Karl-Rudolf Silberg-Sillak (20 March 1906 – 17 December 1974) was an Estonian footballer, who made 52 appearances for the Estonia national team between 1929 and 1938. He also made 12 appearances for the

Estonia national bandy team Estonian national bandy team competed for the first time during the first period of Estonian independence, in the interwar years 1918–1940. Estonia played six international friendlies against Finland between 1923 and 1934, losing them all. Es ...

and Estonia national ice hockey team. Sillak was born in

Märjamaa Märjamaa is a borough ( et, alev) in Rapla County, Estonia. It is the administrative center of Märjamaa Parish. Märjamaa has a population of 2,961 as of 29 November 2012, making it the largest settlement in the whole of Märjamaa Parish. Nota ...

in 1906, and began playing for

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

in 1923. He earned his first cap for the Estonian national team in 1929, and became a mainstay in the defensive line in the 1930s.

Early life

Sillak was born in

. He began playing football in 1919, at age 13, with the

U19 academy.

Club career

Sillak began playing with Sport's senior team in 1923. That year, Sport, who had won the previous two

Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-professional with ...

, lost to

Kalev Tallinn Kalev Tallinn is a multi-sport club in Tallinn, Estonia. The club was formed as Jalgpalliselts Meteor (Football Union Meteor) in 1909 and changed to its present name in 1911, when it joined the all-Estonian sports organisation Estonian Sports Ass ...

. After the loss that year, Sillak and Eugen Einman constituted a strong defensive line which resulted in Sport winning the Meistriliiga in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, and

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

. Although Einman was transferred to

Tallinna Jalgpalliklubi Tallinna JK or simply TJK is a defunct Estonian football (soccer), football club, based in Tallinn. Founded in 1921, TJK were one of the founding members of the Estonian Football Championship in 1921 Estonian Football Championship, 1921. On 4 Janu ...

in 1927, Sillak also won the Meistriliiga in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...

. After winning the Meistriliiga in 1932, Sillak was transferred to Tallinna Jalgpalliklubi. He played for the club until 1940, the final official year of the Meistriliiga until 1945, when Estonia became part of the Soviet Union, and the Meistriliiga became the Estonian SSR Football Championship. Sillak played briefly for Spartaki in the Georgian SSR Football Championship, playing sparingly until his retirement in 1951.

International career

Sillak made his first international appearance for

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

on 16 August 1929 against Latvia. He was a defensive mainstay for Estonia in the 1930s, appearing 49 times. Sillak won the

1929 Baltic Cup The 1929 Baltic Cup was held in Riga, Latvia at LSB Stadions on 14–16 August 1929. It was the second time three Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — came together to play a friendly tournament and determine the best tea ...

with Estonia. Sillak scored his only goal for Estonia on 3 June 1937.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Estonia's goal tally first.''

After football

Sillak retired from football in 1951. He died at age 68 on 17 December 1974, in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

Honours

*Meistriliiga: (6) 1924, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1932 *

Estonian Cup The Estonian Cup ( et, Eesti Karikas) is the national knockout competition in Estonian football. In 2012, the competition was unofficially rebranded as Evald Tipner's Cup. The winner will compete in UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifyi ...

: (1) 1939 * Baltic Cup: (1) 1929

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberg-Sillak, Karl-Rudolf 1906 births 1974 deaths People from Märjamaa Estonian men's footballers Estonia men's international footballers FC Tskhinvali players Men's association football defenders