Mart Poom

Mart Poom (/ˌmɑːrt ˈpoʊm/; Estonian pronunciation: [ˈmɑrt ˈpoːm]; born 3 February 1972) is an Estonian football coach and former professional player. He is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Estonia national football team.
Poom played as a goalkeeper for Lõvid, Sport Tallinn, KuPS, Flora, Wil, Portsmouth, Derby County, Sunderland, Arsenal and Watford. He also made 120 appearances for the Estonia national football team and captained the team. Poom won the Estonian Footballer of the Year award a record six times, in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003. In November 2003, Poom was named Estonia's Golden Player. He ended his international career on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 draw against Portugal.

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.

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.

Portsmouth

On 4 August 1994, Poom made a move to English Football League 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 moved to Derby County for a reported transfer fee of £595,000. He made his Premier League debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Poom became a fan favourite at Derby County, with supporters often confusing unfamiliar commentators with a low chant of 'Pooooom' before games, which sounded like booing. Poom won the Jack Stamps Trophy (Derby County Player of the Year award) in the 1999–2000 season.

Sunderland

On 18 November 2002, following Derby County's relegation to the First Division in the 2001–02 season, Poom moved to 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

Watford

On 26 May 2007, Poom signed for Watford, who had recently been relegated from the Premier League, for an undisclosed fee. 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 due to end in June, on 30 April 2009.

Poom made his international debut for the Estonia national football 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 on 10 June 2009, after a 0–0 friendly draw against Portugal in Tallinn. He made 120 appearances, keeping a clean sheet in 31 matches.

Poom and his wife, Lissel, have three sons: Markus, Andreas and Patrick.

On 5 December 2014, Poom released his autobiography, Minu lugu (English: My Story).

Club

Club

Sunderland

• Championship: 2004–05

Arsenal

• UEFA Champions League: 2005–06 (Runner-up)
• League Cup: 2006–07 (Runner-up)

Individual

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