2012 Esiliiga
# 2012 Esiliiga

The 2012 season of the Esiliiga, the second level in the Estonian football system, is the twenty-third season in the league's history. The season officially began on 11 March 2012 and concluded on 4 November 2013. The previous league champions Tallinna Kalev were promoted to the Meistriliiga while Legion and Warrior were relegated to the II Liiga. For this season those three teams were replaced by Rakvere Tarvas from II liiga East/North division and Tartu SK 10 and Tammeka II from II liiga West/South division.

## Teams

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Flora II | Tallinn | Sportland Arena | 600 |
| Infonet | Tallinn | Lasnamäe KHJ Stadium | 1,000 |
| Kiviõli Tamme Auto | Kiviõli | Kiviõli Stadium | 255 |
| Levadia II | Tallinn | Maarjamäe Stadium | 1,000 |
| Lootus | Kohtla-Järve | Kohtla-Järve Stadium | 780 |
| Pärnu Linnameeskond | Pärnu | Pärnu Kalev Stadium | 1,900 |
| Puuma | Tallinn | Lasnamäe SPK Stadium | 666 |
| Tammeka II | Tartu | Tamme Stadium | 1,500 |
| Tartu SK 10 | Tartu | Tamme Stadium | 1,500 |
| Tarvas | Rakvere | Rakvere linnastaadion | 2,500 |

### 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 II | Norbert Hurt | Ragnar Piir | Nike | KH Energia Konsult |
| Infonet | Aleksandr Puštov | Jevgeni Gurtšioglujants | Joma | Infonet |
| Kiviõli Tamme Auto | Erik Šteinberg | Dmitri Kirilov | Adidas | |
| Levadia II | Argo Arbeiter | Kristjan Tamme | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus |
| Lootus | Anatoli Šuganov | Igor Tomaševski | Uhlsport | |
| Pärnu Linnameeskond | Kalev Pajula | Robert Kirss | Uhlsport | |
| Puuma | Dmitri Krasilnikov | Kert Haavistu | Adidas | |
| Tammeka II | Ivan O'Konnel-Bronin | Mikk Valtna | Nike | Mäe-kodu |
| Tartu SK 10 | Andrei Borissov | Rodion Aleksejev | Adidas | |
| Tarvas | Reijo Kuusik | Alari Tovstik | Joma | Hotell Wesenbergh |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Infonet (C, P) | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 94 | 33 | +61 | 83 | Promotion to Meistriliiga |
| 2 | Flora II | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 66 | 32 | +34 | 69 | |
| 3 | Tarvas | 36 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 66 | 58 | +8 | 68 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Tartu SK 10 | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 65 | 58 | +7 | 54 | |
| 5 | Levadia II | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 77 | 56 | +21 | 53 | |
| 6 | Kiviõli Tamme Auto | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 78 | 83 | −5 | 44 | |
| 7 | Puuma | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 55 | 61 | −6 | 43 | |
| 8 | Tammeka II (O) | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 55 | 83 | −28 | 37 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 9 | Pärnu Linnameeskond (R) | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 43 | 72 | −29 | 36 | Relegation to Esiliiga B |
| 10 | Lootus (R) | 36 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 40 | 103 | −63 | 19 | Relegation to Esiliiga B |

* 1 2 Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion.

### Promotion play-off

At season's end, the runners-up of the 2013 Esiliiga will participate in a two-legged play-off with the ninth place club of the 2013 Meistriliiga for the spot in next year's competition.

## Season statistics

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Manucho | Infonet | 31 |
| 2 | Maksim Lipin | Infonet | 21 |
| 2 | Tõnis Starkopf | Kiviõli Tamme Auto | 21 |
| 4 | Nikita Koger | Levadia II | 14 |
| 4 | Joonas Ljaš | Tarvas | 14 |
| 4 | Aleksei Mamontov | Tartu SK 10 | 14 |
| 7 | Henri Hang | Tarvas | 13 |
| 7 | Georgi Ivanov | Tammeka II/Tartu SK 10 | 13 |
| 9 | Marten Saarlas | Levadia II | 12 |
| 9 | Marek Šatov | Kiviõli Tamme Auto | 12 |

## Awards

### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| March | Norbert Hurt | Flora II | Sander Susi | Tarvas |
| April | Aleksandr Puštov | Infonet | Aleksandr Pruttšenko | Tartu SK 10 |
| May | Argo Arbeiter | Levadia II | Aleksandr Tarassenkov | Kiviõli Tamme Auto |
| June | Aleksandr Puštov | Infonet | Maksim Lipin | Infonet |
| July | Reijo Kuusik | Tarvas | Argo Aava | Tarvas |
| August | Aleksandr Puštov | Infonet | Georgi Ivanov | Tartu SK 10 |
| September | Aleksandr Puštov | Infonet | Tõnis Starkopf | Kiviõli Tamme Auto |
| October | Kalev Pajula | Pärnu Linnameeskond | Sander Lepik | Flora II |

### Esiliiga Player of the Year

Manucho was named Esiliiga Player of the Year.

