Nõmme Kalju FC
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Nõmme Kalju FC (), commonly known as Nõmme Kalju, or simply as Kalju (Estonian: "rock" or "cliff"), is a professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Nõmme Nõmme ( Estonian for ' heath') is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 39,422 () and covers an area of , population density is . The district is largely a middle-class, suburban ...
,
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
, that competes in the
Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (), officially known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, and commonly known as the Premium Liiga, is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded i ...
, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is
Hiiu Stadium Hiiu Stadium () is a Association football, football stadium in Tallinn, Estonia. Opened in 1936, it is the home ground of Nõmme Kalju FC. The stadium is located about 8 km southwest of the city centre, in the district of Nõmme. The address of th ...
. Founded in 1923, Nõmme Kalju first played in the Estonian top division from 1925 until 1927, but were dissolved in 1944 due to the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Re-established in 1997, the club has played in the Meistriliiga since the 2008 season and have not been relegated since. Kalju have won two Meistriliiga titles (
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
and
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
), two
Estonian Cup The Estonian Cup () 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 qualifying round. Finals ...
s ( 2014–15 and 2024–25), and one
Estonian Supercup The Estonian Supercup () 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 Estonian Cup, then the league ...
(2019).


History


Founding and re-establishment (1923–2007)

Nõmme Kalju football club was founded in 1923 as a division of the Kalju Sports Club by two professional wrestlers, Aleksander Šneider and Mart Liiv. Kalju debuted in the Estonian top division in 1925, finishing fifth, and remained in the championship until 1927. In 1936, the club opened
Hiiu Stadium Hiiu Stadium () is a Association football, football stadium in Tallinn, Estonia. Opened in 1936, it is the home ground of Nõmme Kalju FC. The stadium is located about 8 km southwest of the city centre, in the district of Nõmme. The address of th ...
. Nõmme Kalju was first closed down in 1940 after the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, but was re-established a year later during the German occupation. The club was dissolved again in 1944 after Soviet Union retook Estonia and Kalju's club building was destroyed by the first Soviet tank that had reached Nõmme. The club was re-established in 1997 by the former Estonia national team manager
Uno Piir Uno Piir (12 November 1929 – 4 May 2025) was an Estonian association football, football coach and player. He was the first manager of the Estonia national football team, Estonia national team after the Soviet occupation. In 1997, together with ...
, Anton Siht and
Värner Lootsmann Värner Lootsmann (born August 18, 1945 in Kasispea) is an Estonian politician from Harju County. Political activity Lootsmann was a member of the Estonian Liberal Democratic Party in 199091 and has been a member of the Estonian Centre Party ...
. Nõmme Kalju joined the
Estonian football league system Football in Estonia is governed by the Estonian Football Association (Eesti Jalgpalli Liit). The EJL controls the domestic club championships (Meistriliiga, II liiga, III liiga, IV liiga; Naiste Meistriliiga, Naiste Esiliiga, Naiste II liiga), ...
and began competing in the Northern division of the III liiga. The club finished their first season in second place, while
Joel Lindpere Joel Lindpere (born 5 October 1981) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. Lindpere played as a midfielder for Nõmme Kalju, Lelle, Flora, Valga, CSKA Sofia, Tromsø, New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire, and Baník Ost ...
was the top goalscorer with 13 goals. Nõmme Kalju played in the III liiga for eight consecutive seasons. In 2002, Kuno Tehva acquired the club with a goal of establishing a professional football club. Nõmme Kalju were promoted to the third tier
II liiga II liiga is the fourth level of football league competition in Estonia arranged by the Estonian Football Association. It consists of 28 teams, divided geographically into two divisions with 14 teams each in group North/East and South/West. Until ...
in 2004 and to the second tier
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 ...
in 2005. Nõmme Kalju finished their first season in the Esiliiga in fifth place. In 2007,
Getúlio Fredo Getúlio Aurelio Fredo (born 22 September 1954) is a Brazilian-born football manager. Coaching career Fredo's most recent position was as the head coach of the Estonian football club Nõmme Kalju. He led the club to their first ever participat ...
was appointed as manager. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2007 season in sixth place and faced
Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...
in the promotion play-offs. The club lost their first match home 0–1 but won the second leg away 2–1 and advanced to the
Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (), officially known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, and commonly known as the Premium Liiga, is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded i ...
on away goals.


First league title (2008–2012)

In preparation for their Meistriliiga debut, Nõmme Kalju rebuilt the team by signing 16 new players. Nõmme Kalju finished their first season in the Meistriliiga in fourth place, only a point away from the third place, while
Ingemar Teever Ingemar Teever (born 24 February 1983) is an Estonian former professional footballer who last played as a forward for Estonian Meistriliiga club Levadia. Teever was the top goalscorer in the 2008 and the 2015 Meistriliiga seasons. Teever was n ...
won the top goalscorer's title with 23 goals. In 2009, the club also made its debut in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
by playing in the
2009–10 UEFA Europa League The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years. Spai ...
, where they were defeated by
Dinaburg Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
1–2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2009 season in fifth place. In 2010,
Igor Prins Igor Prins (born 21 October 1966) is an Estonian football manager and former professional player. International career Prins made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 3 June 1992 in a historic 1–1 draw against Slovenia in ...
took over as manager and Nõmme Kalju finished the 2010 season in fourth place. The club strengthened their first-team squad significantly during the 2010–11 winter transfer window by signing Estonian internationals Alo Bärengrub,
Tarmo Neemelo Tarmo Neemelo (born 10 February 1982) is an Estonian retired professional association football, footballer who last played as a Forward (association football), forward for Meistriliiga club Paide Linnameeskond. Neemelo was the top goalscorer in ...
, Eino Puri and
Kristen Viikmäe Kristen Viikmäe (born 10 February 1979) is an Estonian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He now plays beach soccer. Club career Born in Tallinn, Viikmäe started his career with FC Flora Tallinn, and has since played f ...
. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2011 season as runners-up, seven points behind champions
Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
, while Tarmo Neemelo scored 22 goals. In the 2012 season, Nõmme Kalju won their first league title, amassing 92 points.


Cup success and second league title (2013–2019)

By winning the Meistriliiga, Nõmme Kalju also qualified to the
2013–14 UEFA Champions League The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was ...
qualifying phase. Nõmme Kalju defeated HJK in the second qualifying round 2–1 on aggregate, but subsequently lost to
Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...
2–10 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. The team failed to defend their Meistriliiga title in the 2013 season, finishing as runners-up, despite
Vladimir Voskoboinikov Vladimir Voskoboinikov (born 2 February 1983) is a retired Estonian professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Club career Voskoboinikov began his career at Puuma in Estonia where he played from 1991 until 2000. At the age of 18 ...
winning the goalscoring title with 23 goals. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2014 season with a disappointing fourth place, following which Igor Prins was sacked and replaced by former player
Sergei Terehhov Sergei Terehhov (born 18 April 1975) is an Estonian Association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former professional football player, player. Club career His former clubs include JK Tervis Pärnu, Tervis Pärnu, Pärnu JK Kalev, Pärn ...
. Under Terehhov, the team had a successful start, winning first nine league games and winning their first
Estonian Cup The Estonian Cup () 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 qualifying round. Finals ...
trophy, defeating
Paide Linnameeskond Paide Linnameeskond, or simply Paide, is an Estonian professional football club based in Paide that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Paide linnastaadion. Founded in 2004, the club has ...
2–0 in the finals. In September 2015, Terehhov resigned after poor results in the Meistriliiga, with Getúlio Fredo taking over as caretaker manager. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2015 season in third place. In November 2015, it was confirmed that Sergei Frantsev would be hired as manager after the season. Under Frantsev, the team finished third in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
and
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, before winning the Meistriliiga for the second time in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
without losing a single match, amassing 86 points in 36 matches. In March 2019, Kalju lifted their first
Estonian Supercup The Estonian Supercup () 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 Estonian Cup, then the league ...
by defeating Levadia 3–2. Less than two months later, on 25 April 2019, Frantsev was sacked after a poor start to the 2019 league season, with Roman Kozhukhovskyi taking over as caretaker manager, before being hired permanently on 14 June. Kalju finished the 2019 league season in third place.


Recent history (2020–present)

Nõmme Kalju appointed
Marko Kristal Marko Kristal (born 2 June 1973) is an Estonian football manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofi ...
as head coach for
2020 The year 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 even ...
and finished fourth in the league. After the season, Kalju were forced to move away from their home ground Hiiu Stadium due to planned renovation, ultimately resulting in Kalju having to play their home matches across different stadiums in Tallinn throughout the next four seasons, as the construction project was delayed for nearly three years. For the
2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, Sergei Frantsev returned to helm of the team, but was dismissed at the end of the year and replaced with Portuguese coach Eddie Cardoso, who was sacked before the end of the following season. For the third consecutive year, Kalju finished the 2022 season in fourth place, before finishing 5th in
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, their first outside of the top four finish since 2009. Kalju returned to Hiiu Stadium in May 2024 and finished the 2024 season in second place, with Alex Matthias Tamm winning the league's top scorer award with 28 goals.


Crest and colours

The original club crest was most likely created in 1922, when the Kalju Sports Club was founded, although the author of crest remains unknown. The crest was remade by artist Martin Lazarev, who preserved all the historical elements, but gave the crest a finished shape and form. Nõmme Kalju's uniforms have traditionally been black and white. In the 2000s, Nõmme Kalju also adopted the colour of pink, leading to the nickname Pink Panthers. File:Kalju.png, Earliest crest File:Kaljublack.png, –2017 File:Nõmme Kalju logo.png, 2018–2023 File:Nõmme Kalju FC logo 2024.png, 2024–


Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors


Stadium


Hiiu Stadium

Hiiu Stadium has been the traditional home ground of Nõmme Kalju since its opening in 1936 until the club's dissolution in 1944 due to the Soviet occupation of Estonia, and again since the club's re-establishment in 1997. Located approximately 8 km southwest of the
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
city centre and in the district of
Nõmme Nõmme ( Estonian for ' heath') is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 39,422 () and covers an area of , population density is . The district is largely a middle-class, suburban ...
, it has an
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
surface and has undergone several renovation periods, most recently in 2023–2024.


Kadriorg Stadium

From 2012 to 2014, and for home European matches, Nõmme Kalju played at the larger Kadriorg Stadium. Located in
Kadriorg Kadriorg ( Estonian for ' Catherine's Valley') is a subdistrict in the district of Kesklinn ("Midtown"), Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 4,561 (). The subdistrict name derives from the Catherinethal, a Baroque palace of ...
, the stadium was built from 1922 to 1926 and is one of the oldest football stadiums in Estonia. With a capacity of over 5,000, Kadriorg could seat 10 times as many spectators as the Hiiu Stadium.


Rivalries


Kalju–Flora rivalry

Nõmme Kalju's deepest rivalry is with
FC Flora FC Flora, commonly known as Flora Tallinn, or simply as Flora, is an Estonian professional football club based in Tallinn that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Lilleküla Stadium. Fo ...
and the fixture is known as ''raudteederbi'' (). The name derives from the fact that the stadiums of the two clubs are connected via a railway. The rivalry emerged in the early 2010s, when Kalju started challenging Flora in terms of on-field success, as well as in fan popularity. Throughout the years, the rivalry has also intensified due to an enmity between Kalju's president Kuno Tehva and Flora's founder Aivar Pohlak. Flora's signing of Kalju's homegrown players
Henrik Pürg Henrik Pürg (born 3 June 1996) is a former Estonian professional footballer who played as a centre back for Meistriliiga club Flora and the Estonia national team. International career Pürg made his senior international debut for Estonia on 1 ...
and Vlasiy Sinyavskiy in 2018 caused a further strife in the relationship of the two clubs, as Nõmme Kalju claimed Flora had approached the players before the start of the allowed six month pre-contract agreement period. Since then, no transfer deals have taken place between the two clubs. The fixture's attendance record of 3,521 was set in the 2013 Estonian Cup final.


Players


First-team squad

''For season transfers, see transfers summer 2024.''


Reserves and academy


Club officials


Current technical staff


Managerial history


Honours


League

*
Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (), officially known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, and commonly known as the Premium Liiga, is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded i ...
** Winners (2):
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...


Cups

*
Estonian Cup The Estonian Cup () 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 qualifying round. Finals ...
** Winners (2): 2014–15, 2024–25 *
Estonian Supercup The Estonian Supercup () 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 Estonian Cup, then the league ...
** Winners (1): 2019


Seasons and statistics


Seasons


Europe


References


External links

*
Nõmme Kalju
at Estonian Football Association {{Meistriliiga 1923 establishments in Estonia Association football clubs established in 1923 Association football clubs established in 1997 Football clubs in Tallinn Meistriliiga clubs