The 2012 season of the Meistriliiga the first level in the Estonian football system is the 22nd season in the league's history. The competition started on 10 March 2012 and will end on 3 November 2012. The defending champions are Flora, who won their ninth league championship last year.
Teams Ajax finished the 2011 season in 10th place and were directly relegated to the Esiliiga, ending a one-year stay in the Estonian top flight. They were replaced by Tallinna Kalev, who return to the league after a two-year absence.
In addition, the 9th-placed Meistriliiga club, Kuressaare, faced the runners-up of the Esiliiga, Infonet, in a two-legged play-off for a spot in this season's competition. Kuressaare won the play-off, 5–1 on aggregate, retaining their spot in the league.
Stadiums and locations
Club Location Stadium CapacityFlora Tallinn A. Le Coq Arena 9,692Nõmme Kalju Tallinn Kadriorg Stadium 5,000Kuressaare Kuressaare Kuressaare linnastaadion 2,000Levadia Tallinn Maarjamäe Stadium 1,000Paide Linnameeskond Paide Paide linnastaadion 368Sillamäe Kalev Sillamäe Sillamäe Kalev Stadium 2,000Tallinna Kalev Tallinn Kalev Keskstaadion 12,000Tammeka Tartu Tartu Tamme Stadium 1,600Narva Trans Narva Narva Kreenholm Stadium 3,000Viljandi Viljandi Viljandi linnastaadion 1,006
Personnel and kits Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorFlora Marko Lelov Andre Frolov Nike KH Energia KonsultNõmme Kalju Igor Prins Alo Bärengrub Adidas MaximaKuressaare Sergei Zamogilnõi Sander Viira Joma —Levadia Marko Kristal Igor Morozov Adidas Viimsi KeevitusPaide Linnameeskond Meelis Rooba Carl Tubarik Nike VerstonSillamäe Kalev Algimantas Briaunys Mihhail Starodubtsev Uhlsport AlexelaTallinna Kalev Sergei Ratnikov Aleksei Savitski Jako —Tammeka Joti Stamatopoulos Kaspar Kaldoja Nike Mäe-koduNarva Trans Aleksei Yagudin Stanislav Kitto Nike SportlandViljandi Zaur Tšilingarašvili Ott Ottis Joma Express Hotline
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointmentLevadia Sergei Hohlov-SimsonEnd of contract30 November 2011Pre-season Marko Kristal1 December 2011 Narva Trans Aleksei YagudinEnd of contract9 January 2012Pre-season Sergei Prikhodko10 January 2012 Narva Trans Sergei PrikhodkoSackedJune? Aleksei YagudinJuneTammeka Kristjan TiirikSacked18 July 201210th Joti Stamatopoulos19 July 2012 Sillamäe Kalev Valeri BondarenkoSacked7 September 20124th Algimantas Briaunys8 September 2012Flora Martin ReimMutual agreement14 October 20122nd Marko Lelov15 October 2012
League table
Relegation play-off At season's end, the ninth place club in the Meistriliiga will participate in a two-legged playoff with the runners-up of the 2012 Esiliiga for one spot in next year's competition.
Tallinna Kalev retains their place in the league, winning 3–1 on aggregate.
Results Each team plays every opponent four times, twice at home and twice on the road, for a total of 36 games.
First half of season
Second half of season
Season statistics Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Vladislav IvanovSillamäe Kalev/Narva Trans232 Tarmo NeemeloNõmme Kalju223 Zakaria BeglarishviliFlora174 Jüri JevdokimovNõmme Kalju135 Igor MorozovLevadia126 Rimo HuntLevadia117 Aleksandr AlekseevNarva Trans10 Andre FrolovFlora Artur RättelLevadia Hidetoshi WakuiNõmme Kalju
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Vitali Leitan Levadia Kuressaare 5–0 10 April 2012 Artur Rättel Levadia Paide Linnameeskond 1–5 28 April 2012 Zakaria Beglarishvili Flora Paide Linnameeskond 0–5 12 May 2012 Zakaria Beglarishvili Flora Tallinna Kalev 5–0 19 May 2012 Artur Rättel Levadia Tallinna Kalev 0–6 23 July 2012 Albert Taar Levadia Kuressaare 7–0 30 July 2012 Igor Morozov Levadia Flora 5–4 20 August 2012 Tarmo Neemelo Nõmme Kalju Kuressaare 0–9 28 August 2012 Rauno Alliku Flora Viljandi 5–0 18 September 2012 Vladislav Ivanov Narva Trans Kuressaare 0–3 22 September 2012 Tarmo Neemelo 5 Nõmme Kalju Viljandi 1–9 2 October 2012 Ousmane Barry Tammeka Tallinna Kalev 1–4 20 October 2012 Damiano Quintieri Nõmme Kalju Tammeka 5–1 3 November 2012 Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko Sillamäe Kalev Viljandi 0–5 3 November 2012 5 Player scored 5 goals.
Average attendance
+ Club Average attendance Nõmme JK Kalju 339 Tallina FC Levadia 273 Tartu JK Tammeka 251 Tallinna FC Flora 227 JK Tallinna Kalev 195 JK Sillamäe Kalev 163 Paide Linnameeskond 144 JK Narva Trans 117 FC Kuressaare 108 FC Viljandi 90+ League average 191
Awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthManagerClubPlayerClubMarch Sergei ZamogilnõiKuressaare Igor MorozovLevadiaApril Igor PrinsNõmme Kalju Janar ToometLevadiaMay Martin ReimFlora Zakaria BeglarishviliFloraJune Meelis RoobaPaide Linnameeskond Hidetoshi WakuiNõmme KaljuJuly Igor PrinsNõmme Kalju Joel IndermitteViljandiAugust Aleksei YagudinNarva Trans Sergei TerehhovNõmme KaljuSeptember Igor PrinsNõmme Kalju Carl TubarikPaide LinnameeskondOctober Marko KristalLevadia Zakaria BeglarishviliFlora
See also 2011–12 Estonian Cup 2012–13 Estonian Cup
References