Konstantin Vassiljev (born 16 August 1984) is an Estonian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

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

club

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

the Estonia national team. Vassiljev has been named

Estonian Footballer of the Year The Estonian Footballer of the Year ( et, Eesti aasta parim jalgpallur) is an annual award given to the best performing Estonian footballer of the respective year. The award has been presented since 1992. From 1992 to 1994, the winner was chosen ...

three times, and has won the

Estonian Silverball The Estonian Silverball is an annual award by Estonian Football Journalists' Club, given to the footballer for the best goal scored for the Estonia national football team. The award was launched in 1995. Konstantin Vassiljev Konstantin Vassil ...

award a record six times.

Club career

TJK

Vassiljev began playing football at TJK youth academy. He made his senior league debut in the III liiga with TJK-83 Tallinn.

Levadia

In January 2003, Vassiljev signed for

club Levadia. He made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 15 March 2003, playing for Levadia's

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 ' ...

-based

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

against the

Maardu Maardu (german: Maart) is a town and a municipality in Harju County, Estonia. It is part of Tallinn metropolitan area. The town covers an area of 22.76 km² and has a population of 16,170 (as of 1 January 2021). The Port of Muuga, the l ...

-based Levadia team in a 1–0 loss. Vassiljev scored his first Meistriliiga goal on 13 May 2003, in a 9–3 away victory over

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. Th ...

. After the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, the Maardu team moved to Tallinn, while the Tallinn team became their new reserve team in the

Esiliiga The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B. As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends i ...

. He won his first Meistriliiga title in the 2004 season. Vassiljev

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed Levadia during the 2006 season. He won two more Meistriliiga titles, in 2006 and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Nafta Lendava

In February 2008, Vassiljev signed for

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Football in Slovenia, Slovenian football league system. ...

club Nafta Lendava. He made his debut in the PrvaLiga on 2 March 2008, in a 2–0 away loss to

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

. Vassiljev scored his first goal for Nafta Lendava on 16 March 2008, in a 2–1 away defeat to Drava Ptuj.

Koper

On 31 January 2011, Vassiljev signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with PrvaLiga champions

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

. He scored his first goal for Koper on 2 April 2011 in a 3–0 home victory over

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

Amkar Perm

On 29 August 2011, Vassiljev signed a three-year contract with

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

club

Amkar Perm FC Amkar Perm (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб "Амка́р" Пермь ) is a professional association football, football club. Originally founded in 1994, it is based in the city of Perm, Russia, Perm. It was a participant in ...

for a fee reported to be around €1 million. He made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 11 September 2011, against

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

, but had to be substituted after 44 minutes due to injury. The match ended in a 1–0 loss. Vassiljev scored his first goal for Amkar Perm on 20 August 2012, from a penalty in a 2–0 win over

Krylia Sovetov Samara PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara (russian: Профессиональный футбольный клуб «Крылья Советов» Самара) is a football club from Russia based in Samara. It returned to the Russian Premier League for the 20 ...

Piast Gliwice

On 26 August 2014, Vassiljev signed a one-year contract with

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

club

Piast Gliwice Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice () is a Polish football club based in Gliwice. In the 2018–19 season, Piast won its first Polish championship. As of 2022–23, it competes in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division. History The club wa ...

. He made his debut three days later, against

Zawisza Bydgoszcz Zawisza Bydgoszcz () is a sports club from Bydgoszcz, Poland, founded in 1946. Its name commemorates a legendary Polish 15th-century knight, Zawisza Czarny (Zawisza the Black). The club holds many sections: football, track and field athletics, b ...

, coming on as a half-time substitute for Carles Martínez, but had to be substituted himself after sustaining a knee injury in the 3–0 home win. Vassiljev scored his first goal for Piast Gliwice on 29 October 2014, in a 5–0 home victory over

GKS Bełchatów GKS Bełchatów is a Polish professional football club based in Bełchatów that currently plays in the IV liga. History GKS Bełchatów entered Poland's Klasa A in 1977 under the name of Węgiel Brunatny Bełchatów, and gained promotion to ...

in a

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

match. On 3 November 2014, he scored his first Ekstraklasa goal, in a 4–2 victory over

Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała () is a football club based in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. They currently compete in the I liga, the second tier of Polish football. History The club was essentially founded on 11 July 1997, although it can trace i ...

Jagiellonia Białystok

On 18 June 2015, Vassiljev signed a two-year contract with Ekstraklasa club

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...

. He made his first appearance for the club on 2 July 2015, starting in the 1–0 first leg victory of their

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

qualification round against

Kruoja Pakruojis FK Kruoja Pakruojis was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Pakruojis. The team first played in the A Lyga, Lithuania's top football division, in 2009. They were promoted after FBK Kaunas and Atlantas Klaipėda FK Atlantas was a Li ...

. Vassiljev scored 13 goals in the 2016–17 season, and was also the league's top assist provider with 13, while Jagiellonia Białystok finished the season as runners up.

Return to Piast Gliwice

On 3 July 2017, Vassiljev signed a three-year contract with his former club Piast Gliwice.

Flora

On 27 February 2019, Vassiljev returned to Estonia after 11 years abroad, signing a one-year contract with

. He made his debut for the club on 10 March 2019 in a 2–0 win over Tulevik. Flora won the 2019 Meistriliiga with Vassiljev scoring 12 goals. At the end of the season Vassiljev signed another one-year contract. Flora won all three Estonian cups in the season –

2020 Meistriliiga The 2020 Meistriliiga (known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs. The season began on 6 March 2020, but was suspended after the first ...

2019–20 Estonian Cup The 2019–20 Estonian Cup was the 30th season of the Estonian main domestic football knockout tournament. Flora won their eight title after defeating Narva Trans in the final. The winner of the Cup were to qualify for the first qualifying rou ...

and 2020 Estonian Supercup. They also reached the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League play-off round. At the end of the season he extended the contract for a third season with the club.

International career

Vassiljev began his youth career in 2002 with the Estonia under-19 team. He has also represented the under-21 national side. Vassiljev made his senior international debut 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 31 May 2006, in a 1–1 home draw against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in a friendly. He scored his first international goal for Estonia on 28 March 2009, in a 2–2 away draw against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

in a

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

match for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. Vassiljev soon developed into a prolific goalscorer for the national team, capable of finishing well from distance with an accurate and powerful shot. He made his 100th appearance for Estonia on 24 March 2018, in a 0–0 away draw against Armenia in a friendly. Vassiljev has been named

three times, in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and has won the

award a record six times, in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Estonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vassiljev goal.''

Honours

Levadia *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

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 ...

: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07 Flora *Meistriliiga:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

*Estonian Cup: 2019–20 *

Estonian Supercup The Estonian Supercup ( et, Eesti Superkarikas) is Estonian football's annual super cup, contested between the champions of the previous Meistriliiga season and the holders of the Estonian Cup. If the Meistriliiga champions also won the Estoni ...

: 2020,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual *

: 2010, 2011, 2013 *

: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 * EST Order of the White Star - 4th Class BAR

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

, 4th Class

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassiljev, Konstantin 1984 births Living people Footballers from Tallinn Estonian footballers Estonian people of Russian descent Association football midfielders Tallinna JK players FCI Levadia Tallinn players FCI Levadia U21 players NK Nafta Lendava players FC Koper players FC Amkar Perm players Piast Gliwice players Jagiellonia Białystok players FC Flora players Esiliiga players Meistriliiga players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Russian Premier League players Ekstraklasa players Estonian expatriate footballers Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate footballers in Slovenia Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Russia Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate footballers in Poland Estonia youth international footballers Estonia under-21 international footballers Estonia international footballers FIFA Century Club Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class

Club career

TJK

Levadia

Nafta Lendava

Koper

Amkar Perm

Piast Gliwice

Jagiellonia Białystok

Return to Piast Gliwice

Flora

International career

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links