Raio Piiroja (born 11 July 1979) is an Estonian former 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 ...

. He played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Pärnu/Kalev,

Lelle Lelle is a small borough (') in Kehtna Parish, Rapla County, in central Estonia. It has a station on the Tallinn - Viljandi railway line operated by Elron, and until December 2018 was the junction with the former branch to Pärnu. As of 2011 C ...

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 ...

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

, Vitesse and

Chengdu Blades Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. () was a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, China who last played in the 26,000 seater Shuangliu Sports Center in the China League One division. The club was founded on 26 February 1996 and was formerly ...

. Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 21 November 1998 in a friendly 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 ...

. He was team

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 ...

from 2008 to 2011, and made a total of 113 appearances for Estonia before retiring in 2013. On 31 March 2015, Piiroja made his 114th and final appearance for Estonia in his

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. Known for his leadership and ability in the air, Piiroja was 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 ...

five times, in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Club career

Early career

Piiroja started playing football with his hometown club Rivaal, before moving to

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

. He made his

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 ...

debut on 16 July 1995, five days after his 16th birthday, against Eesti Põlevkivi in the opening match of the season. 10 days later, on 26 July 1995, Piiroja scored his first goal in the Meistriliiga in a 4–2 defeat against

Narva Trans JK Narva Trans, commonly known as Narva Trans or just Trans, are a professional Estonian association football club based in Narva that compete in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Narva Kreenholm St ...

and became the youngest goalscorer in Meistriliiga history at the age of 16 years and 15 days.

Flora

In 1996, Piiroja joined

, a team affiliated with

. He played for

from 1997 until 1999, when he was promoted to Flora's first team. With Flora, Piiroja won his first Meistriliiga title in the 2001 season. He won his second consecutive Meistriliiga title in the 2002 season and was named Estonian Player of the Year for the first time.

Vålerenga (loan)

In 2003, Piiroja joined Norwegian

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

side

on loan.

Fredrikstad

In August 2004, Piiroja signed a contract with Tippeligaen side

. On 12 November 2006, he scored twice in the 2006 Norwegian Football Cup Final against

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

as Fredrikstad won 3–0. In 2007, Piiroja extended his contract for four more years. During his time with Fredrikstad, Piiroja won four consecutive Estonian Player of the Year awards, in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Fredrikstad finished the 2009 season in 14th place and were relegated from the Tippeligaen after a 2–0 loss against

Sarpsborg 08 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, the ...

in the play-offs. Fredrikstad returned to the Norwegian top division after a season, with Piiroja scoring in both legs of an 8–1 aggregate win against

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008, ...

in the promotion play-offs.

Vitesse

On 31 August 2011, Piiroja signed a one-year contract, with an option of extension for another season, at

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side Vitesse.

Chengdu Blades

On 18 February 2013, Piiroja signed for

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

team

International career

Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 21 November 1998, in a 2–1 loss against

in a friendly, replacing

Viktor Alonen Viktor Alonen (born 21 March 1969) is an Estonian professional footballer, who currently plays for Türi Ganvix JK. He spent the prime years of his career playing for Flora Tallinn. International career He won a total of 71 international caps fo ...

in the 85th minute of the match. Piiroja soon established himself as Estonia's first choice centre-back. In 2008, he succeeded

Martin Reim Martin Reim (born 14 May 1971) is an Estonian football manager and former professional player. Reim played as a central midfielder for Lõvid, Sport Tallinn, Norma, Flora, KTP and the Estonia national team. He is Estonia's most capped player ...

as team

. On 25 March 2011, Piiroja made his 100th appearance in a 2–0 win over

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in a friendly. He was sent off by referee

Viktor Kassai Viktor Kassai (''Kassai Viktor'', Hungarian pronunciation: ; born 10 September 1975) is a Hungarian football official and a former referee who is the current head of refereeing department of the Bulgarian Football Union. He participated in the ...

in the 76th minute of the first leg of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, which Estonia went on to lose 5–1 on aggregate. Piiroja ended his international career in October 2013, but made one final appearance for Estonia on 31 March 2015, in his

against

. He made a total of 114 appearances and scored 8 goals.

Personal life

Piiroja married his long-time girlfriend Marje in 2005. They divorced in 2015. Outside of football, Piiroja enjoys

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and is an avid

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

. On 1 June 2016, Piiroja released his autobiography, ''Ninamees Raio Piiroja, õhuvõitleja'', written by sports journalist Gunnar Press.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Flora *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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 ...

: 2002 Fredrikstad *

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

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 ...

Individual *

: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 * EST Order of the White Star - 5th 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 ...

, 5th Class

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piiroja, Raio 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Pärnu Association football defenders Estonian footballers Estonia international footballers FC Flora players Meistriliiga players Vålerenga Fotball players Fredrikstad FK players SBV Vitesse players Estonian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Norway Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Eliteserien players Eredivisie players FIFA Century Club Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. players China League One players Estonian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Estonian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate footballers in China Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class JK Tervis Pärnu players