.jpg) Poom withEstonia in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mart Poom[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-02-03)3 February 1972 (age 53)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Tallinn, Estonia | ||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1979–1989 | Lõvid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988 | Lõvid/Flora | 20 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Sport Tallinn | 59 | (0) |
| 1992 | KuPS | 9 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Flora | 22 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Wil | 13 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Portsmouth | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | →Flora (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 1997–2003 | Derby County | 146 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | →Sunderland (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Sunderland | 58 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | →Arsenal (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Arsenal | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Watford | 19 | (0) |
| Total | 370 | (1) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–2009 | Estonia | 120 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mart Poom (born 3 February 1972) is an Estonianfootballcoach and former professionalplayer who is regarded as one of the greatest Estonian footballers of all time.[3][4] He is the goalkeeping coach of theEstonia national team.
Poom played as agoalkeeper for Lõvid,Sport Tallinn,KuPS,Flora,Wil,Portsmouth,Derby County,Sunderland,Arsenal, andWatford. Poom made his international debut on 3 June 1992 in the Estonia national team's first official match since restoration of independence, a 1–1 draw againstSlovenia in a friendly. He made a total of 120 appearances for Estonia and was the team'scaptain. Poom won theEstonian Footballer of the Year award six times, in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003, the second highest number of times won, behind onlyRagnar Klavan. In November 2003, Poom was named Estonia'sGolden Player. He ended his career on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 draw againstPortugal.[5]
Poom was born inTallinn[1] and grew up inMustamäe. He graduated from theTallinn Secondary School No. 49 with a gold medal and enrolled at theTallinn University of Technology, but didn't finish his studies, focusing on football.
Poom started playing football with Tallinna Lõvid (English:Lions of Tallinn), before moving toSoviet Second League clubSport Tallinn in 1989.
In 1992, Poom joined FinnishVeikkausliiga clubKuPS. He played only 9 games in Finland, before returning to Estonia.
Back in Estonia, Poom and signed forMeistriliiga clubFlora, the successor of the Lõvid team.
On 1 August 1993, Poom left Flora and joinedNationalliga B sideWil for a reported transfer fee of £128,000.[6]
On 4 August 1994, Poom moved to England and signed forFirst Division sidePortsmouth for a reported transfer fee of £170,000. He made four league appearances for Portsmouth.
In 1995, Poom joined his former club Flora on loan, where he broke the club record by keeping a clean sheet for 756 minutes.
On 26 March 1997, Poom joinedDerby County for a reported transfer fee of £595,000, following a strong performance for Estonia (a 0–0 draw againstScotland, in arearranged match played inMonaco).[7] He made hisPremier League debut on 5 April 1997, againstManchester United in Derby's 3–2 away win atOld Trafford, becoming the first player fromEstonia to play in the PL. Poom soon became a fan favourite, with supporters often confusing unfamiliar commentators with a low chant of 'Pooooom' before games, which sounded like booing. Poom was namedDerby County's Player of the Year in the1999–2000 season and in 2022, the best footballer of the 2000s decade by Derby County[8]
On 18 November 2002, following Derby County's relegation to theFirst Division in the2001–02 season, Poom joinedSunderland on loan. The move was made permanent on 10 January 2003, for a fee of £3.19 million. On 20 September 2003, he headed a 90th-minute equaliser for Sunderland against Derby County atPride Park. This was described as "the best goal ever scored by a goalkeeper in the 90th minute on his first match against his former club" by the commentator. The goal was cheered by both sets of fans.[9][failed verification] Poom's career in Sunderland was beset by several injuries, and he was forced to spend much of the2004–05 season on the sidelines, making 11 league appearances as Sunderland won the2004–05 Football League Championship.
On 31 August 2005, Poom was signed byArsenal on loan as temporary cover forJens Lehmann andManuel Almunia. The move was made permanent on 23 January 2006.[10] He was Arsenal's third-choice keeper, and did not play a single match in the2005–06 season. However, he became the first Estonian to receive a Champions League runners-up medal after Arsenal lost toBarcelona in the2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Poom did not play nor did he make the substitutes' bench for the final, but was in Arsenal's 25-man European squad, each of whom won a silver medal.[11]
He made his debut for Arsenal on 8 November 2006 in aLeague Cup match againstEverton, replacing the injured Manuel Almunia at half-time. Arsenal won the match 1–0 from anEmmanuel Adebayor goal.[12] His first and only appearance for Arsenal in the Premier League, came on the last day of the2006–07 season, against his former club,Portsmouth, in a 0–0 draw.[13][14]
On 26 May 2007, Poom signed forWatford, who had recently been relegated from the Premier League, for an undisclosed fee.[15] He started the new season as Watford's first choice, but went on to lose his place toRichard Lee.
Poom returned to the side for the start of the2008–09 season, but sustained a dislocated shoulder in a game againstReading on 20 September 2008 that ruled him out for the majority of the season. Although he returned to training before the end of the season, he was not considered for the first-team squad and he was released from his contract, which was due to end in June, on 30 April 2009.[16]
Poom made his international debut for theEstonia national team on 3 June 1992, in a historic 1–1 friendly draw againstSlovenia. The match was Estonia's first official match since restoration of independence and Slovenia's first match ever. In November 2003, theEstonian Football Association named Poom Estonia'sgreatest player of the last 50 years. Poom ended his international career with atestimonial match on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 friendly draw againstPortugal inTallinn.[17] He made 120 appearances, keeping a clean sheet in 31 matches.[18]
Poom and his wife, Lissel, have three sons:Markus, Andreas and Patrick.[19][20] Markus is also a footballer, while Andreas is a music artist.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lõvid/Flora | 1988 | Estonian Championship | 20 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||||
| Sport Tallinn | 1989 | Soviet Second League | 33 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||||||
| 1990 | Baltic League | 26 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 59 | 0 | — | — | 59 | 0 | ||||||||
| KuPS | 1992 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||||
| Flora | 1992–93 | Meistriliiga | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||||
| 1993–94 | Meistriliiga | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 22 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||||||
| Wil | 1993–94 | Nationalliga B | 13 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||||
| Portsmouth | 1994–95 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Flora (loan) | 1995–96 | Meistriliiga | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | Meistriliiga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
| Derby County | 1996–97 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | First Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 146 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 166 | 0 | |||
| Sunderland | 2002–03 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | First Division | 43 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 52 | 1 | ||
| 2004–05 | Championship | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 58 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 68 | 1 | |||
| Arsenal | 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Watford | 2007–08 | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 370 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 406 | 1 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 1992 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993 | 14 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 120 | 0 | |
Sunderland
Arsenal
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
