Ruutli the brains behind rise and rise of the talent of Tallinn

ONLY last month, the prospects of Estonia reaching the Euro 2012 play-offs seemed laughable.

The team had lost six matches in a row, including an embarrassing 2-0 reverse to the Faroe Islands in June. But then they beat Slovenia 2-1 away, thanks to a late winner from super-sub Ats Purje, and back-to-back wins over Northern Ireland, coupled with Serbia’s failure in Slovenia on Tuesday, sealed an unlikely second spot in Group C.

There is still a disbelief in Estonia, as the nation of only 1.3 million has never come this close to qualifying for a major tournament, nor ever broken into FIFA’s top 50 ranked teams. Their current ranking, 58, is the highest in their history — and they jumped 28 places as a result of their September performances.