Estonian coach Nikita Brõlin reflects on his development through domestic football, academy internships in Germany and Ukraine. From demanding standards abroad to coaching at home, Brõlin explains how international experience shaped his philosophy.
Up until 30th April 2026 Nikita was the assistant coach at Paide Linnameeskond, leaving the club just over a month into the season. We spoke to Brõlin on why he decided to make this decision to depart. ‘For me it was an important year of my development. During this year I gained experience in domestic football and internationally as we qualified for the Conference League. This year spent in my country would have meant more if I completed a full season, then it would have been easier to make more concrete conclusions.’
Whilst at Paide, Nikita faced some challenges, ‘in Estonia football is not as important for people, as in other countries where it is more developed, so I think it has an influence on your personal feeling within football.’ He also spoke about having to adapt to a new squad environment. ‘The team was more experienced, the first season there were many 30+ year old players, which changed the dynamics of the team’s preparation.’
Having spent a year working at Paide, Brõlin decided to leave the club, ‘my decision to leave to leave the club was influenced by my personal desire to remain honest with myself and to show solidarity to the head coach with whom I came to the club with.’
Before working in his home country in Estonia, the 30-year-old did some work abroad via internships at clubs such as Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany. ‘If we compare youth football in Estonia to these countries, then this is not a fair comparison’ Nikita exclaimed.
‘It is a completely different scale and level, the environment in these academies is naturally more competitive, aggressive and demanding. The detail and professionalism in the work of the coaches, it means more than just winning and losing.’
Being able to go abroad for coaching internships has really helped Nikita develop into the coach he is today, ‘when I went abroad for the first time, I realised I knew nothing in football. When you go out from Estonia, you see high standards and demands which are applied to the employees of the clubs.’
However, the current Estonian u-17 manager has learnt to adapt the things he learnt to his coaching methods back home. ‘This international experience helped me to better understand how to connect with players and how to influence them, but considering my young age there is still so much room for growth.’
To round things off Nikita spoke to us about his dream and what he wants from his future coaching endeavours, ‘ I want to go abroad again to work, my long-term goal is to achieve something abroad despite not having the strongest football passport, I want to be a successful Estonian coach working internationally.’
Driven by experiences, in Estonia and around Europe, Nikita Brõlin now carries a large ambition, to prove that a coach from Estonia can build a career abroad and leave a mark on global football.
