Ragnar Klavan facts for kids
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Klavan lining up for Liverpool in 2017
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ragnar Klavan | ||
| Date of birth | 30 October 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Viljandi, Estonia | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tulevik | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | Elva | 31 | (11) |
| 2002–2003 | Tulevik | 28 | (2) |
| 2003–2005 | Flora | 28 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | → Vålerenga (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2005–2009 | Heracles Almelo | 95 | (4) |
| 2009 | → AZ (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | AZ | 66 | (0) |
| 2012–2016 | FC Augsburg | 125 | (4) |
| 2016–2018 | Liverpool | 39 | (1) |
| 2018–2021 | Cagliari | 61 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Paide Linnameeskond | 21 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | JK Tallinna Kalev | 22 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 1999 | Estonia U15 | 4 | (0) |
| 2001 | Estonia U17 | 9 | (0) |
| 2002 | Estonia U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | Estonia U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2002–2006 | Estonia U21 | 7 | (0) |
| 2003–2024 | Estonia | 130 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2024 |
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Ragnar Klavan (born 30 October 1985) is a famous Estonian former football player. He played as a defender. He was known for being left-footed. He played mostly as a central defender, but sometimes as a left-back.
Klavan played for several clubs in Estonia, like Elva and Flora. He won the top Estonian league, the Meistriliiga, with Flora in 2003. Later, he moved to the Netherlands. There, he played for Heracles Almelo and AZ. He won the Eredivisie, the Dutch top league, with AZ in the 2008–09 season.
In 2012, he joined FC Augsburg in Germany. He played four seasons in the Bundesliga, Germany's top league. Then, in 2016, he made a big move to Liverpool in England. This transfer cost about €5 million. In 2018, Klavan moved to Italy to play for Serie A club Cagliari. In 2021, he returned to Estonia. He signed with Paide Linnameeskond.
Ragnar Klavan first played for the Estonian national team in 2003. He became the team's captain in 2012. In 2015, he played his 100th game for Estonia. This made him one of only a few players to reach this milestone. He is currently the fifth-most capped player for Estonia. Klavan has won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award a record seven times. He won it in 2012, and then six times in a row from 2014 to 2019.
Contents
Early Life
Ragnar Klavan was born on 30 October 1985. His hometown is Viljandi, Estonia. His parents are Tiina and Dzintar Klavan. Ragnar's father was also a professional footballer. He played as a midfielder for the Estonian national team.
Ragnar started playing football as a midfielder too. He said that Zinedine Zidane was his favorite player and inspired him.
Club Journey
Starting in Estonia
Tulevik
Klavan began his football journey with his hometown team, Tulevik. He played his first senior league game on 8 April 2001. He was playing for Tulevik's reserve team, Elva. In that game, he scored the winning goal against Sillamäe Kalev.
In 2002, he joined Tulevik's main team. He made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 31 March 2002. He was only 16 years old. The game was a 0–0 draw against Levadia. While at Tulevik, Klavan had a tryout with Sunderland in England. However, he was not offered a contract there.
Flora
In July 2003, Klavan moved to another Meistriliiga club, Flora. He played his first game for Flora on 11 July 2003. He came on as a substitute and scored a goal. The game was a 4–4 draw against TVMK. Klavan helped Flora win the Meistriliiga title in the 2003 season.
Playing in Europe
Vålerenga (Loan)
On 31 August 2004, Klavan went on loan to Vålerenga. This is a club in Norway. He joined them for three months. He made his debut in the Tippeligaen, Norway's top league, on 19 September 2004. He came on as a substitute in a 4–1 win against Molde. His loan was later extended for another year.
Heracles Almelo
On 4 August 2005, Klavan signed a three-year contract with Heracles Almelo. This club plays in the Eredivisie, the top league in the Netherlands. He made his debut on 13 August 2005. It was a 1–1 draw against PSV.
Klavan scored his first goal in the Eredivisie on 31 December 2006. It was in a 2–2 draw against Vitesse. He scored again on 24 August 2007. On 30 October 2007, he scored in a cup game against FC Omniworld. He signed a new contract with Heracles in December 2007. On 31 August 2008, he scored a goal and helped his team win 3–1 against Feyenoord.
AZ Alkmaar
On 27 January 2009, Klavan joined AZ on loan. He made his debut for AZ on 4 February 2009. It was a 1–0 win against Roda JC. Soon after, on 14 February, Klavan signed a permanent four-year contract with AZ. He helped AZ win the Eredivisie title in the 2008–09 season.
On 29 September 2009, Klavan made history. He became the first Estonian player to play in the UEFA Champions League group stage. He came on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Standard Liège. He scored his first goal for AZ on 29 July 2010. This was in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match. He also scored in cup games in 2010 and 2011.
FC Augsburg
On 2 July 2012, Klavan signed a two-year contract with FC Augsburg in Germany. He made his debut in the Bundesliga on 14 September 2012. It was a 0–0 draw against VfL Wolfsburg. Klavan quickly became a regular player for Augsburg. He played as a central defender.
He scored his first Bundesliga goal on 1 March 2014. It was in a 1–1 draw against Hannover 96. On 10 May 2014, he scored in a 2–1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt. In the 2014–15 season, Klavan played every minute of every league game. FC Augsburg finished fifth in the league. This was their highest position ever. It also meant they qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.
Joining Liverpool
On 20 July 2016, Klavan signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Liverpool. The transfer fee was about £4.2 million (€5 million). This made him the most expensive Estonian footballer ever. He was given the number 17 shirt.
Klavan made his Premier League debut on 14 August 2016. It was a 4–3 win against Arsenal. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 20 September 2016. This was in a cup game against Derby County. On 19 December 2016, he was named man of the match. This was for his great performance in the derby match against Everton.
On 1 January 2018, Klavan made history again. He became the first Estonian player to score in the Premier League. He scored the winning goal in the last minutes of a 2–1 win against Burnley. He also played in eight 2017–18 UEFA Champions League matches. He was on the bench for the final, where Liverpool lost to Real Madrid.
Moving to Italy: Cagliari
On 17 August 2018, Klavan signed a two-year contract with Cagliari. This is an Italian club. The transfer cost £2 million. He made his debut in the Serie A, Italy's top league, on 26 August. It was a 2–2 draw against Sassuolo.
Back to Estonia: Paide Linnameeskond
On 1 July 2021, Klavan returned to Estonia. He signed with Meistriliiga club Paide Linnameeskond. This was 17 years after he left Estonia to play abroad. He made his debut for Paide in a European qualifying match. His league debut was a 0–0 draw against FC Flora. In his next game, he scored two goals against Viljandi Tulevik.
Tallinna Kalev
On 17 July 2023, Klavan signed with Tallinna Kalev. This is another Estonian Meistriliiga club. He has been the president of this club since 2016.
Saying Goodbye to Football
On 11 December 2024, Ragnar Klavan announced his retirement. He officially stopped playing professional football.
Playing for Estonia
Klavan started playing for Estonia's youth teams in 1999. He played for the under-15, under-17, under-18, under-20, and under-21 national teams. He played 22 youth games in total.
He made his first appearance for the senior Estonia team on 3 July 2003. He was 17 years old. It was a 5–1 loss to Lithuania. He scored his first goal for Estonia on 31 May 2006. It was in a 1–1 draw against New Zealand.
On 11 October 2008, Klavan played his 50th game for the national team. This was in a World Cup qualifying match against Spain. He played in important play-off matches for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs.
On 29 February 2012, Klavan became the captain of Estonia for the first time. He also scored in a 2–0 win against El Salvador. In 2012, he officially took over as captain. On 27 March 2015, Klavan played his 100th game for Estonia. This was in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Switzerland.
Life Outside Football
Ragnar Klavan is married to Lili Orel. They got married on 10 June 2011. They have two sons named Romer and Ronan.
In May 2016, Klavan became the president of the Estonian football club Tallinna Kalev.
In 2023, Klavan was the spokesperson for Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. He announced Estonia's jury points during the grand final. The contest was held in Liverpool, where he used to play football.
Achievements
Flora
- Meistriliiga: 2003
AZ
- Eredivisie: 2008–09
Liverpool
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2017–18 (finished second)
Paide Linnameeskond
- Estonian Cup: 2021–22
Individual Awards
- Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 (won this award a record seven times!)
Images for kids
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Klavan lining up for Liverpool in 2017
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Klavan with AZ Alkmaar in 2011
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Klavan warming up for Liverpool in 2017
See also
In Spanish: Ragnar Klavan para niños
