Andres Oper (born 7 November 1977) is an Estonian footballcoach and former professional player. He is currently an assistant manager of the Estonia national team.
Oper was born in Tallinn. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School No. 37. He started playing football with Tallinna Jalgpallikool (English: Tallinn Football Academy) under Aivar Tiidus, before moving to Taivo Uibo's Uibo Poisid and then LMSK/Pantrid, coached by Aavo Sarap.[1]
On 2 July 1999, Oper signed for Danish Superliga champions AaB, on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of $1 million (EEK 15 million).[2]
Torpedo Moscow
On 10 July 2003, Oper signed a two-year contract with Russian Premier League club Torpedo Moscow.[3] Often inconsistent in Russia, scoring 8 goals in 53 appearances, Oper was placed on the transfer list after he suffered an injury to his right foot. In 2005, he was linked with a transfer to Sunderland in England, but the contract was never signed.[4]
Roda JC
On 31 August 2005, Oper signed a one-year contract with Dutch Eredivisie club Roda JC for an undisclosed fee.[5] He scored his first Eredivisie goal on 1 October 2005, in a 3–2 win against Vitesse Arnhem.[6] Oper finished the 2005–06 Eredivisie season as the team's joint top scorer alongside Simon Cziommer with 8 goals and signed a contract extension for two more seasons.[7] He was the team's top scorer in the 2006–07 Eredivisie season, scoring 12 goals in the league and 1 in the play-offs. On 16 May 2007, he signed another contract extension with Roda JC until summer 2009.[8]
Shanghai Shenhua
On 19 July 2009, Oper signed a half-year contract with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua.[9] He made his debut for the club on 2 August 2009, in an away match against Jiangsu Sainty. However, he suffered an injury and eventually terminated his contract with the club.[10]
ADO Den Haag
After an unsuccessful spell in China, Oper returned to the Netherlands and on 21 January 2010, he signed a half-year contract with an option for another year with ADO Den Haag.[11][12] He made his debut for the club on 13 February 2010 in a home match against Willem II. Oper scored his first goal for ADO Den Haag on 18 April 2010, in a 4–0 win against RKC Waalwijk. His contract extension stalled due to negotiations over personal terms, eventually no agreement was settled and the extension was cancelled. The contract expired in summer.[13]