Enar Jääger

Enar Jääger (born 18 November 1984) is an Estonian former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Enar Jääger

Jääger with Estonia in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Enar Jääger[1]
Date of birth	18 November 1984
Place of birth	Kohila, Estonia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Flora Kehtna
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000	Lelle	25	(0)
2000–2003	Tervis Pärnu	8	(0)
2000–2002	Valga	34	(1)
2001–2005	Flora	48	(2)
2005–2007	Torpedo Moscow	35	(0)
2007–2009	Aalesund	58	(1)
2009–2010	Ascoli	5	(0)
2010–2012	Aalesund	78	(2)
2013–2014	Lierse	22	(0)
2015	Flora	16	(0)
2015–2018	Vålerenga	50	(5)
2017–2018	Vålerenga 2	4	(0)
2019–2020	Flora	13	(0)
National team^‡
2000	Estonia U16	2	(0)
2001	Estonia U19	4	(0)
2002–2003	Estonia U20	2	(0)
2001–2006	Estonia U21	7	(0)
2002–2017	Estonia	126	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 January 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2020

Club career

Flora

Jääger made his senior league debut in the Esiliiga on 2 April 2000, playing for Flora affiliated Lelle in a 1–3 home loss to Merkuur Tartu. In December 2000, he moved to Flora's reserve side Valga.[2] Jääger made his Flora – and Meistriliiga – debut on 4 November 2001, in a 3–0 away victory over Lootus. He won the Meistriliiga title in the 2003 season.[3]

Torpedo Moscow

On 3 February 2005, Jääger signed a three-year contract with Russian Premier League club Torpedo Moscow for an undisclosed fee, becoming third Estonian player in the club after Andres Oper and Andrei Stepanov.[4] He made his debut in Russian Premier League on 13 March, in a 3–1 home win over Rostov.[5]

Aalesund

On 8 March 2007, Jääger signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Norwegian club Aalesund for an undisclosed fee.[6] He made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 16 May 2007, in a 4–0 away victory over Strømsgodset.

Ascoli

On 19 July 2009, Jääger signed for Serie B club Ascoli on a three-year deal.[7] He made his debut in the Serie B on 21 August 2009, in 1–1 home draw against Gallipoli.[8] Jääger failed to become a regular starter for Ascoli and was released by the club on 31 January 2010, after making just five league appearances.[9]

Return to Aalesund

After rejecting an offer from Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls, Jääger returned to Norway, where he signed a two-year contract with Aalesund on 5 March 2010.[10] On 6 November 2011, Jääger assisted the opening goal in Aalesund's 2–1 victory over Brann in the Norwegian Cup final, winning his first trophy with the club.[11][12] He didn't extend his contract after the 2011 season.[13]

On 5 January 2012, Jääger passed a medical examination at Ekstraklasa club Lechia Gdańsk, but rejected the contract offer to pursue other options.[14][15] He then had a trial with the Scottish Premier League champions Rangers.[16][17] Rangers manager Ally McCoist was impressed with Jääger and was keen on signing him, but the player had to leave the club without an offer as Rangers failed to reduce their wage bill in order to make room for new players.[18][19] Despite interest from Championship sides Crystal Palace and Leeds United, and League One side Charlton Athletic, Jääger failed to secure a contract by March 2012.[20][21]

On 13 March 2012, Jääger signed a one-year contract with Aalesund, after receiving an improved offer from his former club.[22][23]

Lierse

On 15 July 2013, Jääger signed a one-year contract with Belgian Pro League club Lierse, with an option to extend it for another year.[24] He made his debut for the club on 27 July, in a 1–2 home loss to Zulte Waregem.[25]

Return to Flora

In December 2014, Jääger joined the Flora first-team squad for training sessions.[26] On 5 March 2015, he signed a one-year contract with the club.[27] Jääger was named club captain ahead of the 2015 season.

Vålerenga

On 18 August 2015, Jääger signed for Tippeligaen club Vålerenga for the remainder of the 2015 season.[28] He made his Vålerenga debut on 28 August, in 0–2 away loss to his former club Aalesund.[29] On 4 January 2016, Jääger extended his contract for a year.[30][31] On 30 March 2017, he extended his contract for another year.[32]

Second return to Flora

On 14 June 2019, Jääger once again returned to Flora, signing a contract for the rest of the season.[33] Jääger was part of Flora's championship-winning 2019 Meistriliiga season, repeating as champions of the COVID-19 pandemic shortened 2020 Meistriliiga season. Jääger announced his retirement on 5 December 2020, following the club's final game of the season.[34]

International career

Jääger began his youth career in 2000 with the Estonia under-16 team. He also represented the under-19, under-20, and under-21 national sides.

Jääger made his senior international debut for Estonia on 12 October 2002, when he came on as a 69th-minute substitute for Marko Kristal in a 3–2 home victory over New Zealand in a friendly. He made his 100th appearance for Estonia on 19 November 2013, a day after his 29th birthday, in a 3–0 friendly away win over Liechtenstein.[35]

Career statistics

Club

As of 4 December 2018[1][36][37]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup[lower-alpha 1]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lelle	2000	Esiliiga	25	0			—		—		25	0
Tervis Pärnu	2000	Esiliiga	2	0			—		—		2	0
	2003	Esiliiga	6	0	0	0	—		0	0	6	0
	Total		8	0	0	0	—		0	0	8	0
Valga	2001	Esiliiga	21	1	1	0	—		1[lower-alpha 2]	0	23	1
	2002	Esiliiga	13	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
	Total		34	1	1	0	—		1	0	36	1
Flora	2001	Meistriliiga	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2003	Meistriliiga	22	1	3	0	2[lower-alpha 3]	0	1[lower-alpha 4]	0	28	1
	2004	Meistriliiga	25	1	5	0	2[lower-alpha 3]	0	1[lower-alpha 4]	0	33	1
	Total		48	2	8	0	4	0	2	0	62	2
Torpedo Moscow	2005	Russian Premier League	13	0	3	0	—		—		16	0
	2006	Russian Premier League	22	0	6	0	—		—		28	0
	Total		35	0	9	0	—		—		44	0
Aalesund	2007	Tippeligaen	19	0	4	0	—		—		23	0
	2008	Tippeligaen	23	1	3	0	—		2[lower-alpha 5]	0	28	1
	2009	Tippeligaen	16	0	3	0	—		—		19	0
	Total		58	1	10	0	—		2	0	70	1
Ascoli	2009–10	Serie B	5	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
Aalesund	2010	Tippeligaen	26	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	29	0
	2011	Tippeligaen	27	2	5	0	7[lower-alpha 6]	0	—		39	2
	2012	Tippeligaen	25	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 6]	0	—		28	0
	Total		78	2	8	0	10	0	0	0	96	2
Lierse	2013–14	Belgian Pro League	22	0	0	0	—		—		22	0
Flora	2015	Meistriliiga	16	0	3	0	2[lower-alpha 6]	0	—		21	0
Vålerenga	2015	Tippeligaen	9	2	0	0	—		—		9	2
	2016	Tippeligaen	11	1	3	0	—		—		14	1
	2017	Eliteserien	27	2	5	1	—		—		32	3
	2018	Eliteserien	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	Total		50	5	8	1	—		—		58	6
Vålerenga 2	2017	2. divisjon	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2018	2. divisjon	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
	Total		4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Total			383	11	47	1	16	0	5	0	451	12

1. Includes the Estonian Cup, Russian Cup, and Norwegian Cup
2. Appearance in Esiliiga promotion play-offs
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearance in Estonian Supercup
5. Appearances in Tippeligaen relegation play-offs
6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of 4 December 2018[37][38]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Estonia
	2002	1	0
	2003	9	0
	2004	12	0
	2005	11	0
	2006	7	0
	2007	10	0
	2008	9	0
	2009	10	0
	2010	5	0
	2011	11	0
	2012	5	0
	2013	10	0
	2014	11	0
	2015	8	0
	2016	2	0
	2017	5	0
Total		126	0

Honours

Club

Valga

• Esiliiga: 2002

Flora

• Meistriliiga: 2003, 2019, 2020
• Estonian Supercup: 2003, 2004

Aalesund

• Norwegian Cup: 2011

References

1. "Enar Jääger" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
2. "Jalgpall: FC Flora teatas esinduskoosseisu" [FC Flora announces squad]. Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). 8 December 2000.
3. "Jääger, Enar" (in Estonian). ESBL.
4. "Enar Jääger allkirjastas Torpeedoga lepingu" [Enar Jääger signed contract with Torpedoga]. Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). 3 February 2005.
5. "Torpeedo alustas võiduga" [Torpedo began with a win]. Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). 13 March 2005.
6. "Enar Jääger vahetab Venemaa liiga Norra vastu" [Enar Jääger switches Russian league for Norwegian]. Postimees (in Estonian). 8 March 2007.
7. "Enar Jääger sõlmis Itaalia klubiga lepingu" [Enar Jääger signed a contract with Italian club]. Postimees (in Estonian). 19 July 2009.
8. "Jääger tegi Ascoli eest liigadebüüdi" [Jääger made league debut for Ascoli]. Postimees (in Estonian). 22 August 2009.
9. "Jäägeri karjäär Ascolis sai läbi" [Jääger's career at Ascoli came to an end]. Postimees (in Estonian). 31 January 2010.
10. "Red Bullsi pakkumise jätnud Jääger naasis Aalesundi" [Having rejected Red Bulls offer, Jääger returned to Aalesund]. Postimees (in Estonian). 5 March 2010.
11. "Enar Jääger ja Sander Post krooniti Norra karikavõitjateks" (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 6 November 2011.
12. "Jääger ja Post krooniti Norra karikavõitjateks" [Jääger and Post crowned Norwegian cup winners]. Postimees (in Estonian). 6 November 2011.
13. "Jääger ei pikenda Aalesundiga lepingut" [Jääger won't extend his contract with Aalesund]. Postimees (in Estonian). 22 November 2011.
14. "Jääger läbis Poola klubis arstliku kontrolli" [Jääger passed medical examination at Polish club]. Postimees (in Estonian). 6 January 2012.
15. "Jääger lükkas Poola klubi pakkumise tagasi" [Jääger rejected Polish club's offer]. Postimees (in Estonian). 9 January 2012.
16. "Rangers keen on Enar Jaager and Mervan Celik". BBC Sport. 13 January 2012.
17. "McCoist welcomes trialists". Rangers F.C. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012.
18. "Rangers to offer deal to Estonia defender Enar Jaager". BBC Sport. 20 January 2012.
19. "Enar Jaager and Zlatan Muslimovic exit Rangers without contracts". BBC Sport. 24 January 2012.
20. "Leeds could hi-jack Rangers move for Estonian defender". Daily Express. 23 January 2012.
21. "Jääger ootab Charltoni ja Crystal Palace'i otsust" [Jääger waiting on Charlton and Crystal Palace]. Postimees (in Estonian). 2 March 2012.
22. "Rangersisse soovitud Enar Jääger naases Aalesundi" [Rangers target Enar Jääger returned to Aalesund] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 13 March 2012.
23. "Enar Jääger: Aalesund tegi uue ja parema pakkumise" [Enar Jääger: Aalesund made a new and better offer] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 14 March 2012.
24. "Jääger sõlmis Belgia kõrgliigaklubiga lepingu" [Jääger signed a contract with a Belgian top flight club] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 15 July 2013.
25. "Jääger tegi Lierse'i eest liigadebüüdi" [Jääger made a league debut for Lierse] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 28 July 2013.
26. "Flora alustas ettevalmistust 27 mängijaga" [Flora began preparations with 27 players] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 16 December 2014.
27. "Enar Jääger 11-aastase vaheaja järel tagasi FC Floras" [Enar Jääger back in Flora after 11 years] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 5 March 2015.
28. "FC Flora kapten Enar Jääger siirdub Norra kõrgliigasse" [FC Flora captain Enar Jääger moves to Norwegian top flight] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 18 August 2015.
29. "Enar Jääger tegi mõõnas oleva Oslo Valerenga eest debüüdi" [Enar Jääger debuted for slumping Vålerenga Oslo] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 29 August 2015.
30. "Enar Jääger jätkab Valerenga ridades" [Enar Jääger to continue at Vålerenga] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 4 January 2016.
31. "Enar Jääger jätkab uuel hooajal Valerenga ridades" [Enar Jääger to continue at Vålerenga in the cmoning season]. Postimees (in Estonian). 4 January 2016.
32. "Enar Jääger jätkab karjääri Norra kõrgliigas" [Enar Jääger to continue his career in the Norwegian top flight] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 30 March 2017.
33. "Enar Jääger naaseb Flora ridades Premium liigasse" [Enar Jääger returns to the Premium liiga in Flora's ranks] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 14 June 2019.
34. "Enar Jääger lõpetab karjääri" [Enar Jääger finishes career]. FC Flora (in Estonian). 5 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
35. "Eesti võitis Liechtensteini 3:0" [Estonia defeated Liechtenstein 3–0] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 19 November 2013.
36. "Enar Jääger". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian).
37. "Jääger, Enar". National-Football-Teams.com.
38. "Enar Jääger" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.

External links

• Enar Jääger at the Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
• Enar Jääger national team profile at the Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
• Enar Jääger – FIFA competition record
• Enar Jääger – UEFA competition record
• Enar Jääger at altomfotball.no (in Norwegian)