Mart Poom facts for kids
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Poom with Estonia in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 February 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Tallinn, Estonia | ||
| Height | 1.94 m | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1979–1989 | Lõvid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988 | Lõvid/Flora | 20 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Sport Tallinn | 59 | (0) |
| 1992 | KuPS | 9 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Flora | 22 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Wil | 13 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Portsmouth | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | → Flora (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 1997–2003 | Derby County | 146 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | → Sunderland (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Sunderland | 58 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | → Arsenal (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Arsenal | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Watford | 19 | (0) |
| Total | 370 | (1) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992–2009 | Estonia | 120 | (0) |
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Mart Poom (born 3 February 1972) is a famous Estonian football player and coach. He is known as one of Estonia's greatest footballers ever. Mart Poom played as a goalkeeper for many teams, including Derby County, Sunderland, and Arsenal. He also played for the Estonia national team 120 times. Today, he is the goalkeeping coach for the Estonian national team.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mart Poom was born in Tallinn, Estonia, and grew up in a part of the city called Mustamäe. He was a very good student and finished Tallinn Secondary School No. 49 with top honors. He started studying at the Tallinn University of Technology, but he decided to focus completely on his football career instead of finishing his studies.
Club Career Highlights
Mart Poom played for many football clubs during his career. He started in Estonia and then moved to play in Finland, Switzerland, and England.
Starting Out: Early Clubs
Poom began his football journey with a team called Tallinna Lõvid, which means "Lions of Tallinn." Later, in 1989, he moved to Sport Tallinn, a club that played in the Soviet Second League at the time.
Playing in Finland and Switzerland
In 1992, Mart Poom joined a Finnish club called KuPS. He played nine games there before returning to Estonia. Back home, he signed with Flora, a team that was like a new version of his old Lõvid team. On 1 August 1993, Poom moved to Switzerland to play for Wil.
Time in England: Portsmouth and Derby County
Mart Poom moved to England in 1994 to play for Portsmouth. He played four league games for them. In 1995, he went back to Flora in Estonia for a loan period. During this time, he set a club record by not letting any goals in for 756 minutes, which is a very long time for a goalkeeper!
On 26 March 1997, Poom joined Derby County. He became the first player from Estonia to play in the Premier League, which is England's top football league. Fans at Derby County loved him. They would often chant "Pooooom" before games, which sometimes sounded like booing to new commentators! Poom was even named Derby County's Player of the Year in the 1999–2000 season.
Sunderland and a Special Goal
In November 2002, Poom moved to Sunderland. On 20 September 2003, he scored a very unusual goal. He headed the ball into the net in the last minute of a game against his old team, Derby County! This goal was cheered by fans from both teams. It was a truly memorable moment in his career.
Joining Arsenal
On 31 August 2005, Mart Poom was loaned to Arsenal, one of England's biggest clubs. He later joined them permanently. Even though he didn't play many games for Arsenal, he was part of the squad that reached the Champions League Final in 2006. Arsenal lost to Barcelona, but Poom still received a silver medal, becoming the first Estonian to get a Champions League runner-up medal. He played his only Premier League game for Arsenal on the last day of the 2006–07 season.
Final Club: Watford
On 26 May 2007, Poom signed with Watford. He started as their main goalkeeper but later faced injuries. In September 2008, he dislocated his shoulder, which kept him out for most of the season. He left Watford in April 2009.
International Career for Estonia
Mart Poom played for the Estonia national team for many years. His first game was on 3 June 1992, in a friendly match against Slovenia. This was a special game because it was Estonia's first official match since they became independent again.
Poom played a total of 120 games for Estonia, keeping a clean sheet (meaning no goals were scored against him) in 31 of those matches. In 2003, the Estonian Football Association named him Estonia's greatest player of the last 50 years. He ended his international career on 10 June 2009, after a friendly game against Portugal.
Personal Life
Mart Poom is married to Lissel, and they have three sons. Their son, Markus, is also a football player, following in his father's footsteps. Another son, Andreas, is a music artist.
Honours and Awards
Mart Poom received many awards and honours during his career:
With Sunderland
- Football League Championship: 2004–05 (This means his team won the league title.)
With Arsenal
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2006–07 (His team reached the final but didn't win.)
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2005–06 (His team reached the final but didn't win.)
Individual Awards
- Estonian Footballer of the Year: He won this award six times (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003).
- Derby County Player of the Year: 1999–2000
- UEFA Jubilee Awards – Greatest Estonian Footballer of the last 50 Years (Golden Player): 2003
- Order of the White Star, 4th Class: This is a special award given by the President of Estonia.
See also
In Spanish: Mart Poom para niños
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
