Nõmme Kalju FC

Nõmme Kalju FC (), commonly known as Nõmme Kalju, or simply as Kalju (Estonian: "rock" or "cliff"), is a professional football club based in Nõmme, Tallinn, that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Hiiu Stadium.

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 and 2018), two Estonian Cups ( 2014–15 and 2024–25), and one Estonian Supercup (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. 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, Anton Siht and Värner Lootsmann. Nõmme Kalju joined the Estonian football league system and began competing in the Northern division of the III liiga. The club finished their first season in second place, while Joel Lindpere 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 in 2004 and to the second tier Esiliiga in 2005. Nõmme Kalju finished their 2006 Esiliiga, first season in the Esiliiga in fifth place. In 2007, Getúlio Fredo was appointed as manager. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2007 Esiliiga, 2007 season in sixth place and faced FC Kuressaare, Kuressaare 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 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 2008 Meistriliiga, first season in the Meistriliiga in fourth place, only a point away from the third place, while Ingemar Teever won the top goalscorer's title with 23 goals. In 2009, the club also made its debut in UEFA, Europe by playing in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, where they were defeated by Dinaburg FC, Dinaburg 1–2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2009 Meistriliiga, 2009 season in fifth place. In 2010, Igor Prins took over as manager and Nõmme Kalju finished the 2010 Meistriliiga, 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, Eino Puri and Kristen Viikmäe. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2011 Meistriliiga, 2011 season as runners-up, seven points behind champions FC Flora, Flora, while Tarmo Neemelo scored 22 goals. In the 2012 Meistriliiga, 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 qualifying phase. Nõmme Kalju defeated HJK Helsinki, HJK in the second qualifying round 2–1 on aggregate, but subsequently lost to FC Viktoria Plzeň, Viktoria Plzeň 2–10 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. The team failed to defend their Meistriliiga title in the 2013 Meistriliiga, 2013 season, finishing as runners-up, despite Vladimir Voskoboinikov winning the goalscoring title with 23 goals. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2014 Meistriliiga, 2014 season with a disappointing fourth place, following which Igor Prins was sacked and replaced by former player Sergei Terehhov. Under Terehhov, the team had a successful start, winning first nine league games and winning their first 2014–15 Estonian Cup, Estonian Cup trophy, defeating Paide Linnameeskond 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 Meistriliiga, 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 Meistriliiga, 2016 and 2017 Meistriliiga, 2017, before winning the Meistriliiga for the second time in 2018 without losing a single match, amassing 86 points in 36 matches. In March 2019, Kalju lifted their first Estonian Supercup by defeating FCI Levadia Tallinn, Levadia 3–2. Less than two months later, on 25 April 2019, Frantsev was sacked after a poor start to the 2019 Meistriliiga, 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 as head coach for 2020 Meistriliiga, 2020 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 Meistriliiga, 2021 season, 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 Meistriliiga, 2022 season in fourth place, before finishing 5th in 2023 Meistriliiga, 2023, their first outside of the top four finish since 2009. Kalju returned to Hiiu Stadium in May 2024 and finished the 2024 Meistriliiga, 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 city centre and in the district of Nõmme, it has an artificial turf 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, 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 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 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 Transfer (association football)#Other types of transfers, 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 List of Estonian football transfers summer 2024, transfers summer 2024.''

Reserves and academy

Club officials

Current technical staff

Managerial history

Honours

League

* Meistriliiga
** Winners (2): 2012, 2018

Cups

* Estonian Cup
** Winners (2): 2014–15, 2024–25
* Estonian Supercup
** Winners (1): 2019

Seasons and statistics

Seasons

Europe

References

External links

*

Nõmme Kalju
at Estonian Football Association

{{Meistriliiga

Nõmme Kalju FC,
1923 establishments in Estonia
Association football clubs established in 1923
Association football clubs established in 1997
Football clubs in Tallinn
Meistriliiga clubs