Quick Facts
Biography
Henri Anier (born 17 December 1990) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He currently plays for Scottish Premiership side Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He has also earned 34 caps for the Estonia national football team.
Club career
Flora
Anier started playing football at Flora's youth academy. He joined Esiliiga club Warrior on loan for the 2007 season, and scored 13 goals in 24 appearances. He was moved to Flora first team for the 2008 season. Anier made his Meistriliiga debut on 8 March 2008, in a 1–1 home draw against Nõmme Kalju. During his first season with Flora, Anier scored 15 goals in 28 appearances. After the season, Anier went on trials with clubs around Europe such as Hannover 96, Palermo and Ascoli.
In 2009, Anier joined Italian side Sampdoria on loan for the reminder of the season, with an options to make the deal permanent. After leaving Sampdoria in 2010, he returned to Flora, where he had his breakthrough season, scoring 13 goals, including a hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Lootus and helped his club to win the title.
The 2011 season proved to be even more successful as Anier was Flora's top goalscorer in the league with 21 goals, while the club defended their Meistriliiga title. Anier scored his new personal best four goals in a 13–1 thrashing against bottom side Ajax. Anier scored another hat-trick on 27 September 2011, in a 6–0 win against Sillamäe Kalev.
Viking
On 20 December 2011, Anier signed a three-year contract with Norwegian side Viking. Anier made his league debut on the opening day of the 2012 season, a 2–2 away draw against Sandnes Ulf.
On 4 April 2013, Anier joined Fredrikstad on loan until 15 July 2013. He scored his first goal for Fredrikstad on 22 April 2013, in a 1–2 defeat against Sandefjord. On 16 May 2013, Anier scored twice, in a 4–0 win over Stabæk.
Motherwell
On 29 July 2013, after failing to secure a regular first-team spot in Viking, Anier joined Scottish Premiership club Motherwell on a six-month loan, after being recommended by his Estonian teammate Henrik Ojamaa, who left the club, the previous month. Anier scored on his debut, in the opening game of the season, after coming on as a substitute, in a 1–0 win over Hibernian, and another in his second league match, a 1–3 defeat against Aberdeen. On 10 January 2014, Anier signed for Motherwell on a permanent deal until Summer 2016.
Erzgebirge Aue
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Anier signed for German 2. Bundesliga club Erzgebirge Aue for an undisclosed transfer fee.
Dundee United
On 16 January 2015, Anier returned to the Scottish Premiership, signing for Dundee United. He scored his first goal for the club on 14 February 2015, in a 3–2 away defeat against Kilmarnock.
On 1 September 2015, Anier moved on loan to Hibernian, initially for the remainder of the 2015–16 season, however he was recalled to Tannadice in January 2016 after making just three substitute appearances for Hibernian.
On 8 August 2016, Anier left Dundee United, with his contract cancelled by mutual consent.
Kalmar
On 10 August 2016, Anier signed a contract with Swedish club Kalmar for the remainder of the season. He scored his first goal for the club on 17 September 2016, against Östersund.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
On 16 January 2017, Anier returned to Scottish football, signing for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He made his debut as a substitute in a 2-1 victory over Elgin City in the Scottish Cup.
International career
Anier started his international youth career in 2006. In May 2011, he was named to the Estonia national team to face Basque Country. He made his debut for Estonia on 25 May 2011, when he came on as a substitute in the second half of this non-FIFA match. He started in friendly matches against Chile on 19 June 2011, and against Uruguay on 23 June 2011, making his first official appearances for his country. He scored his first goal for Estonia on 8 November 2012, in an international friendly match against Oman, coming on in the 64th minute of the match and producing a goal from Taavi Rähn's headed pass in the 85th minute.
Personal life
Anier's younger brother Hannes Anier was also a professional footballer.
Anier attended Tallinn Secondary Science School in 1998 and attended the school until he was nine. While at Primary school, Anier was the key player and captain for the school's football team. In 2007, Anier studied at Tallinn German Gymnasium in Tallinn. In 2011, Anier was accepted at Tallinn University to study Physical Education Bachelor's.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Warrior (loan) | 2007 | Esiliiga | 24 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 13 | |||
| Flora II | 2008 | Esiliiga | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 7 | |||
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 | ||
| Flora | 2008 | Meistriliiga | 28 | 15 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 15 | |||
| 2009 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 6 | |||
| 2010 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 13 | |||
| 2011 | 32 | 21 | 5 | 10 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 31 | |||
| Total | 86 | 52 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 109 | 65 | ||
| Viking 2 | 2012 | 3. divisjon | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 4 | ||||
| Viking | 2012 | Eliteserien | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| Fredrikstad (loan) | 2013 | 1. divisjon | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 16 | 5 | |||
| Motherwell (loan) | 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 7 | |
| Motherwell | 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | |
| Erzgebirge Aue | 2014–15 | 2. Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Dundee United | 2014–15 | Scottish Premiership | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 3 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Scottish Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||
| Total | 20 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 6 | ||
| Hibernian (loan) | 2015–16 | Scottish Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Kalmar | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2016–17 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 225 | 91 | 23 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 269 | 111 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | |||
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2014 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 34 | 7 | |
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 November 2012 | Sultan Qaboos Stadium, Muscat, Oman | 3 |  Oman | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 26 March 2013 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 5 |  Andorra | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 7 June 2013 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 7 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 19 November 2013 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | 13 |  Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 6 | 18 November 2014 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 21 |  Jordan | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 13 November 2016 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | 32 |  Belgium | 1–3 | 1–8 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
- Meistriliiga: 2010, 2011
- Estonian Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
- Estonian Supercup: 2011