Andreas Vaikla

Estonian footballer (born 1997)
Andreas Vaikla
Vaikla with Mariehamn in 2017
Personal information
Full name Andreas Raido Karuks Vaikla
Date of birth (1997-02-19) 19 February 1997 (age 27)[1]
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Scrosoppi FC
Youth career
Spartacus SC
Wexford SC
2013 North Scarborough SC
2013–2015 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 IFK Norrköping 13 (0)
2017 IFK Mariehamn 26 (0)
2018 Kristiansund 2 8 (0)
2018–2019 Kristiansund 1 (0)
2019–2020 IFK Norrköping 0 (0)
2020 Narva Trans 8 (0)
2021–2022 Toronto FC II 13 (0)
2022 → FC Edmonton (loan) 21 (0)
2023– Scrosoppi FC 17 (0)
International career‡
2012 Estonia U16 1 (0)
2013 Estonia U17 1 (0)
2015 Estonia U19 10 (0)
2016–2018 Estonia U21 7 (0)
2016–2017 Estonia 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 2, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 December 2018

Andreas Raido Karuks Vaikla (born 19 February 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scrosoppi FC in League1 Ontario. Born in Canada, he represented Estonia at international level.

Early life

Vaikla began playing football in Canada. In 2013, he received a call-up to the Estonia under-16 team, being eligible due to his Estonian parents. He was scouted by West Bromwich Albion in a match against the Republic of Ireland, which led to him later joining the English club's academy the same year.

Club career

In July 2015, Vaikla signed a year-and-a-half contract with Swedish club IFK Norrköping.[2][3] He was a part of the IFK Norrköping squad that won both the 2015 Allsvenskan and the 2015 Svenska Supercupen, however only appearing as an unused substitute. Vaikla made his debut for the club on 20 February 2016, a day after his 19th birthday, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 victory over Östersunds FK in the 2015–16 Svenska Cupen.[4] On April 22, Vaikla made his debut in the Allsvenskan, replacing the injured David Mitov Nilsson in the 19th minute of a 1–2 loss to Falkenbergs FF.[5] He made 13 league appearances in the 2016 season.

In February 2017, Vaikla signed a three-year contract with Finnish champions IFK Mariehamn.[6][7] He made his debut in the Veikkausliiga on 8 April 2017, in a 5–2 home victory over JJK.

In December 2017, Vaikla signed a two-year contract with Norwegian club Kristiansund.[8]

In August 2019, he returned to Swedish club IFK Norrköping.[9]

In February 2020, he joined Estonian club JK Narva Trans of the top division Meistriliiga, after declining some offers from teams in Scandiavian countries who were only offering backup roles.[10] He dealt with various injuries over the course of the season, eventually having his contract terminated in October, due to continuing injuries.[11]

In May 2021, he signed with Toronto FC II of USL League One.[12][13] He made his debut on May 29 against North Texas SC in a 1–1 draw.[14] In July, he earned USL League One Save of the Week honours for Week 15 for a save against North Carolina FC.[15] He was named to the USL League One Team of the Week for Weeks 20 and 21.[16][17]

In March 2022, Vaikla went on loan with Canadian Premier League side FC Edmonton.[18] He made his debut for Edmonton on April 10, in the season-opener against Valour FC.[19]

For the 2023 season, he joined Scrosoppi FC in League1 Ontario.[20] He was named a league Second Team All-Star at the end of the season.[21]

International career

Born in Canada to Estonian parents, Vaikla has represented Estonia at under-16, under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels.

On 14 March 2016, Vaikla was called up by manager Magnus Pehrsson to the Estonia squad to face Norway and Serbia in friendly matches, but remained an unused substitute.[22] He made his debut for the senior national team on 1 June 2016, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 friendly home win over Andorra.[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of September 2, 2023[24][25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs National Cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
IFK Norrköping 2015 Allsvenskan 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0
2016 Allsvenskan 13 0 — 5 0 2[b] 0 20 0
Total 13 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 20 0
IFK Mariehamn 2017 Veikkausliiga 26 0 — 4 0 1[b] 0 31 0
Kristiansund 2 2018 3. divisjon 8 0 — — — 8 0
Kristiansund 2018 Eliteserien 1 0 — 1 0 — 2 0
2019 Eliteserien 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0
IFK Norrköping 2019 Allsvenskan 0 0 — 1 0 0 0 1 0
JK Narva Trans 2020 Meistriliiga 8 0 — 3 0 — 11 0
Toronto FC II 2021 USL League One 13 0 — — — 13 0
FC Edmonton (loan) 2022 Canadian Premier League 21 0 — 1 0 — 22 0
Scrosoppi FC 2023[20] League1 Ontario 17 0 2 0 — — 19 0
Career total 107 0 2 0 15 0 3 0 127 0

International

As of 1 December 2018.[1]
National team Year Apps Goals
Estonia 2016 2 0
2017 1 0
Total 3 0

References

  1. ^ a b "Andreas Raido Karuks Vaikla" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  2. ^ "Noor Eesti väravavaht sõlmis Rootsi tippklubiga profilepingu" [Young Estonian goalkeeper signed a professional contract with Swedish top club]. Postimees (in Estonian). 24 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Nyförvärvet presenteras" (in Swedish). SvenskaFans. 29 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Eesti noortekoondislane hoidis karikamängus Rootsis puuri puhtana" [Estonia youth kept a clean sheet in the Swedish Cup] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 21 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Falkenbergs FF 2–1 Falkenbergs FF" (in Swedish). Svensk Fotboll. 22 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Eesti koondise väravavaht lööb kolmeks aastaks käed Soome meistriga" [Estonia national team goalkeeper strikes a deal with the Finnish champions for three years] (in Estonian). ERR Sport. 1 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Andreas Vaikla IFK Mariehamnin maalille". veikkausliiga.com. 1 February 2017.
  8. ^ "KBK henter ny målvakt" (in Norwegian). Kristiansund BK. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  9. ^ Kristoffersson, Daniel (August 2, 2019). "Mitov Nilsson till Sundsvall – Peking har ersättare klar" [Mitov Nilsson to Sundsvall - Beijing has a replacement ready]. Expressen (in Swedish).
  10. ^ Gamzejev, Erik (February 17, 2020). "Narva Transi väravat asub kaitsma Torontos sündinud väliseestlane" [A foreigner born in Toronto will defend the Narva Trans gate]. Põhjarannik (in Estonian).
  11. ^ Nõmm, Anders (October 25, 2020). "Narva Trans lõpetas vigastatud ekskoondislasega lepingu" [Narva Trans terminated the contract with the injured ex-employee]. Eesti Rahvusringhääling (in Estonian).
  12. ^ "Toronto FC II sign Andreas Vaikla". Toronto FC. May 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Kangur, Kristjan Jaak (May 18, 2021). "Tagasi sünnilinna: Vaikla liitus MLS-i klubi duubelmeeskonnaga" [Back to hometown: Vaikla joined MLS club's second team]. SoccerNet (in Estonian).
  14. ^ Steiner, Ben (May 30, 2021). "Three points slip away as TFC II settle for a draw in Texas". Waking the Red.
  15. ^ "League One Fans' Choice Save of the Week - Week 15". USL League One. July 20, 2021.
  16. ^ "USL League One Team of the Week - Week 20". USL League One. August 23, 2021.
  17. ^ "USL League One Team of the Week - Week 21". USL League One. August 30, 2021.
  18. ^ "FC Edmonton acquires goalkeeper Andreas Vaikla". FC Edmonton. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  19. ^ Khoury, Anthony (April 11, 2022). "Loan Watch: Luke Singh and Andreas Vaikla debut for FC Edmonton". Waking the Red.
  20. ^ a b "Andreas Vaikla 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  21. ^ "MVP Tomasz Skublak leads line in star-studded XI". League1 Ontario. November 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "10 PÄEVA MÄNGUNI: Pehrsson avalikustas koondise koosseisu" [Pehrsson revealed the squad] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 14 March 2016.
  23. ^ "Eesti alistas Joel Lindpere lahkumismängus Andorra 2:0" [Estonia defeated Andorra 2–0 in Joel Lindpere's testimonial] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 1 June 2016.
  24. ^ Andreas Vaikla at Soccerway
  25. ^ "Andreas Raido Karuks Vaikla" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andreas Vaikla.