Estonian soccer team loses 36-0, but relishes increased web traffic

Estonian soccer team Virtsu Jalgpalliklubi lost a cup match to FC Infonet by the shameful score of 36–0 this weekend, but at least they got more traffic on their website.

Estonian soccer team Virtsu Jalgpalliklubi lost a cup match to FC Infonet by the shameful score of 36–0 this weekend, but at least they got more traffic on their website.

FC Infonet, from the Estonian capital of Tallinn, is one of the country's top teams. Virtsu is tiny seaside village with about 500 people and EuroSport describes the club as "a pub team." So yeah, it was a bit of a mismatch. 

The underdogs trailed 13–0 at the half and surrendered 23 second-half goals, according to the BBC. The 36-goal margin of defeat matches Britain's record, set in an 1885 Scottish Cup match, but falls short of the 149–0 all-time record, set by a team in Madagascar that kept scoring own goals as a form of protest.

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Virtsu is taking the loss in stride, though. While they got embarrassed on the pitch, the club is quite proud of the fact that their misfortune has driven an unusual amount of traffic to their website. The recap of the 36–0 debacle boasts that the club had over 800 new visitors to its website and 200 new likes on its Facebook page in the first 12 hours after the historic drubbing. 

The bulk of the club's new fans are from Italy, with Italians inundating the Facebook page with comments asking for an audition. They want a chance to put on the black and white striped jersey Italian giants Juventus made famous, but amateur Estonian soccer is apparently a suitable substitute.

- Dan Gartland