Meistriliiga

Meistriliiga (pronounced [ˈmeistriliːɡ̊ɑː], known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-professional with amateur clubs allowed to compete. With the help of solidarity mechanisms, the league is fully professional since the 2020 season.[1]

Meistriliiga
Meistriliiga.png
Founded1992; 31 years ago (1992)
CountryEstonia
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toEsiliiga
Domestic cup(s)Estonian Cup
Estonian Supercup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current championsFlora (14th title)
(2022)
Most championshipsFlora
(14 titles)
Most appearancesAndrei Kalimullin (517)
Top goalscorerMaksim Gruznov (304 goals)
TV partnersETV2, ETV+, soccernet.ee
WebsiteOfficial website
Current: 2023 season

As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends in November. Meistriliiga consists of ten clubs, all teams play each other four times. After each season the bottom team is relegated and the second last team plays a two-legged play-off for a place in the Meistriliiga.

In February 2013, A. Le Coq, an Estonian brewery company, signed a five-year cooperation agreement with the Estonian Football Association, which included Meistriliiga naming rights.[2]

Meistriliiga plans to start using video assistant referee (VAR) from 2023.[3]

2023 seasonEdit

The following 10 clubs will compete in the 2023 Meistriliiga.

Club Position
in 2022
First season
in Meistriliiga
Seasons in
Meistriliiga
First season of
current spell
Number of
seasons of
current spell
Titles Last title
FCI Levadiac 2nd 1999 25 1999 25 10 2021
Floraa, b, c 1st 1992 33 1992 33 14 2022
Harjuc 1st (EL) 2023 1 2023 1 0
Kuressaare 5th 2000 16 2018 6 0
Narva Transa, b, c 7th 1992 33 1992 33 0
Nõmme Kaljuc 4th 2008 16 2008 16 2 2018
Paide Linnameeskondc 3rd 2009 15 2009 15 0
Tallinna Kalev 8th 2007 11 2022 2 0
Tammekac 6th 2005 19 2005 19 0
Vaprus 10th 2006 8 2021 3 0

a = Founding member of the Meistriliiga
b = Played in every Meistriliiga season
c = Never been relegated from the Meistriliiga

ChampionsEdit

Season Champions Runners-up Third place Top goalscorer Goals
1992 Norma Eesti Põlevkivi TVMV Sergei Bragin (Norma) 18
1992–93 Norma (2) Flora Nikol Sergei Bragin (Norma) 27
1993–94 Flora Norma Nikol Maksim Gruznov (Narva Trans/Tevalte) 21
1994–95 Flora (2) Lantana-Marlekor Narva Trans Serhiy Morozov (Lantana-Marlekor) 25
1995–96 Lantana Flora Tevalte-Marlekor Lembit Rajala (Flora) 16
1996–97 Lantana (2) Flora Tallinna Sadam Sergei Bragin (Lantana) 18
1997–98 Flora (3) Tallinna Sadam Lantana Konstantin Kolbassenko (Tallinna Sadam) 18
1998 Flora (4) Tallinna Sadam Lantana Konstantin Kolbassenko (Tallinna Sadam) 13
1999 Levadia Tulevik Flora Toomas Krõm (Levadia) 19
2000 Levadia (2) Flora TVMK Egidijus Juška (TVMK)
Toomas Krõm (Levadia)
24
2001 Flora (5) TVMK Levadia Maksim Gruznov (Narva Trans) 37
2002 Flora (6) Levadia TVMK Andrei Krõlov (TVMK) 37
2003 Flora (7) TVMK Levadia Tor Henning Hamre (Flora) 39
2004 Levadia (3) TVMK Flora Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko (Flora) 28
2005 TVMK Levadia Narva Trans Tarmo Neemelo (TVMK) 41
2006 Levadia (4) Narva Trans Flora Maksim Gruznov (Narva Trans) 31
2007 Levadia (5) Flora TVMK Dmitri Lipartov (Narva Trans) 30
2008 Levadia (6) Flora Narva Trans Ingemar Teever (Nõmme Kalju) 23
2009 Levadia (7) Sillamäe Kalev Narva Trans Vitali Gussev (Levadia) 26
2010 Flora (8) Levadia Narva Trans Sander Post (Flora) 24
2011 Flora (9) Nõmme Kalju Narva Trans Aleksandrs Čekulajevs (Narva Trans) 46
2012 Nõmme Kalju Levadia Flora Vladislav Ivanov (Sillamäe Kalev/Narva Trans) 23
2013 Levadia (8) Nõmme Kalju Sillamäe Kalev Vladimir Voskoboinikov (Nõmme Kalju) 23
2014 Levadia (9) Sillamäe Kalev Flora Yevgeni Kabaev (Sillamäe Kalev) 36
2015 Flora (10) Levadia Nõmme Kalju Ingemar Teever (Levadia) 24
2016 Infonet Levadia Nõmme Kalju Yevgeni Kabaev (Sillamäe Kalev) 25
2017 Flora (11) Levadia Nõmme Kalju Albert Prosa (FCI Tallinn)
Rauno Sappinen (Flora)
27
2018 Nõmme Kalju (2) FCI Levadia Flora Liliu (Nõmme Kalju) 31
2019 Flora (12) FCI Levadia Nõmme Kalju Erik Sorga (Flora) 31
2020 Flora (13) Paide Linnameeskond FCI Levadia Rauno Sappinen (Flora) 26
2021 FCI Levadia (10) Flora Paide Linnameeskond Henri Anier (Paide Linnameeskond) 26
2022 Flora (14) FCI Levadia Paide Linnameeskond Zakaria Beglarishvili (FCI Levadia) 21

Total titles wonEdit

Club       Winning seasons
Flora 14 7 6 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022
FCI Levadia 10 10 3 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2021
Nõmme Kalju 2 2 4 2012, 2018
Lantana 2 1 2 1995–96, 1996–97
Norma 2 1 0 1992, 1992–93
TVMK 1 3 5 2005
FCI Tallinn 1 0 0 2016
Tallinna Sadam 0 2 1
Sillamäe Kalev 0 2 1
Paide Linnameeskond 0 2 1
Narva Trans 0 1 6
Eesti Põlevkivi 0 1 0
Tulevik 0 1 0
Nikol 0 0 2

All-time Meistriliiga tableEdit

The table is a cumulative record of all match results, points and goals of every team that has played in the Meistriliiga since its inception in 1992. The table that follows is accurate as of the end of the 2021 season. Teams in bold play in the Meistriliiga 2022 season. Numbers in bold are the record (highest) numbers in each column.

In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss, although Meistriliiga awarded 2 points for a win until the 1994–95 season. Championship matches, relegation matches and relegation tournament matches involving clubs of lower leagues are not counted. In 1992 Preliminary Round matches were played in two groups. The results of the matches played between teams in same group were taken to second round, thus counted twice, in this table these results are counted once.

The table is sorted by all-time points.

Pos.
Club
Seasons
Titles
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
PPG
1 Flora 31 13 933 651 161 121 2483 747 1736 2114 2.26
2 Levadia1 23 10 769 554 136 79 2066 566 1500 1798 2.33
3 Narva Trans 31 0 934 424 182 328 1699 1283 416 1454 1.55
4 Nõmme Kalju 14 2 494 294 103 97 1082 472 610 985 1.99
5 TVMK2 15 1 408 225 76 107 966 480 486 751 1.84
6 Tulevik3 22 0 655 187 112 356 792 1283 −491 673 1.02
7 Sillamäe Kalev 13 0 413 183 65 165 741 681 60 614 1.49
8 Tammeka 16 0 598 166 108 324 729 1178 −449 606 1.01
9 Paide Linnameeskond 13 0 458 169 79 210 650 808 −158 586 1.27
10 FCI Tallinn9 5 1 180 90 41 49 343 212 131 311 1.73
11 Kuressaare 14 0 468 75 64 329 378 1232 −854 289 0.61
12 Lantana 6 2 138 73 34 31 271 144 127 253 1.83
13 Tallinna Kalev 9 0 318 58 50 210 299 768 −469 224 0.70
14 Tallinna Sadam 6 0 132 67 19 46 271 168 103 220 1.67
15 Eesti Põlevkivi 9 0 162 50 40 72 224 276 −52 190 1.17
16 Norma 4 2 78 49 7 22 223 111 112 154 1.97
17 Merkuur4 6 0 153 41 28 84 204 404 −200 151 0.99
18 Vigri5 3 0 54 31 11 12 151 64 87 104 1.93
19 Vaprus 6 0 210 32 19 159 203 664 −461 115 0.54
20 Nikol 2 0 44 30 6 8 107 36 71 96 2.18
21 Lootus6 5 0 148 22 19 107 104 394 −290 85 0.57
22 Warrior 5 0 156 21 18 117 120 425 −305 81 0.52
23 Levadia II1 3 0 84 20 14 50 106 211 −105 74 0.88
24 Lelle 4 0 80 16 19 45 72 155 −83 67 0.84
25 Dünamo 4 0 89 16 11 62 92 277 −185 59 0.66
26 DAG7 4 0 68 16 9 43 85 199 −114 57 0.84
27 Viljandi 2 0 72 14 14 44 70 157 −87 56 0.78
28 Pärnu Linnameeskond 2 0 72 11 10 51 62 185 −123 43 0.60
29 Tervis Pärnu 2 0 46 11 5 30 38 92 −54 38 0.83
30 Keemik 2 0 31 10 6 15 41 72 −31 36 1.16
31 Ajax 3 0 108 7 13 88 60 449 −389 34 0.31
32 Legion 2 0 62 19 14 29 75 92 −17 71 1.14
33 Pärnu8 3 0 38 5 5 28 36 120 −84 20 0.53
34 Lokomotiv 1 0 36 4 6 26 35 115 −80 18 0.50
35 Maardu Linnameeskond 1 0 36 4 5 27 30 118 −88 17 0.47
36 Pärnu Levadia 1 0 28 1 5 22 19 96 −77 8 0.29
37 Tarvas 1 0 36 0 3 33 15 113 −98 3 0.09
38 Vall 1 0 14 0 1 13 9 44 −35 1 0.07
39 Maardu 1 0 9 0 0 9 6 59 −53 0 0
Notes
  • Note 1: 1999–2003 FC Levadia Maardu, 2004– FC Levadia. Not to be confused with FC Levadia Tallinn 2001–2003 a separate team owned by the steel company Levadia. In 2004 the clubs were merged FC Levadia Maardu were moved to Tallinn and became FC Levadia, former FC Levadia Tallinn became their reserves as FC Levadia II.
  • Note 2: 1992 TVMV, 1995–1996 Tevalte-Marlekor, 1996–1997 Marlekor, 1997–2008 TVMK
  • Note 3: 1992 Viljandi JK, 1993– Viljandi Tulevik
  • Note 4: 1992–2005 Merkuur, 2006 Maag
  • Note 5: 1992–1993 Vigri, 1993–1995 Tevalte, 1996–1999 Vigri
  • Note 6: 2000–2003 Kohtla-Järve Lootus, 2004 Alutaguse Lootus, 2005–2012 Kohtla-Järve Lootus, then merged and became Kohtla-Järve JK Järve
  • Note 7: 1992 Tartu Kalev, 1992–1994 EsDAG, 1994– DAG
  • Note 8: 1992 Pärnu JK, 1994–1996 PJK Kalev
  • Note 8: 2011–2016 Infonet, 2017 FCI Tallinn

RecordsEdit

All as of end of 2022 season if not stated otherwise.

Club recordsEdit

Player recordsEdit

Estonian championsEdit

Bold indicates club's first championship victory.

Estonian SSR championsEdit

  • Balti Laevastik was a Baltic Fleet club
  • Zvezda Tallinn was a Tallinn garrison club
  • Dvigatel means Motor/Engine

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "Eesti jalgpalli meistriliiga jätkub teisipäeval uue formaadiga" (in Estonian). Postimees Sport. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Kodune tippjalgpall saab peatoetaja" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Premium liiga võtab kasutusele VAR-i". ERR. 3 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "SPORT-EKSTRA: Statistikapomm! Millised rekordeid omavad FC Norma, Raio Piiroja ja hooaeg 1997-98?". Õhtuleht. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Levadia üritab kaotuseta Transist mööda tõusta". Estonian Football Association. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Premium liigas kõige rohkem mänginute ja väravaküttide TOP 100". Estonian Football Association. 24 November 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Premium liiga TOP". jalgpall.ee. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Eesti jalgpallilegendi 14-aastane poeg tegi meistriliiga ajalugu". Delfi Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Viimases voorus purustati meistriliiga ajaloo noorima väravalööja rekord". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Saharovi nimele liigaajaloo kiireim värav". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 10 September 2004. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Eile sündis Meistriliiga ajaloo kiireim värav". Soccernet.ee. 13 September 2009.
  12. ^ "VIDEO: Vladislav Ivanov lõi Transile värava juba 14. sekundil". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Kalju, Flora ja Levadia ei jätnud vastasele võimalust". Postimees. 12 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Laupäeval võib selguda Eesti meister". Soccernet.ee. 22 October 2004.
  15. ^ "Infonet üllatas põnevusmängus Levadiat, Smiško võimas rekordseeria sai lõpu". Postimees. 25 July 2014.

External linksEdit