Ten more Estonian players have moved abroad in winter 2008, with Mart Poom and Andres Oper having proved to be footballing pioneers in their homeland.
New ground
Some 24 Estonian players now ply their trade outside their home nation, in 13 different countries. This winter Dmitri Kruglov has become the first Estonian to move to Azerbaijan, joining PFC Neftchi Baku, while Konstantin Vassiljev has broken new ground for Estonian football by moving to Slovenia, where he has joined 1. Liga side NK Nafta Lendava.
Poom's travels
The most famous Estonian exports remain Poom and Oper. Some 16 years ago goalkeeper Poom left FC Sport Tallinn for Finnish side KuPS Kuopio and while he would later return home to play for FC Flora, his travels were far from over. He went on to play in Switzerland for FC Wil 1900 and since 1994 has been in England with Derby County FC, Sunderland AFC, Arsenal FC and now Watford FC.
Oper odyssey
Forward Oper became the most expensive player in Estonian history in 1999 when Danish side Aalborg BK paid €1m to sign him from Flora. "Since joining Aalborg it has been an interesting career," the striker told uefa.com.
"I reckon 21 was just the right age to move and the Danish league was the level I needed to develop." After four seasons at AaB, Oper's move to FC Torpedo Moskva was something of a culture shock but while goals did not flow freely, he enjoyed his time there. "Russia is a difficult place to work for an Estonian, or any other forward from the west for that matter, but I do not regret going there; it was a special experience and the league has become one of the strongest in Europe," he said.
Dutch welcome
Now with Roda JC, the Netherlands has proved to be a much more successful playing environment for Oper, who is currently recovering from achilles tendon surgery. "The Eredivisie is different, but the style of football suits me well and I have had some relatively successful seasons with Roda," he said. "However, at 30 I am sure I have many years left in me and might yet try myself in a bigger league."
Future generations
Thanks in part to the British and Scandinavian tactics Icelandic coach Teitur Thordarson brought to Estonia as coach of Flora and the national team in the 1990s, Estonian players have tended to settle well in the Nordic nations – 13 are currently playing in the top two divisions in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark – while 16-year-old Henrik Ojamaa is seeking success after joining one of Poom's old clubs, Derby. His blog is keeping fans posted as to his progress and should he succeed, top clubs are sure to be keeping an eye on the emergence of future generations of Estonian talent.
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