Karol Mets

Karol Mets (Estonian: [ˈkɑrol mets]; born 16 May 1993) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays for Saudi club Al-Ettifaq and the Estonia national team. Mainly a centre back, he can also play as a defensive midfielder.

Karol Mets
Personal information
Full name Karol Mets
Date of birth (1993-05-16) 16 May 1993
Place of birth Viljandi, Estonia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Al-Ettifaq
Number 5
Youth career
2003–2009 Tulevik
2011 Flora
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Tulevik II 51 (4)
2010 Warrior 4 (1)
2010–2014 Flora 115 (7)
2011–2012 Flora II 19 (3)
2014–2017 Viking 72 (0)
2017–2019 NAC Breda 40 (1)
2019–2020 AIK 46 (2)
2020– Al-Ettifaq 0 (0)
National team‡
2009 Estonia U17 8 (0)
2010 Estonia U18 1 (0)
2010–2012 Estonia U19 32 (0)
2012–2014 Estonia U21 20 (0)
2013– Estonia 63 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 August 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 October 2020

Club career

Tulevik

Mets came through the Tulevik youth system, and played for the club's reserve sides Tulevik II and Warrior.

Flora

In November 2010, Mets was included in Flora's first team squad for pre-season training.[1] He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2011, against Levadia in the Estonian Supercup match. Flora won 5–3 on penalties. Mets made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 2 April 2011, in a 1–0 away victory over Kuressaare. He soon established himself as Flora's first choice centre back alongside Karl Palatu. Mets helped Flora win the Meistriliiga title in 2011.[2]

Viking

On 5 December 2014, Mets signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Viking.[3] He made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 6 April 2015, in a 1–0 away loss to Mjøndalen.[4]

NAC Breda

On 31 July 2017, Mets joined Eredivisie club NAC Breda on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, rumored to be around €100,000.[5] He made his debut in the Eredivisie in a 1–4 away loss to Vitesse on 12 August 2017, when he came on as a half-time substitute for Arno Verschueren. Mets scored his first goal for NAC Breda on 20 September 2017, in a 3–4 loss to Achilles '29 in the first round of the KNVB Cup.[6]

AIK

On 14 March 2019, Mets signed a three-year contract with Swedish champions AIK for a fee of €300,000.[7] He made his debut in the Allsvenskan on 31 March 2019, in a 0–0 home draw against Östersund.[8]

Al-Ettifaq

On 2 October 2020, Mets signed a three-year contract with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq.[9]

International career
Mets playing against Portugal at the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship

Mets has represented Estonia at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels. He was named in the Estonia under-19 squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Estonia. Mets played in every group stage match, but failed to help the team progress to the semi-finals as Estonia lost all three games against Portugal, Greece and Spain.

Mets made his senior international debut for Estonia on 19 November 2013, in a 3–0 away victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly.[10]

Career statistics

Club
As of 3 September 2019.[11][12][13][14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tulevik II2009Esiliiga28330—1[lower-alpha 2]0323
2010II liiga231———231
Total51430—10554
Warrior2010Esiliiga4100—0041
Flora2011Meistriliiga16131003[lower-alpha 3]0222
2012Meistriliiga324302[lower-alpha 4]000374
2013Meistriliiga322402[lower-alpha 5]0—382
2014Meistriliiga35032—00382
Total1157133403013510
Flora II2011Esiliiga17100——171
2012Esiliiga2200——22
Total19300——193
Viking2015Tippeligaen28060——340
2016Tippeligaen29030——320
2017Eliteserien15020——170
Total720110——830
NAC Breda2017–18Eredivisie25011——261
2018–19Eredivisie15110——161
Total40121——422
AIK2019Allsvenskan1900080—270
Career total320162941204036520
  1. Includes the Estonian Cup, Norwegian Cup and KNVB Cup
  2. Appearance in Esiliiga relegation play-offs
  3. Two appearances in Baltic Champions Cup, one appearance in Estonian Supercup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of 1 December 2018[15][16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Estonia
201310
2014130
201590
2016130
201790
201870
Total520

Honours

Club

Flora

Individual

References
  1. "Flora alustab hooajaks ettevalmistumist detsembri keskel" [Flora will begin preparations for the coming season in mid-December]. Postimees (in Estonian). 29 November 2010.
  2. "FC Flora kindlustas 2011. aasta meistritiitli" [FC Flora secured the 2011 championship title] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 1 November 2011.
  3. "Karol Mets liitub Norra kõrgliigaklubiga" [Karol Mets joins Norwegian top-flight club] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 5 December 2014.
  4. "Karol Mets alustas esimest välismaa hooaega põhimehena" [Karol Mets began his first season abroad as a starter] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 6 April 2015.
  5. "Asi kindel: Eesti jalgpallikoondislane siirdub Hollandi kõrgliigasse" [Confirmed: Estonian international moves to Dutch top flight]. Postimees (in Estonian). 31 July 2017.
  6. "Mets avas Hollandis väravaarve, kuid Breda sai šokeeriva kaotuse" [Mets scored his first goal in the Netherlands, but Breda suffered a shocking loss] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 20 September 2017.
  7. "Karol Mets liitus Rootsi valitseva meisterklubiga" [Karol Mets joined the reigning Swedish champions] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 14 March 2019.
  8. "Mets tegi Rootsis pea 30 000 inimese ees eduka debüüdi" [Mets made a successful debut in Sweden in front of almost 30,000 people] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 1 April 2019.
  9. "الاتفاق يدعم صفوفه بمدافع المنتخب الاستوني". 10 October 2020.
  10. "Eesti võitis Liechtensteini 3:0" [Estonia defeated Liechtenstein 3–0] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 19 November 2013.
  11. "Karol Mets" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  12. "Karol Mets" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway.
  13. "Karol Mets". Soccerway.com.
  14. "Mets, Karol". National-Football-Teams.com.
  15. Karol Mets national team profile at the Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
  16. "Karol Mets" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
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