice and clear messages to everybody.
"His standards on discipline are very good and the signs are that this will be a good season for Hearts. He has taken the team into his hands and we are all listening to him."
Thing is, will Laszlo listen to Juho's demands and grant him the game time to prove he's as lethal as he claims to be?
The full article contains 1012 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
