Konstantin Vassiljev

Konstantin Vassiljev (born 16 August 1984) is an Estonian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Estonian Meistriliiga club Flora.

With 159 caps, Vassiljev is the Estonia national team's most-capped player, having surpassed Martin Reim's 157 in his last national team match against Switzerland on 4 June 2024. He is also the third-highest goalscorer for Estonia with 26 goals. Vassiljev has been named Estonian Footballer of the Year three times, and has won the Estonian Silverball award a record six times.

Club career TJK Vassiljev began playing football at TJK youth academy. He made his senior league debut in the III liiga with TJK-83 Tallinn.

Levadia In January 2003, Vassiljev signed for Meistriliiga club Levadia.

Nafta Lendava In February 2008, Vassiljev signed for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Nafta Lendava. He made his debut in the PrvaLiga on 2 March 2008, in a 2–0 away loss to Celje. Vassiljev scored his first goal for Nafta Lendava on 16 March 2008, in a 2–1 away defeat to Drava Ptuj.

Koper On 31 January 2011, Vassiljev signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with PrvaLiga champions Koper. He scored his first goal for Koper on 2 April 2011 in a 3–0 home victory over Maribor.

Amkar Perm On 29 August 2011, Vassiljev signed a three-year contract with Russian Premier League club Amkar Perm for a fee reported to be around €1 million. He made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 11 September 2011, against Spartak Moscow, but had to be substituted after 44 minutes due to injury. The match ended in a 1–0 loss. Vassiljev scored his first goal for Amkar Perm on 20 August 2012, from a penalty in a 2–0 win over Krylia Sovetov Samara.

Piast Gliwice On 26 August 2014, Vassiljev signed a one-year contract with Ekstraklasa club Piast Gliwice. He made his debut three days later, against Zawisza Bydgoszcz, coming on as a half-time substitute for Carles Martínez, but had to be substituted after sustaining a knee injury in the 3–0 home win. Vassiljev scored his first goal for Piast Gliwice on 29 October 2014, in a 5–0 home victory over GKS Bełchatów in a Polish Cup match. On 3 November 2014, he scored his first Ekstraklasa goal, in a 4–2 victory over Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała.

Jagiellonia Białystok On 18 June 2015, Vassiljev signed a two-year contract with Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok. He made his first appearance for the club on 2 July 2015, starting in the 1–0 first leg victory of their UEFA Europa League qualification round against Kruoja Pakruojis. Vassiljev scored 13 goals in the 2016–17 season, and was also the league's top assist provider with 13, while Jagiellonia Białystok finished the season as runners up.

Return to Piast Gliwice On 3 July 2017, Vassiljev signed a three-year contract with his former club Piast Gliwice.

Flora On 27 February 2019, Vassiljev returned to Estonia after 11 years abroad, signing a one-year contract with Flora. He made his debut for the club on 10 March 2019 in a 2–0 win over Tulevik. Flora won the 2019 Meistriliiga with Vassiljev scoring 12 goals.

At the end of the season Vassiljev signed another one-year contract. Flora won all three Estonian cups in the season – 2020 Meistriliiga, 2019–20 Estonian Cup and 2020 Estonian Supercup. They also reached the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League play-off round. At the end of the season he extended the contract for a third season with the club.

International career

Vassiljev began his youth career in 2002 with the Estonia under-19 team. He has also represented the under-21 national side.

Vassiljev made his senior international debut for Estonia on 31 May 2006, in a 1–1 home draw against New Zealand in a friendly. He scored his first international goal for Estonia on 28 March 2009, in a 2–2 away draw against Armenia in a qualification match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Vassiljev soon developed into a prolific goalscorer for the national team, capable of finishing well from distance with an accurate and powerful shot. He made his 100th appearance for Estonia on 24 March 2018, in a 0–0 away draw against Armenia in a friendly. Vassiljev has been named Estonian Footballer of the Year three times, in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and has won the Estonian Silverball award a record six times, in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019.

Honours Levadia Meistriliiga: 2004, 2006, 2007 Estonian Cup: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07

Flora Meistriliiga: 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 Estonian Cup: 2019–20 Estonian Supercup: 2020, 2021

Individual Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2013 Estonian Silverball: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 Ekstraklasa Player of the Month: July 2016, October 2016 Piłka Nożna Foreigner of the Year: 2016 Meistriliiga Player of the Year: 2022 Meistriliiga Midfielder of the Year: 2022 September 2022, October 2023

Orders