Marek Lemsalu

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Marek Lemsalu
Marek Lemsalu 2008.JPG
Lemsalu with Levadia in 2008
Personal information
Full name Marek Lemsalu
Date of birth (1972-11-24) 24 November 1972 (age 48)
Place of birth Pärnu, Estonia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Pärnu KEK 29 (2)
1989 Eesti Tööstus/Flora 1 (0)
1989–1990 Sport Tallinn 26 (0)
1990–1991 39 (4)
1992–1999 Flora 119 (17)
1996–1997 → Mainz 05 (loan) 16 (0)
1998 → Kuressaare (loan) 1 (0)
1999 Strømsgodset 8 (0)
2000 Tulevik 20 (6)
2001 Start 29 (2)
2002–2005 Bryne 110 (10)
2006–2008 Levadia 91 (15)
Total 489 (56)
National team
1992–2007 Estonia 86 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Marek Lemsalu (born 24 November 1972) is an Estonian former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back for Pärnu KEK, Sport Tallinn, Pärnu Kalakombinaat/MEK, Flora, Mainz 05, Kuressaare, Strømsgodset, Tulevik, Start, Bryne and Levadia.

Lemsalu made his debut for the Estonia national team in 1992. He was captain in 1995 and 1996, and made a total of 86 appearances for the team before retiring in 2007.

Lemsalu was named Estonian Footballer of the Year in 1996 and Meistriliiga Player of the Year in 2006.[1]

Club career[]

Early career[]

Lemsalu started playing football in 1988 for his hometown club Pärnu KEK, before moving to Soviet Second League club Sport Tallinn in 1989. In 1990, he returned to Pärnu where he played for Pärnu Kalakombinaat/MEK.[1]

Flora[]

In 1992, Lemsalu signed for Flora of the newly formed Meistriliiga. With Flora, he won four Meistriliiga titles, in 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, and 1998.[1] In December 1997 he had a trial at English club Barnsley who were then in the Premier League,[2] however this didn't lead to a transfer.

Mainz 05 (loan)[]

In 1996, Lemsalu joined German 2. Bundesliga side Mainz 05 on a season-long loan for a fee of EEK 1 million.[3]

Strømsgodset[]

In 1999, Lemsalu signed for Norwegian Tippeligaen side Strømsgodset.[1]

Tulevik[]

In 2000, Lemsalu returned to Estonia and joined Tulevik.[1]

Start[]

In 2001, Lemsalu signed for Norwegian 1. divisjon side Start.[1] He helped Start to finish the 2001 season as runners-up and earn their promotion to the Tippeligaen.

Bryne[]

On 11 December 2002, Lemsalu signed a three-year contract with Norwegian Tippeligaen side Bryne.[4]

Levadia[]

On 17 January 2006, Lemsalu returned to the Meistriliiga, joining Levadia.[5] Levadia reached the first round in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, but lost to Newcastle United 1–3 on aggregate. In 2006, Lemsalu succeeded Konstantin Vassiljev as team captain. He won the 2006 Meistriliiga title and was named Meistriliiga Player of the Year. He won two more successive Meistriliiga titles in 2007 and 2008.[1] Lemsalu retired from professional football after the 2008 season, playing his last match on 15 November 2008 against TVMK.[6]

International career[]

Lemsalu made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 11 July 1992 in a 1–1 draw against Lithuania in the 1992 Baltic Cup. He was team captain in 1995 and 1996. He scored his first goal for Estonia on 22 June 1997 in a 4–1 home win against Andorra in a friendly. Lemsalu retired from international football on 28 March 2007, after a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Israel. He made a total of 86 appearances and scored 3 goals.[7]

Personal life[]

Lemsalu's daughter Liis Lemsalu is a singer and the winner of the fourth season of Eesti otsib superstaari (Estonian version of Idols).

Career statistics[]

Club[]

Club Season League Cup Europe Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Pärnu KEK 1988 2. liiga 12 0 — — 12 0
1989 17 2 — — 17 2
Total 29 2 — — 29 2
Eesti Tööstus/Flora 1989 Kõrgliiga 1 0 — — 1 0
Sport Tallinn 1989 Soviet Second League 4 0 — — 4 0
1990 Baltic League 22 0 — — 22 0
Total 26 0 — — 26 0
1990 Kõrgliiga 16 1 — — 16 1
1991 23 3 — — 23 3
Total 39 4 — — 39 4
Flora 1992 Meistriliiga 8 1 — — 8 1
1992–93 18 5 — — 18 5
1993–94 15 1 — — 15 1
1994–95 19 3 1 0 3 0 23 3
1995–96 24 3 2 0 3 0 29 3
1996–97 4 1 2 0 — 6 1
1997–98 18 1 2 0 — 20 1
1998 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
1999 8 2 1 0 — 9 2
Total 119 17 9 0 6 0 134 17
Mainz 05 (loan) 1996–97 2. Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 — — 16 0
Kuressaare (loan) 1998 Esiliiga 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
Strømsgodset 1999 Tippeligaen 8 0 0 0 — 0 0 8 0
Tulevik 2000 Meistriliiga 20 6 1 0 0 0 21 6
Start 2001 1. divisjon 29 2 3 0 — — 32 2
Bryne 2002 Tippeligaen 26 4 3 1 — — 29 5
2003 25 1 3 0 — — 28 1
2004 1. divisjon 30 1 5 0 — — 35 1
2005 29 4 4 0 — — 33 4
Total 110 10 15 1 — — 125 11
Levadia 2006 Meistriliiga 33 5 6 0 — 39 5
2007 30 6 4 0 7 0 41 6
2008 28 4 2 0 7 1 37 5
Total 91 15 12 0 14 1 111 16
Career total 489 56 18 1 22 0 20 1 549 58
  1. ^ Includes the Commonwealth of Independent States Cup, Estonian Supercup, Baltic League and Livonia Cup

International[]

National team Year Apps Goals
Estonia
1992 1 0
1993 6 0
1994 12 0
1995 7 0
1996 10 0
1997 13 1
1998 5 0
1999 10 0
2000 9 0
2001 3 0
2003 6 1
2004 2 1
2007 2 0
Total 86 3

International goals[]

Estonia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lemsalu goal.[8]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 June 1997 Kuressaare Linnastaadion, Kuressaare, Estonia  Andorra 2–0 4–1 Friendly
2 20 August 2003 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia  Poland 1–2 1–2 Friendly
3 14 February 2004 Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta  Belarus 2–0 2–1 2004 Malta International Tournament

Honours[]

Club[]

Pärnu Kalakombinaat/MEK
Flora
Levadia

Individual[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Lemsalu, Marek" (in Estonian). ESBL.
  2. ^ "Football: This Week's Transfers". The Independent. 13 December 1997.
  3. ^ "Marek Lemsalu ümber pöörlevad miljonid" (in Estonian). Eesti Päevaleht. 15 October 1996. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Marek Lemsalu ühines FK Brynega" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 11 December 2002.
  5. ^ "Ekskoondislane Marek Lemsalu ühineb FC Levadiaga" (in Estonian). Postimees. 17 January 2006.
  6. ^ Järvela, Ott (17 November 2008). "Lemsalu: sisetunne ütleb, et aeg sai ümber" (in Estonian). Õhtuleht. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  7. ^ Marek Lemsalu at National-Football-Teams.com
  8. ^ "Football PLAYER: Marek Lemsalu". eu-football.info. Retrieved 4 July 2017.

External links[]

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