Eredivisie side Vitesse. Chengdu Blades On 18 February 2013, Piiroja signed for China League One team Chengdu Blades. International career Piiroja made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 21 November 1998, in a 2–1 loss against Armenia in a friendly, replacing Viktor Alonen in the 85th minute of the match. Piiroja soon established himself as Estonia's first choice centre-back. In 2008, he succeeded Martin Reim as team captain. On 25 March 2011, Piiroja made his 100th appearance in a 2–0 win over Uruguay in a friendly. He was sent off by referee Viktor Kassai in the 76th minute of the first leg of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-off against Republic of Ireland, which Estonia went on to lose 5–1 on aggregate. Piiroja ended his international career in October 2013, but made one final appearance for Estonia on 31 March 2015, in his testimonial match against Iceland. He made a total of 114 appearances and scored 8 goals. Personal life Piiroja married his long-time girlfriend Marje in 2005. They divorced in 2015. Outside of football, Piiroja enjoys skiing and is an avid fisherman. On 1 June 2016, Piiroja released his autobiography, Ninamees Raio Piiroja, õhuvõitleja, written by sports journalist Gunnar Press. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Estonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Piiroja goal. Honours Flora Meistriliiga: 2001, 2002 Estonian Supercup: 2002 Fredrikstad Norwegian Cup: 2006 Individual Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Order of the White Star, 5th Class See also List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps References External links 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Pärnu Association football defenders Estonian footballers Estonia international footballers FC Flora players Meistriliiga players Vålerenga Fotball players Fredrikstad FK players SBV Vitesse players Estonian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Norway Estonian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Eliteserien players Eredivisie players FIFA Century Club Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. players China League One players Estonian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Estonian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate footballers in China Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class JK Tervis Pärnu players