Indrek Zelinski
Footballer
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The basics
Quick Facts
| Intro | Footballer | |
| Places | Estonia | |
| is | Sports official Athlete Football player Association football player Association football manager | |
| Work field | Sports | |
| Gender |
| |
| Birth | 13 November 1974, Pärnu | |
| Age | 50 years |
The details
Biography
Indrek Zelinski (born 13 November 1974) is an Estonian football manager and former professional football player.
Club career
When he was 12 years old, he started his career under a youth coach, Märt Siigur, in his hometown. He played for local sides Kalju Sindi, KEK Pärnu and JK Pärnu Kalev, before moving to FC Flora Tallinn.
FC Flora Tallinn
He did not enjoy instant success in the new team. He was mostly a bench player and played for the reserve team. Zelinski first made his name in 1994, when he scored a hat-trick in a play-off match for the league title. He made the international debut in the same year, but still failed to become a first team regular in Flora. He bloomed after coming back from a year-long loan to JK Tervis Pärnu, under a new Flora coach, Teitur Thordarson.
FC Lahti
In 1999, Zelinski was about to join English side Blackpool F.C. for £150,000 but he was rejected a work permit. Instead he joined Finnish Veikkausliiga side FC Lahti on loan, but failed to make headlines there and returned to Flora the next season.
In 2001, he was bought by Danish side Aalborg BK in 2001, where he joined his international striking partner Andres Oper. The first season was a success as he scored 13 goals and finished fifth in the league top scorers list. In 2002–03 season, the club changed its head coach and Zelinski found himself from the bench, so he was loaned out to Landskrona BoIS and Boldklubben Frem.
FC Levadia Tallinn
In January 2005, he returned to Estonia as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with Flora's league rivals Levadia. In August 2009, he announced that he will almost certainly retire from professional football at the end of the season. He played his last game on November 10, 2009 against Paide Linnameeskond, where he was sent off in the end of the first half for a professional foul.
Statistics
| Season | League level | Country | Team | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Goals | ||||
| 1991 | 2 | Kalju Sindi | |||
| 1992 | KEK Pärnu | ||||
| 1992–93 | 3 | JK Kalev Pärnu | |||
| 1993–94 | 1 | FC Flora Tallinn | 10 | 6 | |
| 3 | FC Lelle | ||||
| 1994–95 | 1 | FC Flora Tallinn | 3 | 0 | |
| 2 | FC Lelle | ||||
| JK Tervis Pärnu | |||||
| 1995–96 | 1 | 10 | 0 | ||
| FC Flora Tallinn | 9 | 1 | |||
| 1996–97 | 22 | 5 | |||
| 1997–98 | 21 | 13 | |||
| 1998 | 12 | 10 | |||
| 1999 | 26 | 14 | |||
| 2 | FC Kuressaare | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2000 | 1 | FC Lahti | 22 | 5 | |
| 2001 | FC Flora Tallinn | 12 | 13 | ||
| 2001–02 | Aalborg BK | 31 | 13 | ||
| 2002–03 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2003 | Landskrona BoIS | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04 | Boldklubben Frem | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | 2 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 2005 | 1 | FC Levadia Tallinn | 29 | 18 | |
| 2006 | 32 | 21 | |||
| 2007 | 31 | 23 | |||
| 2008 | 33 | 15 | |||
| 2009 | 26 | 7 | |||
| Total | |||||
International career
During his national team career he has been capped 103 times and scored 27 goals, the former Estonian goalscoring record. He made the national team debut on 7 May 1994 against USA. On 16 November 1996 Zelinski scored three goals in a friendly against Indonesia.
His last appearance for Estonia came against Andorra in which he scored the winner in the last minute and was sent off seconds after for taking off his shirt for a second bookable offence. He was interviewed on Sky Sports News saying that he originally had planned to retire from internationals in the autumn, but scoring the winner, it felt like the best time to leave the national scene.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Scored | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-11-13 | Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Andorra la Vella | Andorra | 1–0 | 6–1 | Friendly match |
| 2 | 1996-11-16 | Stadio Giuseppe Olmo, Celle Ligure | Indonesia | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly match |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 3–0 | |||||
| 5 | 1997-03-01 | Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca | Azerbaijan | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly match |
| 6 | 1997-05-18 | Kadrioru Stadium, Tallinn | Latvia | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 1997-06-22 | Kuressaare Linnastaadion, Kuressaare | Andorra | 1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly match |
| 8 | 1998-06-22 | Kuressaare Linnastaadion, Kuressaare | Andorra | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
| 9 | 1998-09-23 | Kadrioru Stadium, Tallinn | Egypt | 2–0 | 2–2 | Friendly match |
| 10 | 1998-11-21 | Abovyan City Stadium, Abovyan | Armenia | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly match |
| 11 | 1999-01-22 | Hapoel Umm al-Fahm F.C., Umm Al-Fahm | Norway | 2–3 | 3–3 | Friendly match |
| 12 | 3–3 | |||||
| 13 | 1999-03-16 | Neo GSZ Stadium, Larnaca | Cyprus | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
| 14 | 2000-02-23 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok | Finland | 1–4 | 2–4 | 2000 King's Cup |
| 15 | 2000-12-10 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
| 16 | 2–1 | |||||
| 17 | 2001-06-02 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn | Netherlands | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 2001-07-03 | Skonto Stadium, Riga | Latvia | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2001 Baltic Cup |
| 19 | 2001-08-15 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn | Cyprus | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 20 | 2001-11-10 | Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens | Greece | 2–4 | 2–4 | Friendly match |
| 21 | 2002-03-14 | Stadio Enzo Mazotti, Montecatini Terme | Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly match |
| 22 | 2002-05-21 | Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle | San Marino | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly match |
| 23 | 2002-10-12 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn | New Zealand | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly match |
| 24 | 2003-04-30 | Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Andorra la Vella | Andorra | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualification |
| 25 | 2–0 | |||||
| 26 | 2003-12-20 | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat | Oman | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly match |
| 27 | 2007-08-22 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn | Andorra | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualification |
Manager career
In 2011, Zelinski became FC Levadia III manager.
Since 2012 Indrek Zelinski is FC Levadia assistant manager.
Personal life
He has a daughter, Johanna-Lisa (b. 2000), with his girlfriend Sigrit Järvamägi, who is a two-time Estonian cup winner with FC Flora Tallinn women's team.
Honours
Individual
- Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2001
- Estonian Silverball: 2000, 2003, 2007