Erik Endel Paartalu (born 3 May 1986) is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He has played professionally in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Club career

NSL

Paartalu began his career with Northern Spirit in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

, after stints with the Spirit youth team and the

New South Wales Institute of Sport The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high-performance-sports training institute in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides coaching, performance support, and daily training environments to help t ...

. His NSL career at the Spirit was however limited to a single appearance as a substitute on 11 January 2004 against the

Melbourne Knights Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league ...

. After the dissolution of the Northern Spirit, Paartalu moved to the Northern Tigers in the New South Wales Winter Super League where he played 17 matches scoring four goals in the 2004 season. During 2004 Paartalu moved to the

Parramatta Eagles Parramatta Football Club, commonly known as Parramatta Melita Eagles or just Melita, are a semi-professional Australian Association football, soccer club based in South Granville, New South Wales, South Granville, New South Wales. The club was e ...

who were then playing in the

National Premier Leagues NSW The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier L ...

. He continued with the Eagles until the latter half of the 2006 season, before he decided to take his chances on a career in the United Kingdom.

Scotland

After a trial with

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in League One it was expected he would sign a contract until the departure of manager

Dave Penney David Mark Penney (born 17 August 1964) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Penney entered professional football at the relatively late age of 21. He had been working as a bricklayer an ...

put an end to the deal. Arriving at Gretna in September Paartalu was signed on a short-term contract after a trial. A number of impressive performances led to a two-and-a-half-year contract being signed in January 2007. Paartalu joined Stirling Albion on 1 January 2008 on a loan deal from Gretna until the end of the 2007/2008 season. Paartalu made his debut for ''the Binos'' against

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on 5 January 2008 at New Douglas Park. In his second game he scored his first and only goal for the club, in a 4–1 defeat to Livingston. Paartalu was released by Gretna in March 2008 due to them entering administration. He then joined Greenock Morton. After helping Morton stay in the First Division, Paartalu signed a two-year deal at the end of April 2008 to keep him at

Cappielow Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, w ...

until 2010.

Brisbane Roar

With his contract at Morton running out in the summer, Paartalu signed a pre-contract agreement with Brisbane Roar on 24 February 2010. Paartalu became an important player for Brisbane, a linchpin in the midfield and scoring crucial goals. Paartalu's defining moment at the Roar came in the 2011 A-League Grand Final, where he scored the equaliser with the last touch of the game in the 120th minute. He also went on to score the Roar's second penalty in the shootout against the Mariners. Paartalu was awarded the A-League Solo Goal of the Year for the 2010–11 season for his volley against Gold Coast United in the last game of the regular season. In Brisbane's first match of the 2011–12 finals series, Paartalu's powerful strike sealed a 2–0 win for Brisbane in the first leg against the Central Coast. Paartalu started in 85 consecutive games for Brisbane Roar in the A-League and the AFC Champions League in both the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, including the A-League finals series.Brisbane Roar player Erik Paartalu is the ironman of the team having played every game for the last two seasons
'The Courier Mail''

Tianjin Teda

On 21 January 2013 it was confirmed that Paartalu had signed a three-year deal with Tianjin Teda in the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

Muangthong United

After leaving Tianjin Teda in February 2014, Paartalu signed for Muangthong United in the

Thai Premier League The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

Melbourne City

In July 2014, Paartalu was offered a to be signed as a domestic marquee player by

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

, but he opted to see out his contract with Muangthong United. In September Newcastle Jets reopened talks with Paartalu, following the departure of Craig Goodwin from the club. However, despite the courting and lucrative offer by Newcastle Jets, on 15 September Paartalu signed a four-year deal with Melbourne City under the salary cap, saying "I want to be at a club with an ambition to be successful on and off the field and Melbourne City FC is that club." After 40 games and 7 goals for the club across nearly two season, Paartalu was released by the club to pursue opportunities in

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Following his release from Melbourne City, Paartalu joined K League Classic side

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

on a one-year deal. However, after just three months with the team, Paartalu was dropped from the squad, with coach Chio Kang-hee asking the midfielder to train alone.

Al Kharaitiyat

In October 2016, Paartalu joined Qatari Stars League club Al Kharaitiyat.

Bengaluru FC

On 5 July 2017, Paartalu joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club Bengaluru FC on a one-year deal. In November, he scored a brace against Delhi Dynamos. On 14 March 2018, his contract was extended until the end of 2020. Paartalu was part of the 2018–19 Indian Super League season winning squad and ended the following 2019–20 season as the club's highest assist getter with five contributions to his name. Paartalu signed a two-year extension to his contract with Bengaluru FC at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. "Bengaluru has held a special place in my heart for the past three years. Every time I leave the city, I am somehow drawn back to it," Paartalu said after putting pen to paper. In September 2021, Bengaluru FC announced that Paartalu and the club had parted ways.

International career

Paartalu represented Australia at the

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, was the tenth edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland from 13 to 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 19 ...

. Paartalu played in all three of Australia's three games in the tournament, including losses against Argentina and Nigeria. On 21 February 2012 he was selected to play for the "Socceroos" against

Saudi Arabia national football team The Saudi Arabia national football team (SAFF) () represents Saudi Arabia in men's international Association football, football. They are known as ''Al-Suqour Al-Arabiyyah'' (Arabian Falcons) and sometimes ''Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur'' (The Green Fa ...

in a World Cup qualification match. Paartalu also represented the Australian National Team in two games at the

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 5th edition of this regional competition, the football championship of East Asia. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2012. Mongolia were suspended from the EAFF and could not compete in any EAFF c ...

, with appearances against

and China PR.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

Gretna *

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

: 2006–07 Brisbane Roar *

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

Championship: 2010–11, 2011–12 *

Premiership: 2010–11 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motars *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

: Winner

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 ...

Bengaluru * Indian Super League : 2017-18 (Table Toppers) *

: 2018–19 (Table Toppers + Cup) *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

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 ...

International

Australia U-17 * OFC U-17 Championship:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Individual

* A-League Goal of the Year: 2010–11

References

External links

Indian Super League ProfileOzFootball profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paartalu, Erik 1986 births Living people Soccer players from Sydney Men's association football midfielders Australian expatriate men's soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in China Scottish Premier League players National Soccer League (Australia) players A-League Men players Chinese Super League players Brisbane Roar FC players Greenock Morton F.C. players Gretna F.C. players North West Sydney Spirit FC players Stirling Albion F.C. players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Erik Paartalu Melbourne City FC players Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players Al Kharaitiyat SC players Scottish Football League players Australian people of Estonian descent Parramatta FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand K League 1 players Bengaluru FC players Qatar Stars League players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Australian expatriate sportspeople in China Australian expatriate sportspeople in India Australian men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in India 21st-century Australian sportsmen