Andres Oper

Andres Oper

Oper with Estonia in 2005
Personal information
Full name Andres Oper
Date of birth (1977-11-07) 7 November 1977
Place of birth Tallinn, Estonia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
1987–1993 LMSK Pantrid
1994 Lelle
1994 Flora
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1994–1999 Flora 73 (44)
1996 → Pärnu Tervis (loan) 9 (4)
1999–2003 AaB 117 (27)
2003–2005 Torpedo Moscow 53 (8)
2005–2009 Roda JC 103 (32)
2009 Shanghai Shenhua 6 (0)
2010 ADO Den Haag 12 (1)
2010–2011 AEK Larnaca 21 (3)
2012–2013 Nea Salamis 42 (8)
Total 436 (127)
National team‡
1995–2014 Estonia[1] 134 (38)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 August 2013.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 August 2013

Andres Oper (born 7 November 1977 in Tallinn) is a retired Estonian footballer. He has set the goalscoring record for the Estonian national team, by scoring 38 goals in 134 matches.

Club career

Early career

Oper started his football career in the club FC LSMK/Pantrid Tallinn in 1987.[2] In 1994, Oper played in FC Lelle and FC Flora Tallinn youth teams. In the same year Oper signed with FC Flora Tallinn senior team. He was tracked by Arsenal as a 21-year-old, but no deal was ever reached.[3]

Aalborg BK

Oper was transferred to Danish Superliga club Aalborg BK on 2 July 1999, for $1,000,000. He signed a 5-year contract with Aalborg.[4] He had a successful spell at Aalborg, where he played up front with his national team partner Indrek Zelinski.

Torpedo Moscow

On 10 July 2003, he signed a 2-year contract with Russian Premier League club FC Torpedo Moscow.[5] Often inconsistent in Russia, Oper was placed on the transfer list by the Moscow club as he suffered injuries from his right foot.

Roda JC

Andres Oper in July 2007.

On 31 August 2005 Oper signed a 1-year contract with Dutch Eredivisie club Roda JC,[6] after rejecting a move to Sunderland.[3] He scored his first Eredivisie goal on 1 October 2005, in a 3–2 win against Vitesse Arnhem.[7] On 28 May 2006 he extended his current contract with Roda JC until 30 June 2008.[8] He scored 19 goals in his second season with Roda and became the club's top scorer. On 16 May 2007 Oper extended again his current contract with Roda JC until 30 June 2009.[9]

Shanghai Shenhua

On 19 July 2009, Oper signed a half-year contract with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua.[10] He made his debut for Shenhua on 2 August in an away game against Jiangsu Sainty. Andres Oper made his last game with Shanghai Shenhua on 12 September against Beijing Guoan, he got injured.

ADO Den Haag

After an unsuccessful period in China, Oper returned to Eredivisie to play under his old manager from Roda JC, Raymond Atteveld. He signed a half-year deal with an option for another year on 21 January 2010.[11][12] He made his debut for Den Haag on 13 February in a home game against Willem II. He scored his first goal for ADO Den Haag on April 18, 2010, in a 4–0 win against RKC Waalwijk. He penned a contract extension, however, negotiations over personal terms continued – no agreement was settled and the extension was cancelled.[13] His contract with the club expired in the end of the summer.

AEK Larnaca

On 9 September 2010, Oper signed a 1-year contract with Cypriot First Division club AEK Larnaca.[14] Oper started his AEK career with a goal on his debut against Ethnikos.

Nea Salamis Famagusta

In January 2012, Oper joined Cypriot First Division club Nea Salamis Famagusta FC. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 March in a 2–0 win against Enosis Neon Paralimni FC.[15]

International career

Oper is capped 133 times, scoring 38 goals. At the age of 17, Oper debuted for the Estonia national team in a 1995 Baltic Cup against Latvia.[16] He scored his first goal on 8 June 1997 against Sweden in a FIFA World Cup 1998 qualification. He played his 100th game on 2 September 2006 against Israel.[17] Oper is Estonia's national football team's all-time top scorer.

International goals

Career statistics

Club

Season Club Country Level Apps Goals
2012/13 Nea Salamis Famagusta Cyprus I 28 5
2011/12 Nea Salamis Famagusta Cyprus I 14 3
2010/11 AEK Larnaca Cyprus I 21 3
2009/10 ADO Den Haag Netherlands I 12 1
2009 Shanghai Shenhua China I 6 0
2008/09 Roda JC Netherlands I 27 6
2007/08 Roda JC Netherlands I 20 7
2006/07 Roda JC Netherlands I 32 11
2005/06 Roda JC Netherlands I 24 8
2005 FC Torpedo Moscow Russia I 15 1
2004 FC Torpedo Moscow Russia I 24 4
2003 FC Torpedo Moscow Russia I 14 3
2002/03 Aalborg BK Denmark I 27 11
2001/02 Aalborg BK Denmark I 31 4
2000/01 Aalborg BK Denmark I 29 6
1999/00 Aalborg BK Denmark I 30 7
1998 FC Flora Tallinn Estonia I 13 10
1997 FC Flora Tallinn Estonia I 22 15
1996 FC Flora Tallinn Estonia I 18 10
1995 JK Tervis Pärnu Estonia III 9 3
1995 FC Flora Tallinn Estonia I 9 2
1994 FC Flora Tallinn Estonia I 1 0

Honours

Club

Individual

References

External links

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