Nõmme Kalju FC (IPA: [nɤmˈme ˈkɑlju], "Nõmme Cliff"), commonly known as Nõmme Kalju, or simply as Kalju, is a professional football club, based in Nõmme, Tallinn, Estonia.
Founded in 1923 and re-established in 1997, the club has played in the Meistriliiga since 2008 and have never been relegated from the Estonian top division. Nõmme Kalju has won 1 Meistriliiga and 1 Estonian Cup trophy.
History
Founding and re-establishment (1923–2007)
Nõmme Kalju football club was founded in 1923 as a division of the Nõmme Sports Club Kalju (Estonian: Nõmme Spordiklubi Kalju) by two professional wrestlers, Aleksander Šneider and Mart Liiv. Their home ground was Hiiu Stadium in Nõmme and the club remained active until the World War II.
The club was re-established in 1997 by the former Estonia national football team manager Uno Piir, Anton Siht and Värner Lootsmann. Nõmme Kalju joined the Estonian football league system and began competing in the Northern division of the III liiga. The club finished their first season in second place, while Joel Lindpere was the top goalscorer with 13 goals. Nõmme Kalju played in the III liiga for eight consecutive seasons.
In 2002, Kuno Tehva acquired the club with a goal of establishing a professional football club. Nõmme Kalju were promoted to the third tier II liiga in 2004 and in 2005, to the second tier Esiliiga. Nõmme Kalju finished their first season in the Esiliiga in 5th place. In 2007, Brazilian Getúlio Fredo was hired as manager. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2007 Esiliiga season in 6th place and faced Kuressaare in promotion play-offs. The club lost their first match home 0–1 but won the second leg away 2–1 and advanced to the Meistriliiga on away goals.[2]
First Meistriliiga title (2008–2012)
In preparation for the 2008 Meistriliiga season, Nõmme Kalju rebuilt the team by signing 16 new players.[3][4] Nõmme Kalju had a successful debut season in the Meistriliiga, finishing in 4th place with just one point away from the third place, while striker Ingemar Teever won the goalscoring title with 23 goals. In 2009, the club also made its debut in Europe by playing in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase, but was defeated by Dinaburg 1–2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2009 Meistriliiga season in 5th place. In 2010, Igor Prins was hired as manager and Nõmme Kalju finished the season in 4th place. The club strengthened their first-team squad significantly during the 2010–11 winter transfer window, by signing Estonia national football team players Kristen Viikmäe, Alo Bärengrub, Tarmo Neemelo and Eino Puri.[5][6][7][8] Nõmme Kalju finished the 2011 Meistriliiga season in second place, seven points behind winners Flora, while Tarmo Neemelo scored 22 goals. In 2012, Nõmme Kalju won the Meistriliiga for the first time in history, amassing 92 points.[2]
Recent history (2013–present)
By winning the Meistriliiga, Nõmme Kalju also qualified to the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase. Nõmme Kalju beat HJK in the second qualifying round 2–1 on aggregate, but was subsequently defeated by Viktoria Plzeň 2–10 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. The team failed to defend their Meistriliiga title in 2013, finishing as runners-up, despite Vladimir Voskoboinikov winning the goalscoring title with 23 goals. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2014 Meistriliiga season with a disappointing 4th place, following which the manager Igor Prins was sacked and replaced by former Nõmme Kalju and national team player Sergei Terehhov.[9][10] Under Terehhov, the team had a successful start, winning first 9 league games and winning their first Estonian Cup trophy, defeating Paide Linnameeskond 2–0 in the 2014–15 Estonian Cup finals. On 12 September 2015, Terehhov resigned after poor results in the Meistriliiga, with Getúlio Fredo taking over as caretaker manager. Nõmme Kalju finished the 2015 Meistriliiga in third place. On 4 November 2015, it was confirmed that Sergei Frantsev would be hired as manager after the season.[11] Nõmme Kalju reached the third qualifying round in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, but failed to improve results in the Meistriliiga, finishing the 2016 season in third place again.
Crest
Stadium
Hiiu Stadium is the home ground of Nõmme Kalju
Kadriorg Stadium
Hiiu Stadium
Hiiu Stadium has been the historic home ground of Nõmme Kalju since 1923. It is a multi-purpose stadium currently owned by the Nõmme district and are operated by Nõmme Sports Centre (Estonian: Nõmme spordikeskus).[12][13] The stadium was completely renovated and re-opened in 2002, having an artificial turf.[14][15] The stadium is located at Pidu 11, Nõmme, Tallinn.[16]
Kadriorg Stadium
From 2012 to 2014, Nõmme Kalju played at the larger Kadriorg Stadium. Kadriorg seated 10 times more spectators, with a capacity of over 5000.
Honours
Domestic
- Winners (1): 2012
- Runners-up (2): 2011, 2013
- Third place (1): 2015, 2016
- Winners (1): 2014–15
- Runners-up (2): 2008–09, 2012–13
- Runners-up (2): 2013, 2016
Players
Current squad
- As of 19 September 2016.[17][18]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserves and academy
Personnel
Current technical staff
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Managerial history
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Statistics
League and Cup
Europe
Player records
As of 5 November 2016.[19] Active players in bold.
Most Meistriliiga games
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Most Meistriliiga goals
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References
External links
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Joel Lindpere (13)
Felipe Nunes (20)
Hidetoshi Wakui (21)
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