Mart Poom
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| Mart Poom | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | February 3, 1972 | |
| Place of birth | Tallinn, Estonia, Soviet Union | |
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | |
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Watford | |
| Number | 1 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1988 1989–1990 1992 1992–1993 1993–1994 1994–1997 1995–1997 1997–2003 2002–2003 2003–2006 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007– |
Tallinna Lōvid Sport Tallinn KuPS Flora Tallinn FC Wil Portsmouth → Flora Tallinn (loan) Derby County → Sunderland (loan) Sunderland → Arsenal (loan) Arsenal Watford |
20 (0) 59 (0) 9 (0) 22 (0) 0 (0) 4 (0) 14 (0) 146 (0) 0 (0) 58 (1) 0 (0) 1 (0) 12 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1992– | Estonia | 118 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Mart Poom (born February 3, 1972 in Tallinn; pronounced /ˌmɑrt ˈpoʊm/ in English) is an Estonian football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Watford, whom he joined on May 26, 2007 from Arsenal.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career
Poom started his football career in the clubs "Lõvid" ("Lions") in the former Soviet Union and Flora Tallinn in his home country, before a brief stint at Finnish club KuPS and Swiss club FC Wil. In 1994 he moved to English club Portsmouth, but only played seven games and was loaned back to his former club Flora Tallinn.
[edit] Derby
In 1997 Poom moved to Derby County, making his Premiership debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
It was at Derby that English commentators first found it hard to tell whether the crowed were booing or cheering Poom as his name is hard to make out when chanted.
[edit] Sunderland
After Derby's relegation to the First Division in the summer of 2002, Poom moved to Sunderland in November of that year. On September 20 2003, he headed a 90th minute equaliser for Sunderland against his former club at Pride Park.[1] It was described on BBC Radio Five Live as "The best headed equaliser by a goalkeeper against his former club in the last minute. Ever!", and earned him the nickname "Poominator".[2]
Poom's career at Sunderland was beset by several injuries, and he spent much of 2003-04 recovering.
[edit] Arsenal
He was signed by Arsenal in August 2005 as temporary cover for Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, before the deal was made permanent in January 2006. He was Arsenal's third-choice keeper, and did not play a single match in the 2005-06 season, although he became the first Estonian to receive a Champions League medal (albeit a runners-up medal) after Arsenal lost to FC Barcelona. Poom did not play nor did he make the substitutes' bench for the final, but was a member of Arsenal's 25-man European squad, each of whom won a silver medal.[3]
He finally made his debut for Arsenal on 8 November 2006 in a Carling Cup match against Everton, replacing an injured Manuel Almunia at half-time; Arsenal won 1-0 with an Emmanuel Adebayor goal. His first and only appearance for Arsenal in the Premiership came on the last day of the 2006-07 season against Portsmouth, in a 0-0 draw.
[edit] Watford
Poom signed for Watford on 26 May 2007 in a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee,[4] becoming surplus to requirements with Arsenal as they signed Polish international goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański from Legia Warsaw. He started the new season as Watford's first choice but would go on to lose his place to Richard Lee
[edit] International career
Poom has represented Estonia on 118 occasions, making his debut in a 1992 (while playing for KuPS in Finland) international friendly against Slovenia. In November 2003, he was selected by the Estonian Football Association as the country's greatest player of the last 50 years.
The latest game he played was on the 4th of June, 2008 against Faroe Islands which they won 4-3.
[edit] Personal
He is married to Lissel (b. 1975), with whom he has two sons named Markus (b. 1998) and Andreas (b. 2003).
[edit] References
- ^ Mart Poom goal. YouTube.
- ^ SAFC.COM: / Home / Remember the 'Poominator'
- ^ Photograph of Poom with his medal. Postimees.
- ^ Keeper Mart Poom transferred to Watford. Arsenal.com.
[edit] External links
- Mart Poom profile at watfordfc.co.uk
- Mart Poom career stats at Soccerbase
- Google Video of Mart Poom's equalising header
- UEFA.com - Golden Player of Estonia
- Mart Poom - career abroad
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Urmas Hepner |
Estonian Footballer of the Year 1993, 1994 |
Succeeded by Martin Reim |
| Preceded by Marek Lemsalu |
Estonian Footballer of the Year 1997, 1998 |
Succeeded by Andres Oper |
| Preceded by Andres Oper |
Estonian Footballer of the Year 2000 |
Succeeded by Indrek Zelinski |
| Preceded by Andres Oper/Raio Piiroja |
Estonian Footballer of the Year 2003 |
Succeeded by Andrei Stepanov |
| Preceded by Jacob Laursen |
Derby County Player of the Year 1999 – 2000 |
Succeeded by Chris Riggott |
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