View source for Raio Piiroja

{{short description|Estonian footballer}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name        = Raio Piiroja
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| height      = {{height|m=1.90}}
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1979|7|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Pärnu]], Estonia
| position    = [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|Centre-back]]
| currentclub = 
| clubnumber  = 
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Rivaal
| youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = [[Pärnu JK|Pärnu]]
| years1 = 1995–1996 | caps1 =   8 | goals1 =  1 | clubs1 = [[Pärnu JK|Pärnu/Kalev]]
| years2 = 1996–1997 | caps2 =     | goals2 =    | clubs2 = [[FC Lelle|Lelle]]
| years3 = 1997–1999 | caps3 =  22 | goals3 =  3 | clubs3 = [[Lelle SK|Lelle]]
| years4 = 1999–2004 | caps4 = 102 | goals4 = 17 | clubs4 = [[FC Flora|Flora]]
| years5 = 2000      | caps5 =   1 | goals5 =  0 | clubs5 = [[JK Tervis Pärnu|Tervis Pärnu]]
| years6 = 2001      | caps6 =   1 | goals6 =  0 | clubs6 = [[FC Warrior Valga|Valga]]
| years7 = 2003      | caps7 =  11 | goals7 =  1 | clubs7 = → [[Vålerenga Fotball|Vålerenga]] (loan)
| years8 = 2004–2011 | caps8 = 159 | goals8 = 12 | clubs8 = [[Fredrikstad FK|Fredrikstad]]
| years9 = 2011–2012 | caps9 =   2 | goals9 =  0 | clubs9 = [[SBV Vitesse|Vitesse]]
| years10 = 2012     | caps10 =  0 | goals10 = 0 | clubs10 = [[FC Flora|Flora]]
| years11 = 2013     | caps11 = 18 | goals11 = 1 | clubs11 = [[Chengdu Blades F.C.|Chengdu Blades]]
| years12 = 2014     | caps12 =  0 | goals12 = 0 | clubs12 = [[FC Flora|Flora]]
| years13 = 2015     | caps13 =  0 | goals13 = 0 | clubs13 = [[Pärnu Linnameeskond]]
| totalcaps = 324    | totalgoals = 35
| club-update =
| nationalyears1 = 1993 | nationalcaps1  = 2 | nationalgoals1 = 0  | nationalteam1 = [[Estonia national under-16 football team|Estonia U16]]
| nationalyears2 = 1996–1997 | nationalcaps2 = 7 | nationalgoals2 = 0 | nationalteam2 = [[Estonia national under-19 football team|Estonia U19]]
| nationalyears3 = 1997–1998 | nationalcaps3 = 13 | nationalgoals3 = 0 | nationalteam3 = [[Estonia national under-21 football team|Estonia U21]]
| nationalyears4 = 1998–2015 | nationalcaps4 = 114 | nationalgoals4 = 8 | nationalteam4 = [[Estonia national football team|Estonia]]
| nationalteam-update = 
}}
'''Raio Piiroja''' (born 11 July 1979) is an Estonian former professional [[Association football|footballer]]. He played as a [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|centre-back]] for [[Pärnu JK|Pärnu/Kalev]], [[Lelle SK|Lelle]], [[FC Flora|Flora]], [[Vålerenga Fotball|Vålerenga]], [[Fredrikstad FK|Fredrikstad]], [[SBV Vitesse|Vitesse]] and [[Chengdu Blades F.C.|Chengdu Blades]].

Piiroja made his international debut for the [[Estonia national football team|Estonia national team]] on 21 November 1998 in a friendly against [[Armenia national football team|Armenia]]. He was team [[Captain (association football)|captain]] from 2008 to 2011, and made a total of 113 appearances for Estonia before retiring in 2013. On 31 March 2015, Piiroja made his 114th and final appearance for Estonia in his [[testimonial match]] against [[Iceland national football team|Iceland]].

Known for his leadership and ability in the air, Piiroja was named [[Estonian Footballer of the Year]] five times, in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=35337/profile/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502230745/http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=35337/profile/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 May 2010|title=Raio Piiroja|publisher=[[UEFA]]|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="esbl">{{cite web|url=https://www.esbl.ee/biograafia/Raio_Piiroja|title=Piiroja, Raio|publisher=ESBL|language=Estonian}}</ref>

==Club career==
===Early career===
Piiroja started playing football with his hometown club Rivaal, before moving to [[Pärnu JK|Pärnu]]. He made his [[Meistriliiga]] debut on 16 July 1995, five days after his 16th birthday, against [[JK Eesti Põlevkivi Jõhvi|Eesti Põlevkivi]] in the opening match of the season.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sport.ohtuleht.ee/737564/eksklusiiv-katkend-raamatust-raio-piiroja-ohuvoitleja-millise-vutiveterani-suu-piiroja-esimene-varav-lukku-pani|title=Katkend raamatust "Raio Piiroja. Õhuvõitleja". Millise vutiveterani suu Piiroja esimene värav lukku pani?|date=4 June 2016|publisher=[[Õhtuleht]]|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref> 10 days later, on 26 July 1995, Piiroja scored his first goal in the Meistriliiga in a 4–2 defeat against [[JK Narva Trans|Narva Trans]] and became the youngest goalscorer in Meistriliiga history at the age of 16 years and 15 days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://soccernet.ee/meistriliiga-koige-roosamad-faktid|title=Meistriliiga kõige roosamad faktid|publisher=Soccernet.ee|date=19 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sport.postimees.ee/2794736/noorelt-koondisesse-kas-edu-valem|title=Noorelt koondisesse – kas edu valem?|publisher=[[Postimees]]|date=15 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sport.ohtuleht.ee/791511/sport-ekstra-statistikapomm-millised-rekordeid-omavad-fc-norma-raio-piiroja-ja-hooaeg-1997-98|title=SPORT-EKSTRA: Statistikapomm! Millised rekordeid omavad FC Norma, Raio Piiroja ja hooaeg 1997-98?|date=6 March 2017|publisher=[[Õhtuleht]]|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>

===Flora===
In 1996, Piiroja joined [[FC Lelle|Lelle]], a team affiliated with [[FC Flora|Flora]]. He played for [[Lelle SK|Lelle]] from 1997 until 1999, when he was promoted to Flora's first team. With Flora, Piiroja won his first Meistriliiga title in the [[2001 Meistriliiga|2001 season]]. He won his second consecutive Meistriliiga title in the [[2002 Meistriliiga|2002 season]] and was named [[Estonian Player of the Year]] for the first time.<ref name="esbl"/>

====Vålerenga (loan)====
In 2003, Piiroja joined Norwegian [[Tippeligaen]] side [[Vålerenga Fotball|Vålerenga]] on loan.

===Fredrikstad===
In August 2004, Piiroja signed a contract with Tippeligaen side [[Fredrikstad FK|Fredrikstad]]. On 12 November 2006, he scored twice in the [[2006 Norwegian Football Cup Final]] against  [[Sandefjord Fotball|Sandefjord]] as Fredrikstad won 3–0. In 2007, Piiroja extended his contract for four more years. During his time with Fredrikstad, Piiroja won four consecutive Estonian Player of the Year awards, in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.<ref name="esbl"/> Fredrikstad finished the [[2009 Tippeligaen|2009 season]] in 14th place and were relegated from the Tippeligaen after a 2–0 loss against [[Sarpsborg 08 FF|Sarpsborg 08]] in the play-offs. Fredrikstad returned to the Norwegian top division after a season, with Piiroja scoring in both legs of an 8–1 aggregate win against [[Hønefoss BK|Hønefoss]] in the promotion play-offs.

===Vitesse===
On 31 August 2011, Piiroja signed a one-year contract, with an option of extension for another season, at [[Eredivisie]] side [[SBV Vitesse|Vitesse]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://soccernet.ee/artikkel/raio-piiroja-liitus-arnhemi-vitessega|title=Raio Piiroja liitus Arnhemi Vitessega|publisher=Soccernet.ee|date=31 August 2011}}</ref>

===Chengdu Blades===
On 18 February 2013, Piiroja signed for [[China League One]] team [[Chengdu Blades F.C.|Chengdu Blades]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sport.delfi.ee/news/jalgpall/eesti/ametlikult-hiina-esiliiga-mees-piiroja-labis-edukalt-meditsiinilise-testi?id=65696218|title=Ametlikult Hiina esiliiga mees: Piiroja läbis edukalt meditsiinilise testi|publisher=Delfi|date=18 February 2013}}</ref>

==International career==
Piiroja made his international debut for the [[Estonia national football team|Estonia national team]] on 21 November 1998, in a 2–1 loss against [[Armenia national football team|Armenia]] in a friendly, replacing [[Viktor Alonen]] in the 85th minute of the match. Piiroja soon established himself as Estonia's first choice centre-back. In 2008, he succeeded [[Martin Reim]] as team [[Captain (association football)|captain]]. On 25 March 2011, Piiroja made his [[List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps|100th appearance]] in a 2–0 win over [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] in a friendly. He was sent off by referee [[Viktor Kassai]] in the 76th minute of the first leg of the [[UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs|UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off]] against [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]], which Estonia went on to lose 5–1 on aggregate. Piiroja ended his international career in October 2013, but made one final appearance for Estonia on 31 March 2015, in his [[testimonial match]] against [[Iceland national football team|Iceland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.postimees.ee/2957535/raio-piiroja-lahkumismang-eesti-island-maavoistlus |title=Raio Piiroja lahkumismäng / Eesti - Island maavõistlus |date=9 October 2014 |publisher=Postimees |language=et |access-date=24 October 2018}}</ref> He made a total of 114 appearances and scored 8 goals.<ref name="esbl"/>

==Personal life==
Piiroja married his long-time girlfriend Marje in 2005. They divorced in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elu24.postimees.ee/3724935/endine-vutiass-raio-piiroja-saab-uue-elukaaslasega-lapse|title=Endine vutiäss Raio Piiroja saab uue elukaaslasega lapse|publisher=[[Postimees]]|date=8 June 2016}}</ref> Outside of football, Piiroja enjoys [[skiing]] and is an avid [[fisherman]].

On 1 June 2016, Piiroja released his autobiography, ''Ninamees Raio Piiroja, õhuvõitleja'', written by sports journalist Gunnar Press.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sport.postimees.ee/3720807/fotod-esitleti-raio-piiroja-elulooraamatut|title=Fotod: esitleti Raio Piiroja elulooraamatut|publisher=[[Postimees]]|date=4 June 2016}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|Cup
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Other{{efn|Includes the [[Estonian Supercup]], [[Commonwealth of Independent States Cup]] and [[Tippeligaen]] play-offs}}
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|[[Pärnu JK|Pärnu/Kalev]]||[[1995–96 Meistriliiga|1995–96]]||[[Meistriliiga]]||8||1|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||8||1
|-
|[[FC Lelle|Lelle]]||[[1996–97 Esiliiga|1996–97]]||[[Esiliiga]]|| || || || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—|| || 
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Lelle SK|Lelle]]||[[1997–98 Meistriliiga|1997–98]]||rowspan="3"|Meistriliiga||9||0|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||9||0
|-
|[[1998 Meistriliiga|1998]]||6||1|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||6||1
|-
|[[1999 Meistriliiga|1999]]||7||2|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||7||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!22!!3!! !! !!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!22!!3
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[FC Flora|Flora]]||[[1999 Meistriliiga|1999]]||rowspan="5"|Meistriliiga||11||2|| || ||2||0||1||0||14||2
|-
|[[2000 Meistriliiga|2000]]||26||1|| || ||2||0||colspan="2"|—||28||1
|-
|[[2001 Meistriliiga|2001]]||24||2|| || ||1||0||colspan="2"|—||25||2
|-
|[[2002 Meistriliiga|2002]]||26||9|| || ||2||0||0||0||25||2
|-
|[[2004 Meistriliiga|2004]]||15||3|| || ||2||0||3||0||25||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!102!!17!! !! !!9!!0!!4!!0!!115!!17
|-
|[[JK Tervis Pärnu|Tervis Pärnu]]||[[2000 Esiliiga|2000]]||Esiliiga||1||0|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0 
|-
|[[FC Warrior Valga|Valga]]||[[2001 Esiliiga|2001]]||Esiliiga||1||0|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0 
|-
|[[Vålerenga Fotball|Vålerenga]] (loan)||[[2003 Tippeligaen|2003]]||[[Tippeligaen]]||11||1||3||0||3||0||2||1||19||2
|-
|rowspan="9"|[[Fredrikstad FK|Fredrikstad]]||[[2004 Tippeligaen|2004]]||rowspan="6"|Tippeligaen||9||0|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||9||0
|-
|[[2005 Tippeligaen|2005]]||12||1|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||12||1
|-
|[[2006 Tippeligaen|2006]]||25||0||2||3||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||27||4
|-
|[[2007 Tippeligaen|2007]]||22||3|| || ||2||0||colspan="2"|—||24||3
|-
|[[2008 Tippeligaen|2008]]||23||2|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||23||2
|-
|[[2009 Tippeligaen|2009]]||25||2|| || ||2||1||1||0||28||3
|-
|[[2010 Norwegian First Division|2010]]||[[Adeccoligaen]]||28||4|| || ||colspan="2"|—||3||2||31||6
|-
|[[2011 Tippeligaen|2011]]||Tippeligaen||15||0|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||16||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!159!!12!!24!!3!!4!!1!!4!!2!!191!!15
|-
|[[SBV Vitesse|Vitesse]]||[[2011–12 Eredivisie|2011–12]]||[[Eredivisie]]||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||0||0||2||0 
|-
|[[Chengdu Blades F.C.|Chengdu Blades]]||[[2013 China League One|2013]]||[[China League One]]||18||1|| || ||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||18||1 
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!324!!35!!27!!3!!16!!1!!10!!3!!377!!42
|}

{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="17"|[[Estonia national football team|Estonia]]
|1998||1||0
|-
|1999||5||1
|-
|2000||6||1
|-
|2001||13||1
|-
|2002||9||0
|-
|2003||8||0
|-
|2004||12||1
|-
|2005||6||0
|-
|2006||5||0
|-
|2007||9||2
|-
|2008||8||0
|-
|2009||10||1
|-
|2010||7||1
|-
|2011||9||0
|-
|2012||1||0
|-
|2013||4||0
|-
|2015||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!114!!8
|}

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

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Raio Piiroja<ref>{{cite web | url = http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=16661 | title = Football PLAYER: Raio Piiroja | publisher = eu-football.info | access-date = 4 July 2017}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col" data-sort-type="date"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Cap
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
|align="center"|1
|4 September 1999||[[Svangaskarð]], [[Toftir]], Faroe Islands||align="center"|4||{{fb|FRO}}||align="center"|2–0||align="center"|2–0||[[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying]]
|-
|align="center"|2 
|11 June 2000||[[Kadriorg Stadium]], [[Tallinn]], Estonia||align="center"|9||{{fb|GEO|1990}}||align="center"|1–0||align="center"|1–0||[[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|-
|align="center"|3
|28 March 2001||[[Tsirion Stadium]], [[Limassol]], Cyprus||align="center"|14||{{fb|CYP}}||align="center"|2–2||align="center"|2–2||[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
|align="center"|4
|16 February 2004||[[Ta' Qali National Stadium]], [[La Valletta]], Malta||align="center"|44||{{fb|MLT}}||align="center"|2–2||align="center"|2–5||2014 Malta International Tournament
|-
|align="center"|5
|22 August 2007||[[A. Le Coq Arena]], Tallinn, Estonia||align="center"|68||{{fb|AND}}||align="center"|1–0||align="center"|2–1||[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying]]
|-
|align="center"|6
|12 September 2007||[[Skopje City Stadium]], [[Skopje]], Macedonia||align="center"|70||{{fb|MKD}}||align="center"|1–0||align="center"|1–1||UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
|-
|align="center"|7
|14 October 2009||A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia||align="center"|91||{{fb|BEL}}||align="center"|1–0||align="center"|2–0||[[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2010 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
|align="center"|8
|11 August 2010||A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia||align="center"|97||{{fb|FRO}}||align="center"|2–1||align="center"|2–1||[[UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying]]
|}

==Honours==
'''Flora'''
*[[Meistriliiga]]: [[2001 Meistriliiga|2001]], [[2002 Meistriliiga|2002]]
*[[Estonian Supercup]]: 2002

'''Fredrikstad'''
*[[Norwegian Football Cup|Norwegian Cup]]: [[2006 Norwegian Football Cup|2006]]

'''Individual'''
*[[Estonian Footballer of the Year]]: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
*[[File:EST Order of the White Star - 5th Class BAR.png|60px]] [[Order of the White Star]], 5th Class

==See also==
* [[List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
* {{EFA player|id=71|name=Raio Piiroja}}
* {{UEFA player|35337|Raio Piiroja}}

{{Navboxes colour
|title=Awards
|bg=gold
|fg=navy
|list1=
{{Estonian Footballer of the Year}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piiroja, Raio}}
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Pärnu]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Estonian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Estonia men's international footballers]]
[[Category:FC Flora players]]
[[Category:Meistriliiga players]]
[[Category:Vålerenga Fotball players]]
[[Category:Fredrikstad FK players]]
[[Category:SBV Vitesse players]]
[[Category:Estonian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Norway]]
[[Category:Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Norway]]
[[Category:Eliteserien players]]
[[Category:Eredivisie players]]
[[Category:FIFA Men's Century Club]]
[[Category:Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. players]]
[[Category:China League One players]]
[[Category:Estonian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Estonian expatriate sportspeople in China]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in China]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class]]
[[Category:Pärnu JK Tervis players]]