Raio Piiroja

Raio Piiroja

Personal information
Date of birth	11 July 1979
Place of birth	Pärnu, Estonia
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Youth career
	Rivaal
	Pärnu
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1995–1996	Pärnu	8	(1)
1996–1999	Lelle	42	(4)
1999–2004	Flora	102	(14)
2000	→ Pärnu (loan)	1	(0)
2001	→ Valga (loan)	1	(0)
2003	→ Vålerenga (loan)	11	(1)
2004–2011	Fredrikstad	158	(12)
2011–2012	Vitesse Arnhem	2	(0)
2012	Flora	0	(0)
2013	Chengdu Blades	18	(1)
2014	Flora	0	(0)
2015	Pärnu Linnameeskond	0	(0)
Total		343	(33)
National team
1998–2015	Estonia	114	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Raio Piiroja (born 11 July 1979 ) is a former Estonian professional footballer and current president of Pärnu Linnameeskond. He is a five-time Estonian Footballer of the Year award winner. Internationally, Piiroja represented Estonia and was the team's captain. He made 114 appearances for the team, scoring 9 goals. He was known for his impressing ability in the air for winning headers.

Club career

Estonia

Piiroja started his career in his hometown Pärnu before joining the Tallinn side Flora under then manager Teitur Thordarson. With Flora, Piiroja won two consecutive Meistriliiga titles in 2001 and 2002.

Norway

In 2003, he joined Norwegian side Vålerenga on loan before signing a permanent contract with Fredrikstad. In 2006, he scored two goals in the Norwegian Football Cup final against Sandefjord in a 3–0 victory. In 2010, Piiroja scored 2 goals in the Norwegian Premier League promotion play-offs against Hønefoss.

International career

Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national football team on 21 November 1998 at the age of 19 in a 1–2 loss against Armenia, replacing Viktor Alonen on the 85th minute of the match. Piiroja became the national team captain after Mart Poom. He made his 100th appearance in a 2–0 friendly victory over Uruguay and finished his international career in 2015 with 114 appearances and 9 goals scored.^[1]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 September 1999	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2	11 June 2000	Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia	Georgia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3	28 March 2001	Tsirion Athletic Centre, Limassol, Cyprus	Cyprus	2–2	2–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	16 February 2004	Ta' Qali National Stadium, La Valletta, Malta	Malta	2–2	2–5	2004 Malta Tournament
5	22 August 2007	Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia	Andorra	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
6	12 September 2007	Gradski Stadion Skopje, Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
7	14 October 2009	Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia	Belgium	1–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	11 August 2010	Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia	Faroe Islands	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Personal life

Piiroja married his long-time girlfriend Marje in 2005. In 2011, Norwegian police launched an investigation into his former club Fredrikstad and Piiroja was charged with tax evasion.^{[2] [3]} Outside of football, Piiroja enjoys fishing and skiing.

Honours

Club

Flora

• Meistriliiga: 2001, 2002
• Estonian Supercup: 2002

Fredrikstad

• Norwegian Cup: 2006

Individual

• Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

• 5th Class Order of the White Star

References

1. http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=16661
2. http://www.dagsavisen.no/sport/article525169.ece
3. http://www.dagbladet.no/2011/12/22/sport/fotball/raio_piiroja/fredrikstad_fk/tippeligaen/19519873/

External links