Regular readers of my blog will by now know that I’m a bit of a romantic and a dreamer when it comes to football. For me, nothing beats a good underdog when it comes to football romanticism.
As you might expect I’ve taken great joy from following the recent exploits of Estonia’s national team.
Estonia gained independence from the USSR in 1991 and has a population of just over 1.3 million people. The small Baltic state has never been famed for its football. Between 1946 and 1991 not a single Estonian was chosen to play for the Soviet Union national side. Between 1969 and 1982 Estonia was the only Soviet republic that didn’t have a club in the Soviet Union’s football league. In fact during Soviet occupation Estonians fell out of love completely with the beautiful game. Estonians claimed that the sport was a Russian past-time that was of very little relevance to ordinary ethnic Estonians. From the 70s onwards the sport was played almost exclusively by Russian immigrants.
Post-independence, controversial efforts have been made to re-create a national identity. Politicians have constructed strict conditions for citizenship in an effort to strengthen Estonian culture and nationalism. Only those of Estonian blood have been granted automatic citizenship, meaning 30% of the country is ineligible for automatic citizenship. The descendants of Russian and Belorussian immigrants have been very vocal in their opposition of this law. In order to gain citizenship they must first learn fluent Estonian, and pass numerous history and culture exams. This has angered many Russian immigrants who had lived peacefully in Estonia for decades prior to independence.
In football similar efforts have been made to re-invent the sport as Estonian. In matches fans sing traditional Estonian songs, and proudly fly the national flag.
Though football has grown in popularity since independence, the national side has at times been a laughing stock. In 1997 the team failed to turn up for a home World Cup qualifier against Scotland, prompting the infamous Tartan Army song “One team in Tallinn.”
Former Arsenal reserve keeper Mart Poom was voted the country’s best footballer of the last 50 years in 2003. With all due respect, this award highlights the low standard of players that Estonia has been producing since World War Two. In 2009 Estonia hit an all-time low as they fell to 138 in the FIFA World Rankings following a humiliating 7-0 defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not once since 1991 had Estonia risen into the top 60 in the world..... until 2011!
They are now 58th in the FIFA World Rankings following an incredible qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 that could still see them qualify for the tournament. Estonia won their final game of qualification, 2-1 against Northern Ireland in Belfast. The spirited victory at Windsor Park on Friday night put Estonia 2nd in Group C, a point ahead of Serbia. Miraculously the Baltic minnows still have a decent chance of qualification going into the last game day of qualification.
Serbia need at least a draw away to Slovenia in order to take second place in the group. Estonia’s players will be spending Tuesday night sat at home, keeping a nervous eye on events in Ljubljana. Should Serbia lose against Slovenia it would mean Estonia finishing second in the group, and qualifying for the Euro 2012 play-offs.
This is already Estonia’s most successful qualification campaign ever, having amassed a total of 16 points. The only team Estonia failed to beat was group winners Italy, and the players will probably be kicking themselves after losing 2-0 away against the Faroe Islands in August.
Estonia’s rise has been remarkable considering its size, population, climate and sporting culture. It’s hard to say who’s responsible for Estonia’s great recent form.
Estonia’s manager, Tarmo Rüütli is in his second spell as the national team manager, following a short spell in charge from 1999 to 2000. After a difficult start, Rüütli has inspired the players, unified the dressing room, and instilled self-belief in the squad. Estonia don’t play particularly expansive football, but they’re tough to beat and the entire team works hard.
Two players have stood out during the qualification campaign.
The first is experienced captain Raio Piiroja. The Vitesse centre-back has 107 caps for his country, and he’s constantly put his body on the line during the qualification campaign. Piiroja had the game of his life against Slovenia in September. The defender was a leader throughout, and battled hard alongside Taavi Rãhn against Slovenia’s physical forwards. Piiroja has been a great captain during Estonia’s recent run.
The star quality has been supplied by attacking midfielder Konstantin Vassiljev. Vassiljev is of Russian origin, however he’s a firm favourite amongst Estonia’s nationalistic fans. The Amkar Perm player has been given a free role by coach, Rüütli, and he’s supplied goals (most notably a screamer from 30 yards against Northern Ireland on Friday). Vassiljev’s creative edge means Estonia are always dangerous, even when under pressure from the opposition.
Realists would say that should Estonia qualify for the play-offs, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to beat any of the other teams involved. In all honesty Estonia would struggle massively in a play-off situation. They were fortunate to get a favourable draw for the qualifying group. Northern Ireland have been poor, Serbian fans have caused numerous problems for the team, Slovenia have been disappointing and the Faroes are minnows.
However Estonia can dream. They’ve got an entire country believing, and have done wonders for the development of football in one of the few countries in Europe where football is not the national sport. Should Estonia defy all the odds and qualify for the play-offs, it would be the story of the last two years.
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