Estonian national team goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein has been named men's footballer of the year.
Hein received the award at the annual Football Gala held at the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn at the weekend.
"I'm certainly very satisfied with the year, especially with the first half of it. I played in almost all the matches. There was a small injury break in between, but even so I racked up plenty of games," Hein told ERR.
"Defending the Estonia national team goal is a big responsibility, but I gladly take on that responsibility to help the team. I hope to start achieving big things with the national side in the future as well. For me, this is the greatest honor," he added.
The 23-year-old Hein played last season for Spain's Real Valladolid, on loan from Arsenal, getting 13 La Liga appearances. For this season, he was loaned to Bundesliga club Werder Bremen, who he has so far played for twice. Hein also got nine national team caps this year.
As per tradition, men's footballer of the year was determined via a survey conducted by the Estonian Football Journalists' Club (EJAK) and the Estonian Football Association (EJL), with 41 electors each. Each of whom nominated their top three players of the year.
Hein was the clear victor with 214 points and 61 first-place votes, way ahead of national team defender Maksim Paskotši (KAA Gent) in second place with 121 points.
Meanwhile the Women's Footballer of the Year title went to Estonia national team captain and top Austrian side LASK LInz defender Siret Räämet, who beat out Vlada Kubassova and Katarina Elisabeth Käpa.
The 25-year-old Räämet featured in all 11 matches played by the women's national team this year, wearing the captain's armband and playing the full 90 minutes in every game.
Siret Räämet collecting her award. Source: Liisi Troska/jalgpall.ee
Räämet has also been a reliable pillar of defense at club level, playing in all matches last season, scoring three goals.
Former national team legend midfielder Konstantin Vassiljev won the Albert Vollrat Coach of the Year, after leading Tallinna FC Flora win the Meistriliiga in his debut season as a manager.
Patrik Kristal (18) who plays for FC Köln reserves in Germany and won seven senior national team caps this year won Men's Junior of the Year award, and Katarina Elisabeth Käpa (19) won the women's equivalent. A four-time Estonian champion with Tallinna FC Flora, Käpa began the year with victories in the Super Cup and the cup final. In August, she signed her first foreign contract and joined Polish second-tier club Konin Medyk.
She made her national team debut at the end of last year against Kosovo, and has been capped nine more times since then.
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