Andres Oper

Andres Oper (born 7 November 1977) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. With 38 goals in 134 appearances, Oper is Estonia's all-time record goalscorer.

Andres Oper

Oper with Estonia in 2005
Personal information
Date of birth	(1977-11-07) 7 November 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Tallinn, Estonia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	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)
Total		436	(127)
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

Oper played as a forward for Lelle, Flora, Tervis Pärnu, AaB, Torpedo Moscow, Roda JC, Shanghai Shenhua, ADO Den Haag, AEK Larnaca, Nea Salamina and the Estonia national team. Oper was named Estonian Footballer of the Year three times, in 1999, 2002 and 2005, and won the Estonian Silverball award twice; in 2001 and 2005.^[1]

Early life

Oper was born in Tallinn. 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 by Aavo Sarap.^[1]

Club career

Flora

In 1995, Oper signed for Flora. He won his first Meistriliiga title in the 1994–95 season. Oper soon became a first team regular and one of the team's leading goalscorers. He won two more league titles in the 1997–98 and the 1998 seasons, as well as the 1997–98 Estonian Cup and the 1998 Estonian Supercup.^[1] In 1998, Oper had a trial at Arsenal.^[2]

AaB

On 2 July 1999, Oper signed for Danish Superliga champions AaB, 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 in Estonian top flight's history.^[4]

Torpedo Moscow

On 10 July 2003, Oper signed a two-year contract with Russian Premier League club Torpedo 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 to Premier League's Sunderland in England, but the contract was never signed.^[6][4]

Roda JC

Oper with Roda JC in 2007

On 31 August 2005, Oper signed a one-year contract with Dutch Eredivisie club Roda JC for an undisclosed fee.^[7] He scored his first Eredivisie goal on 1 October 2005, in a 3–2 win against Vitesse Arnhem.^[8] Oper finished the 2005–06 Eredivisie season as the team's joint top scorer alongside Simon Cziommer with 8 goals and signed a contract extension for two more seasons.^[9] He was the team's top scorer in the 2006–07 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]

Shanghai Shenhua

On 19 July 2009, Oper signed a half-year contract with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua.^[11] He made his debut for the club on 2 August 2009, in an away match against Jiangsu Sainty. However, he suffered an injury and eventually terminated his contract with the club.^[12]

ADO Den Haag

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 with ADO Den Haag.^[13][14] He made his debut for the club on 13 February 2010 in a home match against Willem II. Oper scored his first goal for ADO Den Haag on 18 April 2010, in a 4–0 win against RKC 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]

AEK Larnaca

On 9 September 2010, Oper signed a one-year contract with Cypriot First Division club AEK Larnaca.^[16] He scored on his debut against Ethnikos Achna.

Nea Salamina

In January 2012, Oper joined Cypriot First Division club Nea Salamina. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 March in a 2–0 win against Enosis Neon Paralimni.^[17]

In February 2014, Andres Oper announced his retirement from professional football.^[18] Since then, Oper has occasionally played for Viimsi JK in Estonian Cup or lower league matches. In 2021, he notably scored the winning goal in an Estonian Cup match against top flight club Pärnu Vaprus.^[19]

International career

Oper in action against Frank de Boer in 2001

Oper made his international debut for the Estonia national football team on 19 May 1995, in a 0–2 1995 Baltic Cup defeat against Latvia. He scored his first goal for Estonia on 8 June 1997, in a 2–3 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification loss against Sweden. He won the Estonian Silverball award twice, in 2001 and 2005.^[1] On 2 September 2006, Oper played his 100th match for Estonia, a 0–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying defeat against Israel. He ended his international career with a testimonial match on 26 May 2014, after a 1–1 friendly draw against Gibraltar at A. Le Coq Arena.^[20] With 38 goals in 134 international appearances, Oper is Estonia's all-time record goalscorer.^[1] He played for the Estonia national team for eighteen consecutive seasons.^[21]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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

1. Includes the Estonian Supercup and Eredivisie play-offs

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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

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

List of international goals scored by Andres Oper^[22]

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

Honours

Flora

• Meistriliiga: 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998
• Estonian Cup: 1997–98
• Estonian Supercup: 1998

Individual

• Estonian Footballer of the Year: 1999, 2002, 2005
• Estonian Silverball: 2001, 2005

References

1. "Oper, Andres" (in Estonian). ESBL. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
2. "Oper reflects on record-breaking Estonia career". UEFA.com. 1 June 2014.
3. "Andres Oper lahkub Aalsborgi" (in Estonian). Õhtuleht. 2 July 1999. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
4. Kalvet, Madis (6 June 2023). "Andres Oper. Eesti jalgpalli esimene miljonitehing ja viimasel sekundil katki jäänud Premier League'i lepingu tagamaad". Delfi Sport (in Estonian).
5. "Oper kirjutas alla lepingule Torpedoga" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
6. «Лобановский орал: вы нас убить хотите?» Из Эстонии — в Лондон к Венгеру, «Торпедо» и Китай sport24.ru
7. "Andres Oper jätkab karjääri Hollandi liigas" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
8. "Oper lõi Rodas esimese värava" (in Estonian). Eesti Päevaleht. 1 October 2005. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
9. "Andres Oper usub Roda potentsiaali" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
10. "Andres Oper pikendas Rodaga lepingut" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
11. "Oper heads to Shanghai". Fifa.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010.
12. Андрес Опер: Играл в Шанхае, но столько, как Халку, мне не платили sportsdaily.ru
13. "ADO Den Haag bevestigt komst transfervrije Oper" (in Dutch). Voetbalzone. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
14. "Oper komt selectie versterken". ADO Den Haag. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
15. "Oper ei jätka siiski ADO-s" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
16. "Ametlik teadaanne – Operil uus klubi" (in Estonian). Oper.ee. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
17. "Oper avas uues klubis väravaarve" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
18. "Star Striker Andres Oper Retires". ERR. 5 February 2014.
19. "Pudeli vett krae vahele saanud Oper: väga tähtis võit! Esiliiga B satsina tegime ikkagi meistriliiga omadele ära!". Soccernet.ee. 9 July 2021.
20. "Eesti viigistas Operi lahkumismängus Gibraltariga" (in Estonian). ERR. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
21. Эстонский экс-футболист Андрес Опер: в Москве мне моментально объяснили, что означает по-русски моя фамилия! Archived 11 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine baltnews.ee
22. "Andres Oper - Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.

External links

• Andres Oper at the Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
• Andres Oper – FIFA competition record (archived)