Mart Poom

Mart Poom

Poom with Estonia in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1972-02-03) 3 February 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth	Tallinn, Estonia
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
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)
Managerial career
2009–	Estonia (goalkeeping coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mart Poom (born 3 February 1972) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player regarded as one of the greatest Estonian footballers of all time. ^{[1] [2]} He is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Estonia national team.

Poom played as a goalkeeper for Lõvid, Sport Tallinn, KuPS, Flora, Wil, Portsmouth, Derby County, Sunderland, Arsenal, and Watford. 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 against Slovenia in a friendly. He made a total of 120 appearances for Estonia and was the team's captain. Poom won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award six times, in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003, the second highest number of times won, behind only Ragnar Klavan. In November 2003, Poom was named Estonia's Golden Player. He ended his career on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 draw against Portugal. ^[3]

Early life

Poom was born in Tallinn and grew up in Mustamäe. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School No. 49 with a gold medal and enrolled at the Tallinn University of Technology, but didn't finish his studies, focusing on football.

Club career

Early career

Poom started playing football with Tallinna Lõvid (English: Lions of Tallinn), before moving to Soviet Second League club Sport Tallinn in 1989.

KuPS

In 1992, Poom joined Finnish Veikkausliiga club KuPS. He played only 9 games in Finland, before returning to Estonia.

Flora

Back in Estonia, Poom and signed for Meistriliiga club Flora, the successor of the Lõvid team.

Wil

On 1 August 1993, Poom left Flora and joined Nationalliga B side Wil for a reported transfer fee of £128,000. ^[4]

Portsmouth

On 4 August 1994, Poom moved to England and signed for First Division side Portsmouth for a reported transfer fee of £170,000. He made four league appearances for Portsmouth.

Flora (loan)

In 1995, Poom joined his former club Flora on loan, where he broke the club record by keeping a clean sheet for 756 minutes.

Derby County

On 26 March 1997, Poom joined Derby County for a reported transfer fee of £595,000, following a strong performance for Estonia (a 0–0 draw against Scotland, in a rearranged match played in Monaco). ^[5] He made his Premier League debut on 5 April 1997, against Manchester United in Derby's 3–2 away win at Old Trafford, becoming the first player from Estonia 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 named Derby County's Player of the Year in the 1999–2000 season and in 2022, the best footballer of the 2000s decade by Derby County ^[6]

Sunderland

On 18 November 2002, following Derby County's relegation to the First Division in the 2001–02 season, Poom joined Sunderland 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 at Pride 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. ^{[7] [ failed verification ]} Poom's career in Sunderland was beset by several injuries, and he was forced to spend much of the 2004–05 season on the sidelines, making 11 league appearances as Sunderland won the 2004–05 Football League Championship.

Arsenal

Poom warming up prior to a match against Bolton Wanderers in January 2007

On 31 August 2005, Poom was signed by Arsenal on loan as temporary cover for Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia. The move was made permanent on 23 January 2006. ^[8] He was Arsenal's third-choice keeper, and did not play a single match in the 2005–06 season. However, he became the first Estonian to receive a Champions League runners-up medal after Arsenal lost to Barcelona in the 2006 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. ^[9]

He made his debut for Arsenal on 8 November 2006 in a League Cup match against Everton, replacing the injured Manuel Almunia at half-time. Arsenal won the match 1–0 from an Emmanuel Adebayor goal. ^[10] His first and only appearance for Arsenal in the Premier League, came on the last day of the 2006–07 season, against his former club, Portsmouth, in a 0–0 draw. ^{[11] [12]}

Watford

On 26 May 2007, Poom signed for Watford, who had recently been relegated from the Premier League, for an undisclosed fee. ^[13] He started the new season as Watford's first choice, but went on to lose his place to Richard Lee.

Poom returned to the side for the start of the 2008–09 season, but sustained a dislocated shoulder in a game against Reading 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. ^[14]

International career

Poom made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 3 June 1992, in a historic 1–1 friendly draw against Slovenia. The match was Estonia's first official match since restoration of independence and Slovenia's first match ever. In November 2003, the Estonian Football Association named Poom Estonia's greatest player of the last 50 years. Poom ended his international career with a testimonial match on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 friendly draw against Portugal in Tallinn. ^[15] He made 120 appearances, keeping a clean sheet in 31 matches. ^[16]

Personal life

Poom and his wife, Lissel, have three sons: Markus, Andreas and Patrick. ^{[17] [18]} Markus is also a footballer, while Andreas is a music artist.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Europe		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

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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

Honours

Sunderland

• Football League Championship: 2004–05

Arsenal

• Football League Cup runner-up: 2006–07 ^[19]
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2005–06

Individual

• Estonian Footballer of the Year: 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003
• Derby County F.C. Player of the Year: 1999–2000
• UEFA Jubilee Awards – Greatest Estonian Footballer of the last 50 Years (Golden Player): 2003
• Order of the White Star, 4th Class

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

References

1. "Jalka suur edetabel: Eesti kõigi aegade 100 parimat jalgpallurit". Jalgpall (in Estonian). 5 April 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
2. Peelo, Taavi. "Top 5 Estonian football players of all time". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
3. "Poom set for one final game". skysports.com. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
4. http://www.legioner.kulichki.com/index.php?id=11&lang=en&player=20 in Russian
5. Brewin, John (10 October 2014). "One team in Tallinn: when Scotland kicked off against nobody – and still didn't win". FourFourTwo . Retrieved 14 October 2019.
6. "Mart Poom on endiselt inglaste südametes: endine Eesti koondislane valiti oma ajastu parimaks mängijaks". Postimees. 16 May 2022.
7. "Derby 1–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 20 September 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
8. "Gunners snap up goalkeeper Poom". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
9. "Photograph of Poom with his medal". Postimees. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007.
10. "Everton 0–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
11. Hughes, Ian (13 May 2007). "Portsmouth 0–0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
12. "Games played by Mart Poom in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
13. "Keeper Mart Poom transferred to Watford". Arsenal.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
14. "Poom Agreement". watfordfc.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012.
15. "Mart Poomi lahkumismäng Eesti - Portugal lõppes 0:0" (in Estonian). Õhtuleht. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
16. "Mart Poom – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
17. "Mart Poom sai isaks" (in Estonian). Delfi. 2 March 1999.
18. "Mart Poom pühendas nullimängu vastsündinud pojale Andreasele" (in Estonian). Õhtuleht. 6 October 2003.
19. "Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

External links

• Mart Poom at the Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
• Mart Poom – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Mart Poom – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Mart Poom at Soccerbase
• Watford official profile
• Arsenal official profile
• Mart Poom on The North Stand
• YouTube Video of Mart Poom's equalising header
• UEFA.com – Golden Player of Estonia
• Poominator