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The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Estonia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Estonian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 16,880 Soccer Players, 45 of which were born in Estonia. This makes Estonia the birth place of the 62nd most number of Soccer Players behind Canada and China.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Estonian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Estonian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Estonian Soccer Players.

Photo of Valeri Karpin

1. Valeri Karpin (1969 - )

With an HPI of 48.90, Valeri Karpin is the most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Valery Georgiyevich Karpin (Russian: Валерий Георгиевич Карпин; born 2 February 1969) is a football manager and former player who manages FC Rostov and the Russian national team. He is a former midfielder, primarily a right midfielder. As a player, he is most prominent for his time playing for Spartak Moscow, Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo. Karpin is a citizen of Russia, Estonia and Spain.

Photo of Andres Oper

2. Andres Oper (1977 - )

With an HPI of 40.40, Andres Oper is the 2nd most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Andres Oper (born 7 November 1977) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. He is currently an assistant manager of the Estonia national team. Oper played as a forward for Lelle, Flora, Tervis Pärnu, AaB, Torpedo Moscow, Roda JC, Shanghai Shenhua, ADO Den Haag, AEK Larnaca, Nea Salamina and the Estonia national team. With 38 goals in 134 appearances, Oper is Estonia's all-time record goalscorer. Oper was named Estonian Footballer of the Year three times, in 1999, 2002 and 2005, and won the Estonian Silverball award twice; in 2001 and 2005.

Photo of Mart Poom

3. Mart Poom (1972 - )

With an HPI of 39.42, Mart Poom is the 3rd most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Mart Poom (born 3 February 1972) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player regarded as one of the greatest Estonian footballers of all time. He is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Estonia national team. Poom played as a goalkeeper for Lõvid, Sport Tallinn, KuPS, Flora, Wil, Portsmouth, Derby County, Sunderland, Arsenal, and Watford. Poom made his international debut on 3 June 1992 in the Estonia national team's first official match since restoration of independence, a 1–1 draw against Slovenia in a friendly. He made a total of 120 appearances for Estonia and was the team's captain. Poom won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award six times, in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003, the second highest number of times won, behind only Ragnar Klavan. In November 2003, Poom was named Estonia's Golden Player. He ended his career on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 draw against Portugal.

Photo of Ragnar Klavan

4. Ragnar Klavan (1985 - )

With an HPI of 38.88, Ragnar Klavan is the 4th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Ragnar Klavan (born 30 October 1985) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a defender for JK Tallinna Kalev. A left-footed centre back, he has also played as a left back during his career. Klavan played for Elva, Tulevik and Flora in Estonia, winning the Meistriliiga with Flora in the 2003 season, before moving to the Netherlands where he played for Heracles Almelo and AZ, winning the Eredivisie with the latter in the 2008–09 season. In 2012, he transferred to FC Augsburg and spent four seasons in the Bundesliga before his move to Liverpool in 2016 for €5 million. In 2018, Klavan signed for Serie A's Cagliari in a transfer worth £2 million. In 2021, he returned to Estonia signing for Paide Linnameeskond. Klavan made his senior international debut for Estonia in 2003, and became captain in 2012. In 2015, he became the ninth player to make 100 appearances for Estonia, and is currently the fifth-most capped player in the history of the national team. Klavan has won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award a record seven times, in 2012 and six consecutive from 2014 to 2019.

Photo of Sergei Pareiko

5. Sergei Pareiko (1977 - )

With an HPI of 35.02, Sergei Pareiko is the 5th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Sergei Pareiko (born 31 January 1977) is a retired Estonian footballer. He is currently the sporting director of Estonian football club Levadia. Pareiko played as a goalkeeper in Estonian, Russian and Polish top tiers. He made a total of 65 appearances for the Estonia national football team.

Photo of Konstantin Vassiljev

6. Konstantin Vassiljev (1984 - )

With an HPI of 34.67, Konstantin Vassiljev is the 6th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Konstantin Vassiljev (born 16 August 1984) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for and captains both Meistriliiga club Flora and the Estonia national team. Vassiljev has been named Estonian Footballer of the Year three times, and has won the Estonian Silverball award a record six times.

Photo of Indrek Zelinski

7. Indrek Zelinski (1974 - )

With an HPI of 33.54, Indrek Zelinski is the 7th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Indrek Zelinski (born 13 November 1974) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. Zelinski played as a forward for Sindi Kalju, Tervis Pärnu, Pärnu Kalev, Flora, Lelle, Kuressaare, Lahti, AaB, Landskrona BoIS, Frem and Levadia. Zelinski made his international debut for the Estonia national team in 1994. He made 103 appearances for the team, scoring 27 goals, before retiring in 2010. Zelinski was named Estonian Footballer of the Year in 2001, and won the Estonian Silverball award three times, in 2000, 2003 and 2007.

Photo of Raio Piiroja

8. Raio Piiroja (1979 - )

With an HPI of 32.63, Raio Piiroja is the 8th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Raio Piiroja (born 11 July 1979) is an Estonian former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back for Pärnu/Kalev, Lelle, Flora, Vålerenga, Fredrikstad, Vitesse and Chengdu Blades. Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 21 November 1998 in a friendly against Armenia. He was team captain from 2008 to 2011, and made a total of 113 appearances for Estonia before retiring in 2013. On 31 March 2015, Piiroja made his 114th and final appearance for Estonia in his testimonial match against Iceland. Known for his leadership and ability in the air, Piiroja was named Estonian Footballer of the Year five times, in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Photo of Marek Lemsalu

9. Marek Lemsalu (1972 - )

With an HPI of 31.02, Marek Lemsalu is the 9th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Marek Lemsalu (born 24 November 1972) is an Estonian former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back for Pärnu KEK, Sport Tallinn, Pärnu Kalakombinaat/MEK, Flora, Mainz 05, Kuressaare, Strømsgodset, Tulevik, Start, Bryne and Levadia. Lemsalu made his debut for the Estonia national team in 1992. He was captain in 1995 and 1996, and made a total of 86 appearances for the team before retiring in 2007. Lemsalu was named Estonian Footballer of the Year in 1996 and Meistriliiga Player of the Year in 2006.

Photo of Enar Jääger

10. Enar Jääger (1984 - )

With an HPI of 30.14, Enar Jääger is the 10th most famous Estonian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Enar Jääger (born 18 November 1984) is an Estonian former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Pantheon has 45 people classified as soccer players born between 1969 and 1998. Of these 45, 45 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living soccer players include Valeri Karpin, Andres Oper, and Mart Poom.

Living Soccer Players

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