Karol Mets (Estonian: [ˈkɑrol mets]; born 16 May 1993) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder for Swiss club Zürich and the Estonia national team.
![]() Mets playing for CSKA Sofia in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (1993-05-16) 16 May 1993 (age 29) | ||
Place of birth | Viljandi, Estonia | ||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Zürich | ||
Number | 28 | ||
Youth career | |||
2003–2009 | Tulevik | ||
2011 | Flora | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2009–2010 | Tulevik II | 51 | (4) |
2010 | Warrior | 4 | (1) |
2010–2014 | Flora | 115 | (7) |
2011–2012 | Flora II | 19 | (3) |
2014–2017 | Viking | 72 | (0) |
2017–2019 | NAC Breda | 40 | (1) |
2019–2020 | AIK | 46 | (2) |
2020–2021 | Al-Ettifaq | 23 | (0) |
2021–2022 | CSKA Sofia | 12 | (0) |
2022– | Zürich | 10 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2009 | Estonia U17 | 8 | (0) |
2010 | Estonia U18 | 1 | (0) |
2010–2012 | Estonia U19 | 32 | (0) |
2012–2014 | Estonia U21 | 20 | (0) |
2013– | Estonia | 80 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 May 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 August 2022 |
Mets came through the Tulevik youth system, and played for the club's reserve sides Tulevik II and Warrior.
In November 2010, Mets was included in Flora's first team squad for pre-season training.[1] He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2011, against Levadia in the Estonian Supercup match. Flora won 5–3 on penalties. Mets made his debut in the Meistriliiga on 2 April 2011, in a 1–0 away victory over Kuressaare. He soon established himself as Flora's first choice centre back alongside Karl Palatu. Mets helped Flora win the Meistriliiga title in 2011.[2]
On 5 December 2014, Mets signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Viking.[3] He made his debut in the Tippeligaen on 6 April 2015, in a 1–0 away loss to Mjøndalen.[4]
On 31 July 2017, Mets joined Eredivisie club NAC Breda on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, rumored to be around €100,000.[5] He made his debut in the Eredivisie in a 1–4 away loss to Vitesse on 12 August 2017, when he came on as a half-time substitute for Arno Verschueren. Mets scored his first goal for NAC Breda on 20 September 2017, in a 3–4 loss to Achilles '29 in the first round of the KNVB Cup.[6]
On 14 March 2019, Mets signed a three-year contract with Swedish champions AIK for a fee of €300,000.[7] He made his debut in the Allsvenskan on 31 March 2019, in a 0–0 home draw against Östersund.[8]
On 2 October 2020, Mets signed a three-year contract with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq.[9]
On 10 August 2021, Mets signed a contract with Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia until the end of 2021–22 season.[10]
On 7 January 2022, Mets signed with Swiss club Zürich until June 2024.[11]
Mets has represented Estonia at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels. He was named in the Estonia under-19 squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Estonia. Mets played in every group stage match, but failed to help the team progress to the semi-finals as Estonia lost all three games against Portugal, Greece and Spain.
Mets made his senior international debut for Estonia on 19 November 2013, in a 3–0 away victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly.[12]
Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Tulevik II | 2009 | Esiliiga | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
2010 | II liiga | 23 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
Total | 51 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 55 | 4 | |||
Warrior | 2010 | Esiliiga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
Flora | 2011 | Meistriliiga | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 22 | 2 |
2012 | Meistriliiga | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 4 | |
2013 | Meistriliiga | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
2014 | Meistriliiga | 35 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
Total | 115 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 135 | 10 | ||
Flora II | 2011 | Esiliiga | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
2012 | Esiliiga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 2 | |||
Total | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 3 | ||||
Viking | 2015 | Tippeligaen | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
2016 | Tippeligaen | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||
2017 | Eliteserien | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
Total | 72 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | — | 83 | 0 | ||||
NAC Breda | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||
2018–19 | Eredivisie | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
Total | 40 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 2 | ||||
AIK | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||
2020 | Allsvenskan | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | ||
Total | 46 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 59 | 2 | |||
Ettifaq | 2020–21 | Pro League | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
CSKA Sofia | 2021–22 | Bulgarian First League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
Career total | 382 | 17 | 37 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 427 | 22 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Estonia | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
2014 | 13 | 0 | |
2015 | 9 | 0 | |
2016 | 13 | 0 | |
2017 | 9 | 0 | |
2018 | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 52 | 0 |
Flora
Zürich
Estonia
Individual
FC Zürich – current squad | |
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