Eduard Eelma (7 April 1902 – 16 November 1941) until 1937 Eduard-Vilhelm Ellmann, was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n footballer — one of the most famous before World War II. He played 60 times for Estonia national football team and with 21 goals, was their record goalscorer during the country's first period of independence. Eduard Eelma's international career lasted from 1921 to 1935 and his goalscoring record of 21 international goals was only beaten in 2002 by Indrek Zelinski, and later by Andres Oper. He also participated in the Football at the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Eduard Eelma was arrested by NKVD in Tallinn in summer 1941, sentenced to death and executed in Prison No. 1 in Kirov, Kirov Oblast, Kirov on 16 November 1941.

Club career

Ellmann-Eelma joined JK Tallinna Kalev, Kalev when he was 17 years old. They were crowned the Estonian champions in 1923 Estonian Football Championship, 1923, after Ellmann-Eelma scored two goals in their victorious 6–0 final against Tartu ASK. In 1925, he joined Tallinna JK, TJK and won the Estonian Championship in 1926 Estonian Football Championship, 1926 and 1928 Estonian Football Championship, 1928, again scoring twice in both of the finals. In 1930, Eduard Ellmann-Eelma became one of the founding members of JS Estonia Tallinn. He captained the club to two Estonian Championship titles in 1934 Estonian Football Championship, 1934 and 1935 Estonian Football Championship, 1935, before retiring after the end of the triumphant 1935 season.

International career

Ellmann-Eelma made his debut for the Estonia national football team in their first-ever home match, when Estonia drew 0–0 with Sweden men's national football team, Sweden at the Tiigiveski Ground on 23 July 1921. He also took part in the Football at the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where Estonia faced United States men's national soccer team, USA in the opening round. In the second half of the match, Ellmann-Eelma earned a penalty for Estonia, but it was missed by his teammate Elmar Kaljot and Estonia ultimately lost the match 0–1. In total, Eduard Eelma made 60 appearances for the national team and scored 21 goals, a record number during Estonia's first period of independence. Out of those 21 goals, ten were scored against Lithuania national football team, Lithuania, eight against Latvia national football team, Latvia, two against Sweden men's national football team, Sweden and one against Finland national football team, Finland. Eelma's goalscoring record was beaten in 2002 by Indrek Zelinski, and is now held by Andres Oper.

Statistics

International

Honours

Kalev * Meistriliiga#Estonian champions, Estonian champion: 1923 Estonian Football Championship, 1923 TJK * Meistriliiga#Estonian champions, Estonian champion: 1926 Estonian Football Championship, 1926, 1928 Estonian Football Championship, 1928 JS Estonia Tallinn * Meistriliiga#Estonian champions, Estonian champion: 1934 Estonian Football Championship, 1934, 1935 Estonian Football Championship, 1935 Estonia * Baltic Cup (football), Baltic Cup: 1929 Baltic Cup, 1929, 1931 Baltic Cup, 1931

External links

History of Eduard Ellman-Eelma on rsssf.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eelma, Eduard 1902 births 1941 deaths Footballers from Saint Petersburg Estonian men's footballers Estonia men's international footballers Estonian people executed by the Soviet Union Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Estonia JK Tallinna Kalev players Men's association football forwards JS Estonia Tallinn players