Henrik Ojamaa

Henrik Ojamaa

Ojamaa warming up at a Derby County pre-season friendly match against Matlock Town in July 2009
Personal information
Full nameHenrik Ojamaa
Date of birth20 May 1991
Place of birthTallinn, Estonia
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Sarpsborg 08
(on loan from Legia Warsaw)
Number8
Youth career
–2007FC Flora Tallinn
2007–2009Derby County
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2010Derby County0(0)
2009→ Stafford Rangers (loan)5(1)
2010–2011Alemannia Aachen1(0)
2010–2011→ Alemannia Aachen II10(1)
2011→ Fortuna Sittard (loan)12(1)
2011RoPS17(2)
2012–2013Motherwell55(11)
2013–Legia Warsaw34(2)
2014–2015→ Motherwell (loan)18(3)
2015–→ Sarpsborg 08 (loan)4(0)
National team‡
2008–2009Estonia U1912(1)
2008–2012Estonia U213(3)
2012–Estonia[1]22(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 February 2015

Henrik Ojamaa (born 20 May 1991) is an Estonian international footballer who plays professionally for Sarpsborg 08 on loan from Ekstraklasa side Legia Warsaw. His preferred position is as a striker, but he is often used as an attacking midfielder or winger.

Club career

Derby County

Born in Tallinn, Ojamaa played two years for Derby County's Academy side, before signing a one-year professional contract with the club in June 2009.[2] He was Derby County's Scholar of the Year in 2008–09. At the end of November 2009, he joined Stafford Rangers on a loan for one month. He won numerous Man of the Match awards during his short spell.[3] At the end of the 2009–10 season Derby announced that, along with several first team players such as Gary Teale and Jay McEveley, Ojamaa would be released at the end of their contracts in June 2010.[4]

Alemannia Aachen

On 18 May 2010, he signed a two-year contract with German club Alemannia Aachen, starting in July 2010.[5] He made his official debut for Alemannia Aachen on 27 November 2010 when in the 88-th minute he was substituted in. On 12 January 2011, Dutch club Fortuna Sittard announced that they would rent the player for the rest of the 2010–2011 season. This meant that he played at the club for half a year, after which he went back to Alemannia Aachen.

RoPS

Ojamaa signed a three-month contract with Finnish club RoPS after his release from Alemannia Aachen. He scored two goals in 17 appearances, but the club was relegated from the Veikkausliiga and he was released.

Motherwell

After his contract with RoPS expired Ojamaa had two separate trial spells at Motherwell.[6] He signed for Motherwell until the end of the season on 4 January 2012.[7] Ojamaa scored four goals in his first five appearances for Motherwell, scoring against Queen's Park,[8] Dunfermline[9] and St. Johnstone.[10] He signed a two-and-a-half year contract on 2 February 2012, after making an instant impact at Fir Park.[11] Ojamaa celebrated his contract extension with another goal and two more assists in the match against Greenock Morton in the Scottish Cup.[12][13] His form during January led to him being awarded January SPL young player of the month,[14] as well as being named the player of the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.[15]

Ojamaa was the top assist maker in season 2012–13 with 16 assists which was four more than the second best Aaron Doran of Inverness CT.[16] Ojamaa was fondly referred to as "The Sheriff" during his spell at Fir Park due to his pistols goal celebration.

Legia Warsaw

On 6 June 2013, he signed three-year deal with the Polish Champion Legia Warsaw.[17] He picked up a mild injury during the pre-season and debuted in the Polish Ekstraklasa on 27 July 2013 against Pogoń Szczecin giving an assist in a 3–0 victory.[18] He scored his first Ekstraklasa goal on 3 August 2013 in a 4–0 victory over Podbeskidzie. The Legia fans also chose him as the best player of that game.[19]

Motherwell

In August 2014 Ojamaa returned to Motherwell on a loan deal.[20][21] At the conclusion of the loan in January 2015, Ojamaa opted not to extend his stay at Motherwell and returned to Legia Warsaw, with a move to another club expected.[22]

Club career

This statistic includes domestic league only

Season Club Country Level Apps Goals
2015 Sarpsborg 08 Norway I 4 0
2014–15 Motherwell F.C. Scotland I 18 3
2014–15 Legia Warsaw Poland I 1 0
2013–14 Legia Warsaw Poland I 33 2
2012–13 Motherwell F.C. Scotland I 37 4
2011–12 Motherwell F.C. Scotland I 18 7
2011 RoPS Finland I 17 2
2010–11 Fortuna Sittard Netherlands II 12 1
2010–11 Alemannia Aachen Germany II 1 0
2009–10 Stafford Rangers F.C. England V 5 1
2009–10 Derby County F.C. England II 0 0

Last update: 30 April 2015

International career

Youth

He was a key member of the U19 national team when they qualified for the UEFA U19 Championship Elite Round to face Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic. Ojamaa was also a member of the Estonian under-21 team.[23]

Senior

In February 2012, Ojamaa received his first senior call-up by Tarmo Rüütli for a friendly game against El Salvador.[24][25] The call-up was later dismissed by his club, Motherwell.[26] On 22 May 2012, he was selected as part of the team to face Croatia in a friendly match on 25 May.[27] He started the match alongside Estonia's record goalscorer Andres Oper, getting his first senior cap for Estonia.[28]

Personal life

His younger brother Hindrek plays for reigning Estonian champions JK Nõmme Kalju. Hindrek has had trials with Stoke City and Brondby IF. Henrik's older brother Harri ended his footballer-career at the age of 19 due to an injury. Harri now works as an agent for Golden Star Management who also represent Henrik.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Kõik Eesti internatsionaalid" [All Estonian internationals] (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  2. ↑ "Ojamaa jätkab karjääri Derbys" [Ojamaa continues his career in Derby]. Postimees (in Estonian). 29 June 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Ojamaa joins Stafford on loan". Derby County F.C. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "McEveley and Teale to move on". Derby County F.C. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "Alemannia verpflichtet Henrik Ojamaa". Alemannia Aachen (in German). 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Henrik wants Well deal". Evening Times. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Motherwell sign Henrik Ojamaa until end of season". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Motherwell 4–0 Queen's Park". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Motherwell 3–1 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Motherwell 3–2 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Motherwell secure Henrik Ojamaa on a long-term contract". BBC Sport (BBC). 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "Ojamaalt järjekordne värav ja kaks väravasöötu" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  13. ↑ "Motherwell 6–0 Morton". BBC Sport. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  14. ↑ "Motherwell striker Henrik Ojamaa wins January young player award". BBC Sport. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "Ojamaa picks up Player of the 5th Round". The Scottish Football Association. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "SPL Stats". Scottish Premier League. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Ojamaa piłkarzem Legii" (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Ojamaa andis debüüdil väravasöödu" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  19. ↑ "Ojamaa debüütkoll aitas Legia suure võiduni (eestlane mängu parim!)" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  20. ↑ "Ojamaa naaseb Motherwelli" [Ojamaa returns to Motherwell] (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Henrik Ojamaa makes Fir Park return". Motherwell F.C. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  22. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (28 January 2015). "Motherwell: Ojamaa rejects loan extension". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Aachen: Jungstürmer von Derby County Ojamaa kommt mit "englischer Ausbildung"
  24. ↑ "Koondise koosseisus mänguks El Salvadoriga üks debütant" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  25. ↑ "Selgus Eesti jalgpallikoondise koosseis mänguks El Salvadoriga" (in Estonian). Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  26. ↑ "Selgus Eesti koondis mänguks El Salvadoriga, Ojamaa ei mängi koduklubi vastuseisu tõttu" (in Estonian). Delfi.ee. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  27. ↑ "Selgus koondise koosseis Ukraina ja Horvaatia vastu" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  28. ↑ "Debütandid? Ei ole põhjust nuriseda" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  29. ↑ "Ojamaa: olen oma vendadest halvem mängija" (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.

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