Nõmme Kalju FC

Nõmme Kalju
Full name Nõmme Kalju FC
Nickname(s) Roosad Pantrid (Pink Panthers)
Founded 1923 (1923)
Re-established in 1997 (1997)
Ground Hiiu Stadium
Capacity 650[1]
President Kuno Tehva
Manager Sergei Frantsev
League Meistriliiga
2017 Meistriliiga, 3rd
Website Club website

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

Founded in 1923 and re-established in 1997, the club has played in the Meistriliiga since the 2008 season and have never been relegated from the Estonian top division. Nõmme Kalju have won one Meistriliiga and one Estonian Cup trophy.

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. The club's home ground was Hiiu Stadium in Nõmme and the club remained active until World War II.

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 first season in the Esiliiga in fifth place. In 2007, Fredo Getúlio was appointed as manager. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2007 season in sixth place and faced 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.[2]

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 won the top goalscorer's title with 23 goals. In 2009, the club also made its debut in Europe by playing in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, where they were defeated by Dinaburg 1–2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2009 season in fifth place. In 2010, Igor Prins 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, Eino Puri and Kristen Viikmäe. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2011 season as runners-up, seven points behind champions Flora, while Tarmo Neemelo scored 22 goals. In the 2012 season, Nõmme Kalju won their first league title, amassing 92 points.[2]

Recent history (2013–present)

By winning the Meistriliiga, Nõmme Kalju also qualified to the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase. Nõmme Kalju defeated HJK in the second qualifying round 2–1 on aggregate, but subsequently lost to Viktoria Plzeň 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 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. Under Terehhov, the team had a successful start, winning first nine league games and winning their first Estonian Cup trophy, defeating Paide Linnameeskond 2–0 in the finals.[2] In September 2015, Terehhov resigned after poor results in the Meistriliiga, with Fredo Getúlio 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.[3] Under Frantsev, Nõmme Kalju reached the third qualifying round in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, but failed to improve results in the Meistriliiga, finishing third in 2016 and 2017.

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.[4]

Stadium

Hiiu Stadium is the home ground of Nõmme Kalju
Kadriorg Stadium

Hiiu Stadium

Hiiu Stadium has been the historic home ground of Nõmme Kalju since 1923. It is a multi-purpose stadium currently owned by the Nõmme district and are operated by Nõmme Sports Centre.[5][6] The stadium was completely renovated and re-opened in 2002, having an artificial turf. The stadium is located at Pidu 11, in Nõmme, Tallinn.[1]

Kadriorg Stadium

From 2012 to 2014, Nõmme Kalju played at the larger Kadriorg Stadium. Located in Kadriorg, the stadium was built from 1922–1926 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.[7][8]

Players

First-team squad

As of 1 August 2018[9][10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Estonia GK Vitali Teleš (captain)
2 Estonia DF Martin Mägi
4 Estonia DF Vladimir Avilov
5 Italy DF Maximiliano Uggè (vice-captain)
6 Estonia MF Deniss Tjapkin
7 France MF Réginald Mbu Alidor
9 Estonia MF Nikolai Mašitšev
11 Brazil FW Liliu
15 Estonia MF Igor Subbotin
16 Estonia FW Jevgeni Demidov
17 Estonia FW Robert Kirss
20 Estonia MF Aleksandr Volkov
No. Position Player
21 Estonia FW Peeter Klein
22 Estonia DF Trevor Elhi
23 Croatia MF Marko Brtan
24 Estonia DF Kermo Pihelgas
26 Ukraine DF Andriy Markovych (on loan from Karpaty Lviv)
33 Estonia FW Rimo Hunt
43 Estonia FW Kaspar Paur
44 Brazil DF William Gustavo
69 Estonia GK Henri Perk
96 Estonia GK Pavel Londak
99 Estonia FW Alex Matthias Tamm

For season transfers, see transfers winter 2017–18 and transfers summer 2018.

Reserves and academy

Club officials

Honours

League

Cup

Seasons and statistics

Seasons

Europe

References

  1. 1 2 "Hiiu kunstmurustaadion" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". Nõmme Kalju FC. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Nõmme Kalju peatreeneriks saab Sergei Frantsev" [Sergei Frantsev to be appointed head coach of Nõmme Kalju]. Postimees Sport (in Estonian). 4 November 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Logo and colours". Nõmme Kalju FC. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Hiiu Staadion". Eesti spordiregister (in Estonian). Spordikoolituse ja -teabe sihtasutus. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Hiiu Staadioni staadionihoone". Eesti spordiregister (in Estonian). 1 June 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Kadrioru staadion" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Kadrioru Staadion". Eesti spordiregister (in Estonian).
  9. ↑ "Nõmme Kalju FC" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Nõmme Kalju FC". Nõmme Kalju FC. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.