2012 Meistriliiga
# 2012 Meistriliiga

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 | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Flora | Tallinn | A. Le Coq Arena | 9,692 |
| Nõmme Kalju | Tallinn | Kadriorg Stadium | 5,000 |
| Kuressaare | Kuressaare | Kuressaare linnastaadion | 2,000 |
| Levadia | Tallinn | Maarjamäe Stadium | 1,000 |
| Paide Linnameeskond | Paide | Paide linnastaadion | 368 |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Sillamäe | Sillamäe Kalev Stadium | 2,000 |
| Tallinna Kalev | Tallinn | Kalev Keskstaadion | 12,000 |
| Tammeka | Tartu | Tartu Tamme Stadium | 1,600 |
| Narva Trans | Narva | Narva Kreenholm Stadium | 3,000 |
| Viljandi | 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 sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Flora | Marko Lelov | Andre Frolov | Nike | KH Energia Konsult |
| Nõmme Kalju | Igor Prins | Alo Bärengrub | Adidas | Maxima |
| Kuressaare | Sergei Zamogilnõi | Sander Viira | Joma | — |
| Levadia | Marko Kristal | Igor Morozov | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus |
| Paide Linnameeskond | Meelis Rooba | Carl Tubarik | Nike | Verston |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Algimantas Briaunys | Mihhail Starodubtsev | Uhlsport | Alexela |
| Tallinna Kalev | Sergei Ratnikov | Aleksei Savitski | Jako | — |
| Tammeka | Joti Stamatopoulos | Kaspar Kaldoja | Nike | Mäe-kodu |
| Narva Trans | Aleksei Yagudin | Stanislav Kitto | Nike | Sportland |
| Viljandi | 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 appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Levadia | Sergei Hohlov-Simson | End of contract | 30 November 2011 | Pre-season | Marko Kristal | 1 December 2011 |
| Narva Trans | Aleksei Yagudin | End of contract | 9 January 2012 | Pre-season | Sergei Prikhodko | 10 January 2012 |
| Narva Trans | Sergei Prikhodko | Sacked | June | ? | Aleksei Yagudin | June |
| Tammeka | Kristjan Tiirik | Sacked | 18 July 2012 | 10th | Joti Stamatopoulos | 19 July 2012 |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Valeri Bondarenko | Sacked | 7 September 2012 | 4th | Algimantas Briaunys | 8 September 2012 |
| Flora | Martin Reim | Mutual agreement | 14 October 2012 | 2nd | Marko Lelov | 15 October 2012 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Nõmme Kalju (C) | 36 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 106 | 17 | +89 | 92 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Levadia | 36 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 85 | 22 | +63 | 83 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Flora | 36 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 87 | 24 | +63 | 81 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Narva Trans | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 55 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Sillamäe Kalev | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 55 | |
| 6 | Paide | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 42 | |
| 7 | Viljandi | 36 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 33 | 88 | −55 | 26 | Dissolved at the end of the season |
| 8 | Kuressaare | 36 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 80 | −49 | 26 | |
| 9 | Tallinna Kalev (O) | 36 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 27 | 87 | −60 | 21 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 10 | Tammeka | 36 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 30 | 79 | −49 | 20 | Relegation to Esiliiga |

* ↑ Narva Trans qualified for the UEFA Europa League since 3rd-placed Flora qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League as Cup winner and Cup finalist Kalju had qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.
* ↑ Tammeka escaped relegation due to dissolving of seventh placed Viljandi at the end of season

### 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.

## Season statistics

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Vladislav Ivanov | Sillamäe Kalev/Narva Trans | 23 |
| 2 | Tarmo Neemelo | Nõmme Kalju | 22 |
| 3 | Zakaria Beglarishvili | Flora | 17 |
| 4 | Jüri Jevdokimov | Nõmme Kalju | 13 |
| 5 | Igor Morozov | Levadia | 12 |
| 6 | Rimo Hunt | Levadia | 11 |
| 7 | Aleksandr Alekseev | Narva Trans | 10 |
| 7 | Andre Frolov | Flora | 10 |
| 7 | Artur Rättel | Levadia | 10 |
| 7 | Hidetoshi Wakui | Nõmme Kalju | 10 |

### 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.

## Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| March | Sergei Zamogilnõi | Kuressaare | Igor Morozov | Levadia |
| April | Igor Prins | Nõmme Kalju | Janar Toomet | Levadia |
| May | Martin Reim | Flora | Zakaria Beglarishvili | Flora |
| June | Meelis Rooba | Paide Linnameeskond | Hidetoshi Wakui | Nõmme Kalju |
| July | Igor Prins | Nõmme Kalju | Joel Indermitte | Viljandi |
| August | Aleksei Yagudin | Narva Trans | Sergei Terehhov | Nõmme Kalju |
| September | Igor Prins | Nõmme Kalju | Carl Tubarik | Paide Linnameeskond |
| October | Marko Kristal | Levadia | Zakaria Beglarishvili | Flora |
