Joel Lindpere facts for kids
Lindpere with the New York Red Bulls in 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 October 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Tallinn, Estonia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997 | Nõmme Kalju | 7 | (13) |
| 1997–1999 | Lelle | 23 | (5) |
| 2000–2007 | Flora | 130 | (38) |
| 2001–2002 | → Valga (loan) | 20 | (17) |
| 2005 | → CSKA Sofia (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Tromsø | 75 | (5) |
| 2010–2012 | New York Red Bulls | 104 | (17) |
| 2013 | Chicago Fire | 25 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Baník Ostrava | ||
| 2015 | Nõmme Kalju | 28 | (4) |
| Total | 441 | (101) | |
| National team | |||
| 1999–2016 | Estonia | 107 | (7) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2017 | Estonia U19 (assistant) | ||
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Joel Lindpere (born 5 October 1981) is an Estonian football coach and a former professional player. He played as a midfielder.
Lindpere played for many clubs, including Nõmme Kalju, Flora, Tromsø, and the New York Red Bulls. He also played 107 games for the Estonia national team, scoring 7 goals.
Contents
Joel Lindpere's Football Journey
Starting His Career
Joel Lindpere was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He started playing for his first team, Nõmme Kalju, when he was just 15 years old in 1997. After that, he moved to another club called Lelle. There, he scored 5 goals in 23 games.
Playing for Flora
In 2000, Lindpere joined FC Flora, a well-known team. In 2001, he was loaned to Valga. He played very well there, scoring 17 goals in 20 games. Because of his great performance, he returned to Flora in 2002.
Back at Flora, Lindpere quickly became one of the best midfielders in the Meistriliiga (Estonia's top football league). He helped his team win the Meistriliiga championship in both 2002 and 2003. In 2005, he was loaned to a Bulgarian club, CSKA Sofia. He left Flora in 2006 after an incident during a cup match.
Time with Tromsø
In February 2007, Lindpere signed a three-year contract with Tromsø, a club in Norway's top league, the Eliteserien. He scored his first goal for Tromsø just a few days after joining them. In 2009, he even scored a goal against the famous Spanish team Athletic Bilbao in a UEFA Europa League match.
Moving to New York Red Bulls
After the 2009 season, Lindpere decided not to extend his contract with Tromsø. He then joined the Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York Red Bulls in the United States on 25 January 2010.
He scored his first goal for the Red Bulls in a friendly game against Santos FC. This goal was special because it was the first goal ever scored at the new Red Bull Arena. He also scored the Red Bulls' first goal of the 2010 MLS season, which was the winning goal against the Chicago Fire.
In 2010, Lindpere helped the Red Bulls win their second regular season Eastern Conference title. He also scored the only goal in a playoff game against the San Jose Earthquakes. That year, he scored 3 goals and had 6 assists, which means he helped set up 6 goals for his teammates.
Lindpere received two awards for his great play in the MLS. He was chosen for the 2010 MLS All-Star team. At the end of the season, he was named the Most Valuable Player for the New York Red Bulls. In 2011, he played in every game and almost every minute of the season, showing how important he was to the team. He scored 7 goals and had 7 assists that year.
Playing for Chicago Fire
On 4 January 2013, Lindpere was traded to Chicago Fire. He played 25 games for them and scored 2 goals.
Time in Czech Republic
In January 2014, Lindpere moved to the Czech Republic to play for Baník Ostrava. He played his first game for them in a 4–0 win. He was a valuable player for the team, but he left in the winter of the 2014–15 season.
Back to Nõmme Kalju
On 5 March 2015, Lindpere returned to Estonia and signed with his very first club, Nõmme Kalju. He finished his professional football career after the 2015 season.
Playing for Estonia
Lindpere started playing for the Estonia national team on 1 November 1999, when he was just 18 years old. His first game was a friendly match against the United Arab Emirates. He quickly became an important player for his country. He scored his first goal for Estonia in a 1–0 friendly win against Moldova.
In 2010, he decided to take a break from the national team to focus on his club career. However, when Estonia did very well in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying in 2011, Lindpere decided to return for the play-off games.
On 14 June 2015, Lindpere played his 100th game for Estonia in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against San Marino. He helped his team win 2–0 by setting up the first goal. Lindpere played his last international game on 1 June 2016 against Andorra. He finished his international career with 107 appearances and 7 goals for Estonia.
Honours and Awards
Joel Lindpere won several awards and championships during his career:
Club Honours
- Flora
- Meistriliiga: 2002, 2003
- Estonian Supercup: 2002, 2003
- CSKA Sofia
- A Group: 2004–05
- New York Red Bulls
- Emirates Cup: 2011
- Atlantic Cup: 2010, 2011
- Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic: 2010
- Chicago Fire
- Carolina Challenge Cup: 2013
- Nõmme Kalju
- Estonian Cup: 2014–15
Individual Awards
- Major League Soccer All-Star: 2010, 2011
- Most Valuable Player for New York Red Bulls: 2010
See also
In Spanish: Joel Lindpere para niños
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
