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) | ||
| Position(s) | 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 | 18 | (0) |
| 2015 | Nõmme Kalju | 28 | (4) |
| Total | 441 | (101) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2016 | Estonia | 107 | (7) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2017 | Estonia U19 (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joel Lindpere (born 5 October 1981) is a famous Estonian football player and coach. He played as a midfielder, which is a player who helps both attack and defense.
Lindpere played for many different football clubs during his career. These included Nõmme Kalju, Lelle, Flora, Valga, CSKA Sofia, Tromsø, New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire, and Baník Ostrava. He also played for the Estonia national team 107 times, scoring 7 goals.
Contents
Joel Lindpere's Club Career
Starting His Football Journey
Joel Lindpere was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He started playing football professionally at a very young age. He made his first team debut for 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 club. In 2001, he was loaned to Valga. He played 20 games and scored an impressive 17 goals there. Because he scored so many goals, he returned to Flora in 2002.
When he came back to Flora, Lindpere quickly became one of the best midfielders in the Meistriliiga, which is 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 in a training match just a few days after joining. In 2009, he scored a goal against the famous Spanish team Athletic Bilbao in a UEFA Europa League match.
Adventures with 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 club 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 first goal for the Red Bulls in the 2010 Major League Soccer season. This was the winning goal against the Chicago Fire. In 2010, Lindpere helped the Red Bulls win their second regular season Eastern Conference title. He scored 3 goals and had 6 assists that season.
Lindpere was recognized for his great play in the MLS. He was chosen for the 2010 MLS All-Star Game roster. At the end of 2010, he was named the Most Valuable Player for the New York Red Bulls. He continued to play well in 2011, setting team records for games played and minutes played. He also scored 7 goals and had 7 assists. In October 2011, he helped New York win a 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs match against FC Dallas by scoring the first goal. He signed a new contract with New York in 2012.
Moving to Chicago Fire
On 4 January 2013, Lindpere was traded to Chicago Fire. This meant he moved to a new team in exchange for an international roster spot.
Playing for Baník Ostrava
In January 2014, Lindpere joined the Czech club 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.
Returning to Nõmme Kalju
Lindpere returned to Estonia and signed with his first club, Nõmme Kalju, on 5 March 2015. He finished his professional football career after the 2015 season.
Joel Lindpere's International Career
Playing for Estonia
Lindpere made his first appearance for the Estonia national team on 1 November 1999. He was 18 years old at the time. This was in a friendly match against the United Arab Emirates. Since then, he became a very important player for his country. He scored his first goal for Estonia in a 1–0 friendly win against Moldova.
In 2010, he announced that he would not play for the national team because he wanted to focus on his club career. He said the same thing in 2011. However, after Estonia did very well in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying in October 2011, Lindpere considered returning. He said his decision would depend on whether his club team, New York Red Bulls, made it to the MLS play-offs. After New York was out of the play-offs, Lindpere was allowed to join the Estonia squad for their matches against Ireland.
Lindpere played his 100th game for Estonia on 14 June 2015. This was in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against San Marino. He helped set up the first goal in a 2–0 win. Lindpere ended his international career with a special farewell match on 1 June 2016 against Andorra. He played a total of 107 games for Estonia and scored 7 goals.
Career Statistics
Club Performance
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nõmme Kalju | 1997–98 | III liiga | 7 | 13 | — | 7 | 13 | |||||
| Lelle | 1998 | Meistriliiga | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 1999 | 22 | 5 | — | 22 | 5 | |||||||
| Total | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | ||||||
| Flora | 2000 | Meistriliiga | 27 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 | ||
| 2001 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2002 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 11 | ||||
| 2003 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 5 | ||||
| 2004 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 6 | ||||
| 2005 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | ||||
| 2006 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 130 | 38 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 152 | 40 | ||||
| Valga (loan) | 2001 | Esiliiga | 12 | 6 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | |||
| 2002 | 8 | 11 | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | |||||
| Total | 20 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 17 | ||||
| CSKA Sofia (loan) | 2004–05 | A Group | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Tromsø | 2007 | Eliteserien | 24 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | |||
| 2008 | 24 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||||
| 2009 | 27 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 6 | ||||
| New York Red Bulls | 2010 | Major League Soccer | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | |
| 2011 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 37 | 8 | |||
| 2012 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 | |||
| Total | 104 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 17 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2013 | Major League Soccer | 25 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |
| Baník Ostrava | 2013–14 | Czech First League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Nõmme Kalju | 2015 | Meistriliiga | 28 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 7 |
| Career total | 441 | 101 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 479 | 108 | ||
International Games and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | |||
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 14 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 107 | 7 | |
International Goals Scored
- Estonia's score is listed first. The score column shows the score after each of Lindpere's goals.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 February 2004 | Ta' Qali National Stadium, La Valletta, Malta | 23 |  Moldova |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2004 Malta Tournament |
| 2 | 30 May 2004 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 27 |  Denmark |
2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 18 August 2004 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | 30 |  Liechtenstein |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 12 November 2005 | Finnair Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 40 |  Finland |
2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 17 November 2007 | Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 56 |  Andorra |
2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 6 | 26 March 2013 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 86 | Andorra |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 15 November 2013 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 91 |  Azerbaijan |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Awards and Achievements
Club Trophies
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
