All you need to know about Paide Linnameeskond

OTHER Paide Linnameeskond. For us, the Estonian team was an unknown team when they were drawn as Anderlecht's opponent in the third preliminary round of the Conference League. So we went to investigate. Get to know the still young club.


History

Paide Linnameeskond was founded in 2004 as a satellite club of Flora Talinn, a top club in Estonia. The club name back then was Paide FC Flora. From 2005 to 2008 it promoted four times in a row to the highest level in Estonia. Since then, it has been unstoppable. Steadily it went uphill with a second place in 2020 as a highlight. 

Last season

Paide finished the 2021 season (in Estonia they play according to the calendar years) in third place and qualified for the first preliminary round of the Conference League. The club gathered 62 points, well below champion Levadia (78) and runner-up Flora (77). With Henri Anier, Paide did have the top scorer. The Estonian international scored 26 times in 32 matches. Anderlecht doesn't have to fear him though: in January, he left for Muangthong United in Thailand.

This season

After twenty match days, Paide, with one match less, is currently fourth. It counts 33 points. The numbers one (Flora, 55 points), two (Levadia, 51) and three (Nomme Kalju, 43) are far away. The last league match dates from 2 July. Paide then played a 1-1 draw against Trans. This weekend the Estonian league resumes and Paide gets Tammeka on a visit.

Cup winner

Overlapping with the league is the cup. It follows the Western European schedule and runs from August to May. On 21 May this year, Paide won the cup final against Nomme Kalje 0-1 after extra time. It was the first prize in the young club's history. Siim Luts scored the only goal.

The star

Don't be alarmed, but at Paide plays a defender who played for Liverpool between 2016 and 2018. Ragnar Klavan is a legend in Estonian football. In his rich career he played for Heracles, AZ, Augsburg, Liverpool and Cagliari. A year ago he returned to his home country. The 129-times international is a fixed value at central back.

Other important players

In goal for Paide is 37-year-old Mihkel Aksalu, a 46-time international for Estonia. Together with Klavan, he is currently the only international in the team. Top marksman for the team is Dutchman Deabeas Owosu with nine league goals. Kaimar Kaag (6), Robi Saarma (6) and 19-year-old Gambaan Ebrima Singhateh (5 + 2 in Europe) also find their way to goal easily. In midfield, 34-year-old Sergie Mosnikov rules. He has already scored 7 assists and 2 goals in 12 league games this season. Owusu, who played five years in the Ajax youth, is the highest valued player on Transfermarkt with 400,000.

The European trail

Paide already survived two preliminary rounds in this Conference League. Survive is the right word, because twice penalty kicks made the decision. In the first round, Dinamo Tbilissi went down (2-3 win and 1-2 loss), in the second round Ararat-Armenia had to go down (twice 0-0). 

To conclude

Finally, a fun fact. From 2019 to 2021, Paide played one Muhammed Sanneh, yes, brother of. The right-back played 55 matches. He is currently playing for Banik Ostrava in the Czech Republic.