Raio Piiroja (born 11 July 1979) is an Estonian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Pärnu/Kalev, Lelle,

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for i ...

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

, Vitesse and Chengdu Blades. Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 21 November 1998 in a friendly against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. He was team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from 2008 to 2011, and made a total of 113 appearances for Estonia before retiring in 2013. On 31 March 2015, Piiroja made his 114th and final appearance for Estonia in his

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. Known for his leadership and ability in the air, Piiroja was named Estonian Footballer of the Year five times, in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Club career

Early career

Piiroja started playing football with his hometown club Rivaal, before moving to

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

. He made his

Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (), officially known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, and commonly known as the Premium Liiga, is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded i ...

debut on 16 July 1995, five days after his 16th birthday, against

Eesti Põlevkivi Enefit Kaevandused (former names: Eesti Põlevkivi and Eesti Energia Kaevandused) was a mining company located in Jõhvi, Estonia. It was a subsidiary of Eesti Energia, an Estonian state-owned energy company. The core activity of Enefit Kaevandu ...

in the opening match of the season. 10 days later, on 26 July 1995, Piiroja scored his first goal in the Meistriliiga in a 4–2 defeat against Narva Trans and became the youngest goalscorer in Meistriliiga history at the age of 16 years and 15 days.

Flora

In 1996, Piiroja joined Lelle, a team affiliated with

. He played for Lelle from 1997 until 1999, when he was promoted to Flora's first team. With Flora, Piiroja won his first Meistriliiga title in the 2001 season. He won his second consecutive Meistriliiga title in the 2002 season and was named Estonian Player of the Year for the first time.

Vålerenga (loan)

In 2003, Piiroja joined Norwegian

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

side

on loan.

Fredrikstad

In August 2004, Piiroja signed a contract with Tippeligaen side

. On 12 November 2006, he scored twice in the 2006 Norwegian Football Cup Final against

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

as Fredrikstad won 3–0. In 2007, Piiroja extended his contract for four more years. During his time with Fredrikstad, Piiroja won four consecutive Estonian Player of the Year awards, in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Fredrikstad finished the 2009 season in 14th place and were relegated from the Tippeligaen after a 2–0 loss against Sarpsborg 08 in the play-offs. Fredrikstad returned to the Norwegian top division after a season, with Piiroja scoring in both legs of an 8–1 aggregate win against

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

in the promotion play-offs.

Vitesse

On 31 August 2011, Piiroja signed a one-year contract, with an option of extension for another season, at

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side Vitesse.

Chengdu Blades

On 18 February 2013, Piiroja signed for

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

team Chengdu Blades.

International career

Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 21 November 1998, in a 2–1 loss against

in a friendly, replacing Viktor Alonen in the 85th minute of the match. Piiroja soon established himself as Estonia's first choice centre-back. In 2008, he succeeded Martin Reim as team

. On 25 March 2011, Piiroja made his 100th appearance in a 2–0 win over

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in a friendly. He was sent off by referee Viktor Kassai in the 76th minute of the first leg of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, which Estonia went on to lose 5–1 on aggregate. Piiroja ended his international career in October 2013, but made one final appearance for Estonia on 31 March 2015, in his

against

. He made a total of 114 appearances and scored 8 goals.

Personal life

Piiroja married his long-time girlfriend Marje in 2005. They divorced in 2015. Outside of football, Piiroja enjoys

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and is an avid

fisherman A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million Commercial fishing, commercial and Artisan fishing, subsistence fishers and Fish farming, fi ...

. On 1 June 2016, Piiroja released his autobiography, ''Ninamees Raio Piiroja, õhuvõitleja'', written by sports journalist Gunnar Press.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Flora *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

* Estonian Supercup: 2002 Fredrikstad *

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Individual * Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 * EST Order of the White Star - 5th Class BAR

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

, 5th Class

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piiroja, Raio 1979 births Living people Footballers from Pärnu Men's association football defenders Estonian men's footballers Estonia men's international footballers FC Flora players Meistriliiga players Vålerenga Fotball players Fredrikstad FK players SBV Vitesse players Estonian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Eliteserien players Eredivisie players FIFA Men's Century Club Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. players China League One players Estonian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Estonian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate men's footballers in China Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class Pärnu JK Tervis players