Good news. It appears that he will only be out for 3-4 weeks. http://www.rops.fi/index.php?option...866:lapin-hegemoniaottelu&catid=38&Itemid=188 As an interesting side note- the author of that article refers to Tabe as the most important player for RoPS (if Google is translating correctly).
Tabe has recovered and is practicing with the team; however, he may not be ready to play by the next match. http://www.miestenykkonen.fi/taustasivut/artikkeliarkisto/?num=31262
He played this weekend after being out 3 weeks with the injury. http://www.lapinkansa.fi/cs/Satelli...8&pagename=LKAWrapper&rendermode=previewnoins
The Ykkönen season finished this past weekend and RoPS won the title by two points and will be promoted to top division. According to Soccerway, Etchu Tabe played 18 of 26 matches in 2010.
Etche Tabe's contract expired, along with those if the majority of the team. He hopes to re-sign with the club; however, now that they have been promoted to the top tier RoPS may be looking to upgrade. Tabe was their best defender and one of their top players overall when healthy so hopefully he will have some decent options during the winter transfer window.
Etchu Tabe had very good last season with Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS). He was one of the best centerbacks in Ykkönen (second tier) featuring in 18 matches while RoPS promoted as number one in the league under Welsh manager John Allen's command. Most of matches Tabe played with either young Finnish central defender Jarkko Lahdenmäki or Zambian Stephen Kunda (1 cap for Zambia) as his centre back pair. Hard season for them still ahead as they have been going up and down the last few years.
Tabe's defensive partner Kunda was in the group of players arrest for fixing matches in Finland. http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.c12c42e1eb18dc96618211ff9ac66120.641
They have arrested more players from RoPS for match fixing. There are now 8 from that team in custody. The latest batch have yet to be named publicly. Hopefully, Tabe is not involved in this mess, but at the least his club is in total disarray. http://www.sportsfeatures.com/socce...arrest-as-match-fix-inquiry-spreads-worldwide
After a little more digging, I have found all the RoPS players (9 now) that have been implicated. They are Stephen Kundan, Godfrey Chibangan, Francis Komben, Valter Khorguashvilin, Christopher Musonda, Chanda Mwaba, Nchimunya Mweetwa, Chileshe Chibwe, and Pavle Khorguashvili. Thankfully, Tabe seems to be univolved in the debacle. All those mentioned have been released from the club. RoPS currently only has 12 players available for their next match which is a domestic cup game on Sunday against Vaasa. This is being called the worst period in club history.
Wow match fixing in Finland! Good that Tabe is not involved, man I hope they can get some more players.
Its apparently part of a larger international investigation and involves several people that were connected to a Belgian match fixing scandal from a few years ago. I'm guessing we will be hearing more about this in the coming weeks. RoPS management say they are looking for reinforcements for the rest of the season. Perhaps an opportunity for one of our unemployed Yanks.
If you have not read The Fix by Declan Hill, I would highly recommend it. The Belgian case and many others are discussed at length. It is also interesting that Michel Platini recently made an effort to reach out to European governments to help in cracking down on match fixing. This is the first time UEFA has ever admitted that there is a problem, even though the problem has been around for quite some time. If you read the book, you will also find that this is a textbook match fixing scenario, right down to the fixers being from Singapore. No, I am not Declan Hill, or his dad
If he ever makes it to the Nats level, I hope we can start a trend - every time the announcer mentions his name we all shout "Bless you!"
Etchu Tabe has moved up to the Veikkausliiga (Finnish top tier) as he signed a one year deal with KuPS.
KuPS will be in the 2012-2013 Europa League since they were the runners up in the cup to champions HJK. KuPS finished 8th in the league.
Tabe was in the squad as KuPS beat MYPA 1-0 in midweek to advance to the Finnish Cup final. They will face Honka, who are currently 9th in the league, in the final to be played on the 28th. KuPS are 10th in the league and are 5 points clear of the league's only relegation place with 9 games to play.
1673 minutes w/1 goal & 1 assist over 21 Veikkausliga 2012 matches, 540 minutes over 6 Europa Cup qualifiers, 2 full League Cup matches & 130 minutes over 2 Suomen Cup matches: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/etchu-tabe/leistungsdaten/spieler_70481.html