 Oper withEstonia in 2005 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1977-11-07)7 November 1977 (age 48) | ||
| Place of birth | Tallinn, Estonia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Estonia U17 (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1993 | LMSK/Pantrid | ||
| 1994 | Lelle | ||
| 1994 | Flora | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Flora | 73 | (44) |
| 1996 | →Tervis Pärnu (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 1999–2003 | AaB | 117 | (28) |
| 2003–2005 | Torpedo Moscow | 53 | (8) |
| 2005–2009 | Roda JC | 103 | (32) |
| 2009 | Shanghai Shenhua | 6 | (0) |
| 2010 | ADO Den Haag | 12 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | AEK Larnaca | 21 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Nea Salamina | 42 | (8) |
| 2017–2022 | Viimsi JK | 27 | (8) |
| 2024 | Viimsi JK | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 463 | (135) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995 | Estonia U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 1995–1996 | Estonia U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–2014 | Estonia | 134 | (38) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Accrington Stanley U16 | ||
| 2016–2019 | Estonia (assistant) | ||
| 2019–2021 | Levadia (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2023 | Estonia (assistant) | ||
| 2024– | Estonia U17 | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Andres Oper (born 7 November 1977) is an Estonianfootballcoach and former professionalplayer. With 38 goals in 134 appearances, Oper isEstonia's all-time record goalscorer.
Oper played as aforward forLelle,Flora,Tervis Pärnu,AaB,Torpedo Moscow,Roda JC,Shanghai Shenhua,ADO Den Haag,AEK Larnaca,Nea Salamina and theEstonia national team. Oper was namedEstonian Footballer of the Year three times, in 1999, 2002 and 2005, and won theEstonian Silverball award twice; in 2001 and 2005.[1]
Oper was born inTallinn. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School No. 37. He started playing football with Tallinna Jalgpallikool (English:Tallinn Football Academy) under Aivar Tiidus, before moving to Taivo Uibo's Uibo Poisid and then LMSK/Pantrid, coached byAavo Sarap.[1]
In 1995, Oper signed forFlora. He won his firstMeistriliiga title in the1994–95 season. Oper soon became a first team regular and one of the team's leading goalscorers. He won two more league titles in the1997–98 and the1998 seasons, as well as the1997–98 Estonian Cup and the 1998Estonian Supercup.[1] In 1998, Oper had a trial atArsenal.[2]
On 2 July 1999, Oper signed forDanish Superliga championsAaB, on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of $1 million (EEK 15 million).[3] In the process, he became the first one million dollar transfer inEstonian top flight's history.[4]
On 10 July 2003, Oper signed a two-year contract withRussian Premier League clubTorpedo Moscow.[5] Often inconsistent in Russia, scoring 8 goals in 53 appearances, Oper was placed on the transfer list after he suffered an injury to his right foot. In 2005, he was close to a transfer toPremier League'sSunderland in England, but the contract was never signed.[6][4]
On 31 August 2005, Oper signed a one-year contract with DutchEredivisie clubRoda JC for an undisclosed fee.[7] He scored his first Eredivisie goal on 1 October 2005, in a 3–2 win againstVitesse Arnhem.[8] Oper finished the2005–06 Eredivisie season as the team's joint top scorer alongsideSimon Cziommer with 8 goals and signed a contract extension for two more seasons.[9] He was the team's top scorer in the2006–07 Eredivisie season, scoring 12 goals in the league and 1 in the play-offs. On 16 May 2007, he signed another contract extension with Roda JC until summer 2009.[10]
On 19 July 2009, Oper signed a half-year contract withChinese Super League clubShanghai Shenhua.[11] He made his debut for the club on 2 August 2009, in an away match againstJiangsu Sainty. However, he suffered an injury and eventually terminated his contract with the club.[12]
After an unsuccessful spell in China, Oper returned to the Netherlands and on 21 January 2010, he signed a half-year contract with an option for another year withADO Den Haag.[13][14] He made his debut for the club on 13 February 2010 in a home match againstWillem II. Oper scored his first goal for ADO Den Haag on 18 April 2010, in a 4–0 win againstRKC Waalwijk. His contract extension stalled due to negotiations over personal terms, eventually no agreement was settled and the extension was cancelled. The contract expired in summer.[15]
On 9 September 2010, Oper signed a one-year contract withCypriot First Division clubAEK Larnaca.[16] He scored on his debut againstEthnikos Achna.
In January 2012, Oper joinedCypriot First Division clubNea Salamina. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 March in a 2–0 win againstEnosis Neon Paralimni.[17]
In February 2014, Andres Oper announced his retirement from professional football.[18] Since then, Oper has occasionally played forViimsi JK inEstonian Cup or lower league matches. In 2021, he notably scored the winning goal in an Estonian Cup match against top flight clubPärnu Vaprus.[19]
Oper made his international debut for theEstonia national football team on 19 May 1995, in a 0–21995 Baltic Cup defeat againstLatvia. He scored his first goal for Estonia on 8 June 1997, in a 2–31998 FIFA World Cup qualification loss againstSweden. He won theEstonian Silverball award twice, in 2001 and 2005.[1] On 2 September 2006, Oper played his100th match for Estonia, a 0–1UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying defeat againstIsrael. He ended his international career with atestimonial match on 26 May 2014, after a 1–1 friendly draw againstGibraltar atA. Le Coq Arena.[20] With 38 goals in 134 international appearances, Oper is Estonia's all-time record goalscorer.[1] He played for theEstonia national team for eighteen consecutive seasons.[21]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Flora | 1994–95 | Meistriliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||||
| 1996–97 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 13 | ||||
| 1997–98 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 15 | ||||
| 1998 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 11 | ||||
| 1999 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 73 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 45 | ||||
| Tervis Pärnu (loan) | 1995–96 | Meistriliiga | 9 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |||
| AaB | 1999–2000 | Superliga | 30 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 8 | ||||
| 2000–01 | 29 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 6 | ||||||
| 2001–02 | 31 | 4 | — | 31 | 4 | |||||||
| 2002–03 | 27 | 11 | — | 27 | 11 | |||||||
| Total | 117 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 125 | 29 | ||||||
| Torpedo Moscow | 2003 | Russian Premier League | 14 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 5 | ||||
| 2004 | 24 | 4 | — | 24 | 4 | |||||||
| 2005 | 15 | 1 | — | 15 | 1 | |||||||
| Total | 53 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 58 | 10 | ||||||
| Roda JC | 2005–06 | Eredivisie | 24 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 13 |
| 2006–07 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 38 | 12 | |||
| 2007–08 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 25 | 8 | |||
| 2008–09 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | |||
| Total | 103 | 32 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 120 | 40 | ||
| Shanghai Shenhua | 2009 | Chinese Super League | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| ADO Den Haag | 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| AEK Larnaca | 2010–11 | Cypriot First Division | 21 | 3 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | ||
| Nea Salamina | 2011–12 | Cypriot First Division | 14 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | |||
| 2012–13 | 28 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 42 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 42 | 8 | |||
| Career total | 436 | 127 | 12 | 9 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 474 | 141 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 1995 | 3 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 14 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 13 | 5 | |
| 2000 | 9 | 6 | |
| 2001 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 9 | 5 | |
| 2006 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 134 | 38 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 June 1997 | Kadriorg Stadium,Tallinn, Estonia | 16 |  Sweden | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 22 June 1997 | Kuressaare Linnastaadion,Kuressaare, Estonia | 17 |  Andorra | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 4 June 1998 | Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | 25 |  Faroe Islands | 4–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 4 | 22 June 1998 | Kuressaare Linnastaadion, Kuressaare, Estonia | 26 | Andorra | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 9 June 1999 | Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | 41 |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 6 | 9 October 1999 | Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | 44 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–0 | 1–4 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 7 | 1 November 1999 | Mohammad bin Zayed Stadium,Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 46 |  United Arab Emirates | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 18 December 1999 | Trikala Municipal Stadium,Trikala, Greece | 48 |  Greece | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 9 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 10 | 23 February 2000 | Rajamangala National Stadium,Bangkok, Thailand | 49 |  Finland | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2000 King's Cup |
| 11 | 26 April 2000 | Stade Josy Barthel,Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 51 |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 12 | 4 June 2000 | Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | 52 |  Belarus | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 13 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 14 | 3 September 2000 | Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | 55 |  Portugal | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15 | 7 October 2000 | Estadi Comunal,Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 56 | Andorra | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16 | 19 March 2001 | Cairo International Stadium,Cairo, Egypt | 58 |  Egypt | 1–1 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 17 | 2 June 2001 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 61 |  Netherlands | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 14 March 2002 | Stadio Enzo Mazotti,Montecatini Terme, Italy | 69 |  Saudi Arabia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 19 | 27 March 2002 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 70 |  Russia | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 20 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 21 | 20 November 2002 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 76 |  Iceland | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 22 | 29 March 2003 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 78 |  Canada | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 23 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 24 | 4 September 2004 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 86 | Luxembourg | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 25 | 13 October 2004 | Skonto Stadium,Riga, Latvia | 88 |  Latvia | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 26 | 26 March 2005 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 91 |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 27 | 4 June 2005 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 93 |  Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 28 | 3 September 2005 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 96 | Latvia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 29 | 12 October 2005 | Stade Josy Barthel,Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 98 | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 30 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 31 | 15 November 2006 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 102 | Belarus | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 32 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 33 | 17 November 2007 | Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 108 | Andorra | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 34 | 20 August 2008 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 109 |  Malta | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 35 | 6 September 2008 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne,Liège, Belgium | 110 |  Belgium | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 36 | 21 May 2010 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 115 | Finland | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 37 | 1 June 2012 | Tamme Stadium,Tartu, Estonia | 123 | Finland | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2012 Baltic Cup |
| 38 | 16 October 2012 | Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 129 | Andorra | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Flora
Individual
