Hello, can you introduce yourself?
M.P : Hello, my name is Märten Pajunurm and I am a 30 year old football player from Estonia. Currently I am also living in Estonia, playing in the top division and my position is centerback.
Can you tell us about your football career?
M.P : I started my career in my hometown Rapla, which is a small town in Estonia, but when I turned 15 I joined one of the biggest clubs in Estonia called FC Flora where I started in the U16 team and in 3 years made it all the way to the first team. Unfortunately I was not able to have my breakthrough in the first team and after some successful loan periods to another team in the Premier division I permanently transferred there. That club is called FC Kuressaare and I made my debut in this club in 2011 and after some years abroad I have been in this club for the last 5 years now and most of that time I have been the captain as well.
One of the highlights of my career has been being part of the U-19 Estonian national team where I got to play many games and play directly against stars like Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard and Niclas Fullkrüg for example. I was also part of the historic Estonian U-19 team when Estonia hosted the U-19 European championships in 2012 that featured players like Paul Pogba and Harry Kane.
I have also played in USA for 4 years from 2014-2018 as a student-athlete in the NCAA highest division where I was able to obtain a bacherlor’s degree while also continuing to play football at a solid level.
One more interesting fact is that I am the all-time best penalty taker in the Premium division – I have scored 25 out of 26 penalties.
Can you tell us about your club?
M.P : My club is called FC Kuressaare, which is based on the Estonia’s biggest island Saaremaa and its capital Kuressaare. Historically the people from this island were vikings so this has a strong cultural identity impact on the team and our nickname is vikings and every home game as a captain I walk on to the field while holding a viking helmet in my arms. The stadium is located in between the sea and Kuressaare castle – truly a remarkable and beautiful location. When I first joined this club, we were always fighting just to stay in the league and most seasons had to play relegation play-off games to secure our place in the top division, but in the last years we have been able to turn it around.
Our clubs reputation is a little bit similar to the famous Stoke City team from 10-15 years ago, because we are a very physical team that loves to play direct and fast and we even use throw-ins in the attack like set pieces. Also as our stadium is right next to the sea, its often windier there than normal and other teams hate playing there against us and our home record is usually very good. It is a very passionate and hard-working club wit ha special culture and I love being a part of it.
Can you tell us about the league in which you currently play?
M.P : It is the highest division in Estonia and it is called Estonian Premium league. It is a professional league which has 10 clubs and as our winters are really tough, the season lasts from March until November.
How is the league going?
M.P : As our season is from March to November we started the preseason in the beginning of January and are currently training really hard. Also something new is that this year Estonia and Latvia have a preseason tournament going on so for all the preseason games we will only be playing against Latvian teams which will be very interesting to see how the level compares.
Last season in 2023 we ended in 7th place and 43 points, but the league last season was the most competitive it has ever been and although we finished 7th we ended up only 10 points behind the 3rd place. That 7th position and 43 points was the second best result in history for our club only behind our record-breaking season in 2022 where we were 5th place with 50 points. Historically we have usually been around 30 points fighting for the relegation.
What were your first impressions of playing in this league for the first time?
M.P : I made my debut in the league when I was 18 years old and I remember being really anxious and super excited, but after a few games I got much more confidence and realized I can handle that level and do good in this league. The playing tempo of the top teams and the pace of some top players was intimidating at first, but I got used to it quickly.
We had a special fan group at the time and after scoring my first and second goal ever for this club both from freekicks in the same game they made a song with my name and as an 18 year old making my first steps in big football that was something really special that I will always remember.
How do you see the championship in Europe?
M.P : The level of the league is not strong compared to most leagues in Europe, but in the last years a lot of national team players have returned to play in Estonia and the overall level of the league has improved since my debut in this league in 2011 compared to now. The best achievement from the league is that FC Flora qualified to the European Conference League in 2021 where they had very solid performances and even beat Partizan Belgrade for example.
The attendance numbers are rising, but they are still one of the smallest compared to the other Prem divisions across Europe and financially the league is not good either.
Do you have an anecdote to tell us about the championship ?
M.P : One season when the title was decided in the last round, but the teams deciding the title were playing in different cities at the same time so the Football Association president had the trophy in his car and was waiting in between the two cities and watching closely how the games are going to be able to decide which team is going to win the title so he can drive to the correct city to hand the trophy to the champions.
How would you present the championship to other people, talking about tactics?
M.P : When it comes to tactthere are a lot of varieties in the league and some extremely different game philosophies and team identities. There are some low pressing very low block counter attacking teams as well as teams really focused on the ball. My team has also a very interesting approach with our really high press where the intensity and risk is very high where often times the defenders in the back have to be comfortable staying 1vs1 with the attackers.
Who do you think is a player to watch in the league at the moment?
M.P : From Estonian players there are exciting young talents like Robert Veering and Tristan Pajo from FC Flora.
From foreign players I would expect Bourama Fomba and Mollo Bessala from Levadia to make the next step and there is also a really great goalkeeper Ebrima Jarju from Gambia who plays for Paide Linnameeskond who definitely has the potential to have a good career.
What’s special about your championship?
M.P : We usually start and finish the season in the snow, in March and November respectively so there are some crazy games during these periods.
Also, the variety of the teams strategies and playing culture makes it special – most teams have their own unique approach to the game.
Why watch your league?
M.P : It might not be the highest level of football being played compared to the big leagues, but it is very pure and real football, there’s always stuff that can happen that you’d never get to see in the Premier League – crazy mistakes, amazing goals from your own half, insane weather conditions and unbelievable success stories from surprise teams and players.
Absolutely every game is streamed online so it is very easy to watch as well.
Thank you for answering my questions. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
M.P : Thank you for this opportunity and best of luck!
JustFoot 
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