Martin Vetkal

Martin Vetkal is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club A.S. Roma.[1]

Martin Vetkal
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-02-21) 21 February 2004
Place of birth Tallinn, Estonia
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Roma
Youth career
–2011 JK Püsivus Kohila
2012–2019 Tallinna Kalev
2020– Roma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Tallinna Kalev 19 (1)
National team
2018– Estonia U16 1 (0)
2019– Estonia U17 11 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 June 2020

Club career

Vetkal made his debut with Tallinna Kalev in Estonian top tier on 21 June 2019 against FC Flora, allegedly needing a special autorisation from the federation to play being only aged 15.[2]

He became the youngest scorer ever of the Estonian Premium Liiga, scoring his first goal at 15 years and 261 days against Viljandi JK Tulevik on 9 November 2019.[3] He was considered as one of the top prospects of his generation in Europe at his very early age.[4]

Following his debut season in Estonia, he visited several Italian club such as Genova, SPAL or Sassuolo.[5] In March 2020 he did a test for Schalke 04, along with his teammate Tristan Toomas Teeväli.[6][7]

He signed for A.S. Roma in August 2020.[8]

International career

Vetkal is a youth international with Estonia, and was set to play in the 2020 Euro U17 to be held in his country,[9] that was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Preparing this competition the Estonians played against several other countries in friendlies or minor tournament, gaining wins against big European team such as France,[10] Sweden[11] or Spain.[12]

References
  1. Martin Vetkal at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  2. "Flora sai Kalevi vastu kindla võidu (galerii!)". Soccernet. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. "Vägev lõppakord: Flora veristas Maardut, Kalev jäi ellu ja noor vutimees kirjutas ajalugu". Postimees (in Estonian). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. Gałęzewski, Michał (22 December 2019). "PKO Ekstraklasa. Kacper Urbański z Lechii Gdańsk to trzeci najmłodszy debiutant w Europie". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  5. Voolaid, Rasmus (5 December 2019). "Premium liiga ajaloo noorim väravalööja näitab end mitmele Serie A klubile". Soccernet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. "Saksamaa tippklubi kutsus Eesti jalgpallitalendid testimisele". Postimees (in Estonian). 2 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. "Saksamaa kõrgliiga kuues meeskond kutsus kaks eestlast testimisele". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. Arike, Ville (27 August 2020). "Eesti jalgpallitalent sõlmis AS Romaga profilepingu". Postimees.
  9. Kangur, Kristjan Jaak (24 April 2019). "Supervärava löönud Vetkal: võime mängida ükskõik kellega!". Soccernet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. "Courte défaite face à l'Estonie (1–2)". fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. "Kõva sõna! Eesti U17 jalgpallikoondis võitis Rootsit". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 27 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  12. "La Sub-17 conquista el Torneo de Exentos pese a caer (2–3) ante Estonia". sefutbol (in Spanish). 24 September 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
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