After a long and varied tenure at JK Tallinna Kalev, Joel Lindpere has officially ended his role as the club’s sports director – a position he had held since 2016, alongside fulfilling many other responsibilities. The club’s president, Ragnar Klavan, has already announced a successor: 30-year-old German coach Thomas Maibaum, who will take over from mid-September.
Maibaum’s coaching career started exceptionally early, beginning at just 16 years old in Germany. He spent seven years working with Borussia Mönchengladbach before moving to Estonia in August 2023 to join Nõmme United’s coaching staff, focusing primarily on youth development.
In addition to his coaching duties, Maibaum collaborated last year with Kalev president Ragnar Klavan and FCI Levadia’s academy director Nikita Martõnov to create the Estonian Talent Project—an initiative aimed at bringing together the country’s best young players to enhance their progress.
Commenting on his new role, Maibaum expressed optimism and a focus on action rather than words, emphasizing his enthusiasm to work with a strong team and contribute to developing a major club.
Grateful for his time at Nõmme United, Maibaum thanked the club and notable figures like former goalkeeper Mart Poom for their support and development work, hoping to leave behind positive memories and good relationships.
Although his background is largely in youth coaching, Maibaum’s responsibilities will now expand to overseeing the senior team as well. He shared that becoming a football manager was always his dream, making this appointment a natural next step. While he acknowledged the difficulty of leaving Nõmme United, he sees the move as the right decision for his career.
Alongside Maibaum, Madis Metsmägi, formerly responsible for youth work at Nõmme United, is also expected to join JK Tallinna Kalev as the new youth director. Metsmägi had recently announced his intention to step away from youth director roles, expressing a preference to work with younger children rather than engage in club politics. His transition to Kalev will mark a new chapter in his career.
For many years, Kalev’s youth development was led by Ander Aavik, who served as youth director for 15 years and worked with the club as a youth coach for even longer.
In recent months, the professional relationship between Lindpere and Klavan – once close collaborators since 2016 – has reportedly cooled. This shift was noticed by their absence from each other’s public activities.
Currently, Lindpere remains part of Kalev’s board of trustees alongside Klavan and Dzintar Klavan, but there are expectations that he may soon step down or be replaced.
