Reim to return for Estonian curtain call

Estonia's most-capped player Martin Reim will strap up his boots one last time after being awarded a testimonial against Equatorial Guinea in Tallinn on 6 June, the same day Estonian football marks its centenary.

Record-breaker
Reim is a talisman for football in the Baltic state. In a career spanning two decades before his retirement in December 2008, the midfielder won seven league titles, three Estonian Cups and four Super Cups with FC Flora, also claiming the 1995 Player of the Year prize. Yet it was his contribution to the national team that endeared the 37-year-old to so many in his homeland. He made his debut against Slovenia in 1992, in Estonia's first match following independence from the Soviet Union, and was a mainstay of the side for 16 years. Having surpassed Marko Kristal's national record of 143 appearances, he replaced Germany's Lothar Matthäus (150) as Europe's most-capped player in a UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier in August 2007.

Event
Latvia captain Vitalijs Astafjevs may soon improve on that statistic, which stands at 156, but will become 157 on 6 June when Reim is granted his curtain call at Tallinn's A. Le Coq Arena. He will become just the second player to be given a testimonial for achieving 100 caps by the Estonian Football Association, following Kristal in April 2005. Four other centurions – Mart Poom, Andres Oper, Kristen Viikmäe and Indrek Zelinski – will join the company once they end their playing days.

Finnish spell
Nurtured at Roman Ubakivi's famous youth team Lõvid (The Lions), Reim began his career in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic's top division at the age of 16. Aside from his success with Flora, he also got to the Finnish Cup final during a season-and-a-half spell with Finnish side FC KooTeePee between 1999 and 2000.