Ragnar Klavan (born 30 October 1985) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Estonian club Paide Linnameeskond and the Estonia national team. A left-footed centre back, he has also played as a left back during his career. Klavan played for Elva, Tulevik and Flora in Estonia, winning the Meistriliiga with Flora in the 2003 season, before moving to the Netherlands where he represented

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

and AZ, winning the Eredivisie with the latter in the 2008–09 season. In 2012, he transferred to FC Augsburg and spent four seasons in the Bundesliga before his move to Liverpool in 2016 for €5 million. In 2018, Klavan signed for

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

in a transfer worth £2 million. In 2021, he returned to Estonia signing for Paide Linnameeskond. Klavan made his senior international debut for Estonia in 2003, and became

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 ...

in 2012. In 2015, he became the ninth player to make 100 appearances for Estonia, and is currently the fifth-most capped player in the history of the national team. Klavan has won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award a record seven times, in 2012 and from 2014 to 2019.

Early life

Klavan was born on 30 October 1985 in Viljandi, Estonia to Tiina and Dzintar Klavan. His father was a professional footballer who played as a midfielder and represented the Estonia national team. Klavan also started playing football as a midfielder; later stating that Zinedine Zidane was his inspiration.

Club career

Tulevik

Klavan started out playing for his hometown team Tulevik. He made his senior league debut in the

Esiliiga The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B. As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends i ...

on 8 April 2001, playing for Tulevik's reserve team Elva and scoring the winning goal against

Sillamäe Kalev Sillamäe (Estonian for 'Bridge Hill'; also known by the Germanised names of ''Sillamäggi'' or ''Sillamägi'') is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of 1 ...

in a 2–1 home victory. He moved to Tulevik's first team in 2002 and made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 31 March 2002, at age 16, in a goalless draw against

Levadia Livadeia ( el, Λιβαδειά ''Livadiá'', ; grc, Λεβάδεια, Lebadeia or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-eas ...

. While at Tulevik, Klavan had a trial with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, but was not offered a contract.

Flora

In July 2003, Klavan joined Meistriliiga club Flora. He made his debut for the club on 11 July 2003, when he came on as a 67th-minute substitute and scored on the 85th minute of a 4–4 away draw against TVMK. Klavan won the Meistriliiga title in the 2003 season.

Vålerenga (loan)

On 31 August 2004, Klavan joined Norwegian club Vålerenga on a three-month loan for a fee of 300,000 NOK, with an option to sign permanently for €500,000 when the loan period is over. He made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 19 September 2004, coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute of a 4–1 victory over

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

. Klavan made one more league appearance before spending two matches on the bench as an unused substitute. On 19 November 2004, his loan was extended for a year until 30 November 2005.

Heracles Almelo

On 4 August 2005, Klavan signed a three-year contract with Eredivisie club

for a fee of €200,000. He made his debut in the Eredivisie on 13 August 2005, in a 1–1 home draw against

PSV PSV may refer to: * Partial specific volume * PlayStation Vita, a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment * Petit Saint Vincent, an island south of St. Vincent in the Grenadine islands * Platform supply vessel, a specific typ ...

. Klavan scored his first Eredivisie goal on 31 December 2006, in a 2–2 home draw against Vitesse, and provided the assist for Everton's goal in the same match. He scored his second goal on 24 August 2007, in a 2–1 loss to Roda JC. 30 October 2007, Klavan scored in a 3–0 home victory over FC Omniworld in the third round of the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

. On 29 December 2007, Klavan signed a new contract that would extend his stay at the club until 30 June 2009. On 20 April 2008, he scored his side's only goal in a 5–1 loss to Ajax in the last match of the 2007–08 season. In the opening match of the 2008–09 season on 31 August 2008, Klavan set-up

Darl Douglas Darl Douglas (born 5 October 1979) is a Surinamese former professional footballer who played as a winger. Club career After coming through the Ajax' youth system, Douglas played professionally for RBC, Haarlem, Heracles and FC Utrecht, before ...

' opening goal and scored the second goal in a 3–1 home victory over Feyenoord.

AZ

On 27 January 2009, Klavan joined AZ on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season with an option to sign permanently. He made his debut for the club on 4 February 2009, in a 1–0 home victory over Roda JC when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute for

Kees Luijckx Kees Luijckx (; born 11 February 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He earned 7 caps with the Netherlands U21 youth team. Club career Born in Beverwijk, North Holland. Luijckx began his career in his ho ...

. On 14 February, Klavan signed a four-year contract, keeping him with AZ until June 2013. Klavan won the Eredivisie title in the 2008–09 season. On 29 September 2009, Klavan became the first Estonian to play in the UEFA Champions League group stage when he came on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Sébastien Pocognoli in a 1–1 home draw against Standard Liège. He saw limited playing time under managers Ronald Koeman and Dick Advocaat, making only 11 league appearances in the 2009–10 season, before becoming a regular starter for AZ under Gertjan Verbeek. On 29 July 2010, Klavan scored his first goal for AZ in a 2–0 home win against IFK Göteborg in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. He scored the third goal in a 3–0 home victory over

FC Eindhoven FC Eindhoven is a Dutch football club based in Eindhoven, North Brabant. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie (second tier of Dutch football), and are one of two professional clubs which are based in the city of Eindhoven, the other one bei ...

on 10 November 2010, in the fourth round of the

. On 27 October 2011, Klavan scored his side's second goal in the 3–2 extra time win against

FC Dordrecht Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...

in the third round of the

FC Augsburg

On 2 July 2012, Klavan signed a two-year contract with German club FC Augsburg for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the Bundesliga on 14 September 2012, when he came on as a 67th-minute substitute for

Matthias Ostrzolek Matthias Ostrzolek (born 5 June 1990) is a German professional football coacn and a player who plays as a left-back. He is currently the player-manager of Regionalliga Bayern club TSV Schwaben Augsburg. Early life Ostrzolek's parents emigrated ...

in a 0–0 home draw against VfL Wolfsburg. Klavan soon became a first team regular, establishing himself as a first choice centre back alongside

Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker (born 23 September 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Career Callsen-Bracker joined TSV Bollingstedt and SV Beuel 06 before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 1998. In 2011, Callse ...

. He scored his first Bundesliga goal on 1 March 2014, in a 1–1 home draw against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

. On 10 May 2014, Klavan scored in a 2–1 home victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. On 8 February 2015, Klavan scored the opening goal in a 2–2 home draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. Six days later, he scored in a 3–2 away loss to Werder Bremen. Klavan played every minute of the 2014–15 season as FC Augsburg finished fifth in the league, their highest position in history, and qualified for the

2015–16 UEFA Europa League The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2016 UEFA Europa League Final w ...

Liverpool

On 20 July 2016, Klavan signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Liverpool for a reported fee of £4.2 million (€5 million). The transfer fee of €5 million made him the most expensive Estonian footballer ever. The club confirmed that he would wear the number 17 shirt. Klavan made his debut in the Premier League on 14 August 2016, in a 4–3 victory over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 20 September 2016, in a 3–0 away victory over Derby County in the third round of the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. On 19 December 2016, Klavan was named man of the match for his performance in Liverpool's 1–0 victory in the derby match against Everton at Goodison Park. On 1 January 2018, Klavan became the first-ever Estonian player to score in the Premier League when he scored the winning goal in the fourth minute of injury time in a 2–1 away win against Burnley. He made eight appearances in the

2017–18 UEFA Champions League The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

and was an unused substitute in Liverpool's 3–1 loss to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in the final of the tournament.

Cagliari

On 17 August 2018, Klavan signed a two-year contract with Italian club

for a fee of £2 million. He made his debut in the Serie A on 26 August, in a 2–2 home draw against Sassuolo.

Paide Linnameeskond

On 1 July 2021, Klavan signed for Estonian Meistriliiga club Paide Linnameeskond, returning to Estonia after 17 years abroad. He made his debut for the club in a 2–1 loss against Śląsk Wrocław in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifing match and his league debut ended 0–0 against the defending champion FC Flora on 31 July. In the next game against Viljandi Tulevik he scored two goals.

International career

Klavan began his youth career in 1999 with the Estonia under-15 team. He also represented the under-17, under-18,

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

, and under-21 national sides, amassing 22 youth appearances overall. Klavan made his senior international debut for Estonia on 3 July 2003, at age 17, in 5–1 loss to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

at the

2003 Baltic Cup The 2003 in football (soccer), 2003 Baltic Cup (football), Baltic Cup Football (soccer), football competition took place from 3 to 5 July 2003 at two venues in Estonia. It was the tenth competition of the three Baltic states – Latvia nation ...

. He scored his first international goal on 31 May 2006, in a 1–1 home draw against New Zealand in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

. Klavan made his 50th appearance for the national team on 11 October 2008, in a 3–0 home defeat to Spain in a qualification match for the

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. He played in both matches against the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs as Estonia lost 5–1 on aggregate. On 29 February 2012, Klavan captained Estonia for the first time and scored in a 2–0 friendly victory over

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. In 2012, he succeeded Raio Piiroja as Estonia's captain. On 27 March 2015, Klavan made his 100th appearance for Estonia, in a 0–3 away loss to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match. Klavan has been named Estonian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Personal life

Klavan and his wife, Lili Orel, married on 10 June 2011. They have two sons: Romer and Ronan. In May 2016, Klavan became president of Estonian football club

Tallinna Kalev Kalev Tallinn is a multi-sport club in Tallinn, Estonia. The club was formed as Jalgpalliselts Meteor (Football Union Meteor) in 1909 and changed to its present name in 1911, when it joined the all-Estonian sports organisation Estonian Sports Asso ...

. On 19 December 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Flora * Meistriliiga:

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

AZ * Eredivisie: 2008–09 Liverpool * UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2017–18 Paide Linnameeskond * Estonian Cup: 2021–22 Individual * Estonian Footballer of the Year: (7) 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klavan, Ragnar 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Viljandi Estonian footballers Association football defenders Esiliiga players FC Elva players Meistriliiga players Viljandi JK Tulevik players FC Flora players Paide Linnameeskond players Eliteserien players Vålerenga Fotball players Eredivisie players Heracles Almelo players AZ Alkmaar players Bundesliga players FC Augsburg players Premier League players Liverpool F.C. players Serie A players Cagliari Calcio players Estonia youth international footballers Estonia under-21 international footballers Estonia international footballers FIFA Century Club Estonian expatriate footballers Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in Norway Estonian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Estonian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy