2021 Meistriliiga

Last updated
Meistriliiga
Season2021
Dates13 March – 5 December 2021
Champions FCI Levadia (10th title)
Relegated Tulevik
Champions League FCI Levadia
Europa Conference League Flora
Paide Linnameeskond
Matches played156
Goals scored518 (3.32 per match)
Top goalscorer Henri Anier (26 goals)
Biggest home winFlora 9–0 Tammeka
(27 October 2021)
Biggest away win Vaprus 1–7 Nõmme Kalju
(19 May 2021)
Highest scoringFlora 9–0 Tammeka
(27 October 2021)
Longest winning run9 matches
FCI Levadia
Flora
Longest unbeaten run16 matches
Flora
Longest winless run12 matches
Tammeka
Longest losing run9 matches
Vaprus
← 2020
2022 →

The 2021 Meistriliiga, also known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, [1] was the 31st season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs. The season was scheduled to begin on 5 March 2021, but was delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic until 13 March and concluded on 5 December. [2] [3]

Contents

Flora were the defending champions. The title was decided in the last round match between Flora and FCI Levadia. FCI Levadia drew the game, holding on to their one point lead over Flora and winning their 10th Meistriliiga title, their first since 2014.

Teams

Ten teams were competing in the league, nine clubs from the 2020 season and 2020 Esiliiga champions Vaprus who had earned a promotion after a two-year absence. Vaprus were to be relegated at the end of the 2021 season after finishing in the bottom of the table, however 8th Tulevik chose voluntary relegation to due financial difficulties. [4] Tammeka retained their Meistriliiga spot after winning a relegation playoff against Esiliiga runners-up Tallinna Kalev. [5]

Venues

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Flora Tallinn A. Le Coq Arena 14,336 [6]
Kuressaare Kuressaare Kuressaare linnastaadion 1,000 [7]
Legion Tallinn Kadrioru staadion 4,750 [8]
FCI Levadia TallinnA. Le Coq Arena14,336 [6]
Narva Trans Narva Narva Kreenholm Stadium 1,065 [9]
Nõmme Kalju TallinnKadrioru staadion4,750 [8]
Sportland Arena 1,161 [10]
Paide Linnameeskond Paide Paide linnastaadion 1,000 [11]
Tammeka Tartu Tartu Tamme Stadium 1,500 [12]
Tulevik Viljandi Viljandi linnastaadion 1,084 [13]
Vaprus Pärnu Pärnu Rannastaadion 1,501 [14]

Personnel and kits

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Flora Flag of Estonia.svg Jürgen Henn Flag of Estonia.svg Konstantin Vassiljev Nike Optibet [15]
Kuressaare Flag of Ukraine.svg Roman Kozhukhovskyi Flag of Estonia.svg Sander Seeman Nike
Legion Flag of Estonia.svg Denis Belov Flag of Estonia.svg Pavel Londak Uhlsport
FCI Levadia Flag of Serbia.svg Marko Savić
Flag of Estonia.svg Vladimir Vassiljev 		Flag of Estonia.svg Brent Lepistu Adidas Viimsi Keevitus
Narva Trans Flag of Russia.svg Igor Pyvin Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Irié NikeSportland
Nõmme Kalju Flag of Russia.svg Sergei Frantsev Flag of Estonia.svg Aleksandr Kulinitš AdidasRämmar [16]
Paide Linnameeskond Flag of Estonia.svg Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko Flag of Estonia.svg Andre Frolov NikeVerston
Tammeka Flag of Latvia.svg Dmitrijs Kalašņikovs Flag of Estonia.svg Karl Johan Pechter NikeMetec
Tulevik Flag of Estonia.svg Sander Post Flag of Estonia.svg Kaimar Saag Joma Fenix [17]
Vaprus Flag of Estonia.svg Taavi Midenbritt Flag of Estonia.svg Magnus Villota NikeCoolbet

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
Tulevik Flag of Estonia.svg Sander Post Resigned6 December 2020 [18] Pre-season Flag of Estonia.svg Jaanus Reitel 6 December 2020 [18]
Nõmme Kalju Flag of Estonia.svg Marko Kristal 7 December 2020 [19] Flag of Russia.svg Sergei Frantsev 7 December 2020 [19]
Narva Trans Flag of Estonia.svg Oleg Kurotškin End of contract6 December 2020 [20] Flag of Russia.svg Igor Pyvin 3 January 2021 [20]
Tammeka Flag of Estonia.svg Kaido Koppel Sacked1 September 2021 [21] 10th Flag of Latvia.svg Dmitrijs Kalašņikovs 1 September 2021 [21]
Tulevik Flag of Estonia.svg Jaanus Reitel Mutual consent20 September 2021 [22] 8th Flag of Estonia.svg Sander Post 20 September 2021 [22]

Format changes

Due to delayed season opening and many postponed matches, the season was shortened. Instead of the regular format of each team playing each of the other teams four times, the league table will be split after the third playthrough (27th match) into two sections of top 6 and bottom 4, with each team playing each other in that section. [23]

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 FCI Levadia (C)3225348438+4678Qualification for the Champions League preliminary round
2 Flora 3223819023+6777Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round [lower-alpha 1]
3 Paide Linnameeskond 3218866635+3162
4 Nõmme Kalju 32136135744+1345
5 Legion 32117144948+140
6 Narva Trans 3296173661−2533
7 Kuressaare 30104163947−834
8 Tulevik (R)3093183962−2330Relegation to Esiliiga [lower-alpha 2]
9 Tammeka (O)3074193472−3825Qualification for relegation play-offs
10 Vaprus 3053222488−6418
Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian), UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Less matches awarded against; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Away goals scored; 9) Fairplay ranking. [24]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Paide Linnameeskond qualified for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round by winning the 2021–22 Estonian Cup.
  2. ↑ On 22 December 2021 Tulevik announced voluntary relegation due to financial difficulties.

Results

A total of four rounds will be played. In the first three rounds teams play each other three times. In the fourth round the league was split into 2 groups – top 6, and bottom 4, where they play each team in their group one more time.

Rounds 1–18

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Home \ Away FLO KUR LEG LEV NAR NÕM PAI TAM TUL VAP
Flora 2–22–10–05–01–03–39–03–02–0
Kuressaare 0–41–12–31–20–22–21–32–32–1
Legion 1–21–02–30–00–11–13–12–17–1
FCI Levadia 2–43–04–33–24–10–42–14–15–0
Narva Trans 0–22–00–01–41–20–12–16–21–1
Nõmme Kalju 1–20–33–10–10–10–04–15–10–1
Paide 0–01–01–01–25–12–11–10–12–1
Tammeka 0–30–10–11–23–22–20–21–12–2
Tulevik 3–31–21–00–40–11–30–15–33–1
Vaprus 0–42–11–40–42–11–71–31–2AWD [lower-alpha 1]
Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Win awarded to Vaprus due to Tulevik fielding a unregistered player. The original match had ended in a 0–1 defeat.

Rounds 19–27

Teams play each other once, either home or away.

Home \ Away FLO KUR LEG LEV NAR NÕM PAI TAM TUL VAP
Flora 5–15–22–03–0
Kuressaare 1–00–20–22–01–06–0
Legion 1–21–23–12–1
FCI Levadia 1–53–03–02–14–05–0
Narva Trans 2–20–30–13–0
Nõmme Kalju 2–21–13–23–1
Paide 1–14–10–34–03–1
Tammeka 0–22–10–32–5
Tulevik 2–23–24–11–0
Vaprus 0–61–41–11–2
Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top six rounds 28–32

Teams play each other once, either home or away.

Home \ Away FLO LEG LEV NAR NÕM PAI
Flora 2–23–0
Legion 0–20–22–2
FCI Levadia 2–21–0
Narva Trans 0–20–20–01–5
Nõmme Kalju 0–11–2
Paide 4–05–3
Updated to match(es) played on 4 December 2021. Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Bottom four rounds 28–30

Teams play each other once, either home or away.

Home \ Away KUR TAM TUL VAP
Kuressaare
Tammeka 1–02–02–3
Tulevik 0–2
Vaprus 0–41–2
Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

At season's end Tammeka, the ninth place club, participated in a two-legged play-off with the runners-up (of independent teams) of the 2021 Esiliiga, for the spot in 2022 Meistriliiga.

Tallinna Kalev 0–0 Tammeka
Report
Kalev Keskstaadion artificial turf, Tallinn
Attendance: 125
Referee: Joonas Jaanovits
Tammeka 3–0 Tallinna Kalev
Report
Sepa Football Centre artificial turf, Tartu
Attendance: 211
Referee: Juri Frischer

Tammeka won 3–0 on aggregate.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals [25]
1 Flag of Estonia.svg Henri Anier Paide Linnameeskond26
2 Flag of Georgia.svg Zakaria Beglarishvili FCI Levadia24
3 Flag of Estonia.svg Rauno Sappinen Flora23
4 Flag of Estonia.svg Robert Kirss FCI Levadia17
5 Flag of Estonia.svg Sergei Zenjov Flora14
6 Flag of Estonia.svg Kaimar Saag Tulevik12
7 Flag of Estonia.svg Tristan Koskor Tammeka11
Flag of Estonia.svg Mattias Männilaan Kuressaare
Flag of Estonia.svg Aleksandr Šapovalov Legion
10 Flag of Russia.svg Aleksandr Zakarlyuka Narva Trans10

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Flag of Georgia.svg Zakaria Beglarishvili FCI LevadiaTulevik 4–0 (A) 4 April 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Eduard Golovljov Narva TransTulevik 6–2 (H) 11 April 2021
Flag of Russia.svg Aleksandr Zakarlyuka
Flag of Estonia.svg Henri Anier Paide LinnameeskondVaprus 3–1 (A) 25 April 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Aleksandr Šapovalov LegionVaprus 7–1 (A) 11 May 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Henri Anier Paide LinnameeskondTammeka 5–2 (A) 19 September 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Rauno Sappinen 4FloraNarva Trans 5–2 (H) 22 September 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Sergei Zenjov FloraTammeka 9–0 (H) 27 October 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Henri Anier Paide LinnameeskondLegion 4–0 (H) 30 October 2021
Flag of Estonia.svg Otto-Robert Lipp KuressaareVaprus 4–0 (A) 6 November 2021

Notes
4Player scored four goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Awards

Monthly awards

MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the Month
ManagerClubPlayerClub
March/April [26] Flag of Estonia.svg Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko Paide Linnameeskond Flag of Estonia.svg Henri Anier Paide Linnameeskond
May [27] Flag of Estonia.svg Jürgen Henn Flora Flag of Georgia.svg Zakaria Beglarishvili FCI Levadia
June/July [28] Flag of Serbia.svg Marko Savić
Flag of Estonia.svg Vladimir Vassiljev 		FCI Levadia Flag of Estonia.svg Robert Kirss
August [29] Flag of Estonia.svg Joseph Saliste Paide Linnameeskond
September [30] Flag of Ukraine.svg Roman Kozhukhovsky Kuressaare Flag of Estonia.svg Rauno Alliku Flora
October [31] Flag of Estonia.svg Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko Paide Linnameeskond Flag of Estonia.svg Ken Kallaste
November [32] Flag of Estonia.svg Jürgen Henn Flora Flag of Georgia.svg Zakaria Beglarishvili FCI Levadia

Related Research Articles

The 2011 Meistriliiga was the 21st season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 5 March 2011 and concluded on 5 November 2011. The defending champions Flora won their ninth league title.

The 2013 Meistriliiga was the 23rd season of the Meistriliiga, the first level in the Estonian football system. The season began on 2 March 2013 and ended on 9 November 2013. Nõmme Kalju, the defending champions, finished runners-up behind Levadia, who won their 8th title.

The 2013 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 3 March 2013 and ended on 10 November 2013. However, on 3 March the Estonian Football Association announced that all matches scheduled for 3 March 2013 would be postponed due to heavy snowfall. The previous league champions Infonet were promoted to Meistriliiga while Pärnu Linnameeskond and Kohtla-Järve Lootus were relegated to Esiliiga B division. For this season those three teams are replaced by Jõhvi Lokomotiv from II Liiga East/North division and Viljandi Tulevik and Vändra Vaprus from II Liiga West/South division.

The 2014 Esiliiga was the 24th season of the Esiliiga. The season started on Sunday 2 March 2014, and concluded on Sunday 9 November 2014. Flora II Tallinn won the Esiliiga, finishing with 78 points.

The 2014 Meistriliiga, also known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga due to sponsorship reasons, was the 24th season of the Meistriliiga, the first level in the Estonian football system. The season ran from 1 March 2014 to 8 November 2014. Levadia successfully defended the title, securing the championship in the last round.

The 2015 Meistriliiga, also known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, was the 25th season of the Meistriliiga, the first level in the Estonian football system. The season started on 6 March 2015 and the final matchday took place on 7 November. Levadia, the defending champions, finished runner-up behind Flora, who won their tenth title.

The 2015 Esiliiga was the 25th season of the Esiliiga, second-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 8 March 2015 and concluded on 8 November 2015.

The 2016 Meistriliiga was the 26th season of the Meistriliiga, the highest division of Estonian football system. The season began on 4 March 2016 and concluded on 5 November 2016.

The 2016 Esiliiga is the 26th season of the Esiliiga, second-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 25 February 2016 and concluded on 6 November 2016.

The 2017 Meistriliiga was the 27th season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 3 March 2017 and concluded on 4 November 2017. FCI Tallinn began the season as defending champions of the 2016 season.

The 2017 Esiliiga is the 27th season of the Esiliiga, second-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 2 March 2017.

The 2017 Esiliiga B was the 5th season of the Esiliiga B, third-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2013. The season began on 1 March 2017.

The 2018 Meistriliiga was the 28th season of the Meistriliiga, the highest division of Estonian football system. The season was scheduled to begin on 25 February 2018, but was postponed due to a cold wave. On 3 March, the season began with four out of five second round matches held in indoor arena. This marked the first time Estonian league football was played indoor. The season concluded on 10 November 2018. Flora were the defending champions. Nõmme Kalju won their 2nd Meistriliiga title completing an entire season undefeated.

The 2018 Esiliiga B was the 6th season of the Esiliiga B, third-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2013.

The 2019 Meistriliiga was the 29th season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs. The season began on 8 March 2019 and concluded on 9 November 2019. Nõmme Kalju were the defending champions. Flora won their 12th Meistriliiga title.

The 2019 Esiliiga was the 29th season of the Esiliiga, the second tier of Estonian football.

Jürgen Henn is an Estonian football manager who is the current head coach of Meistriliiga club FC Flora.

The 2022 Meistriliiga, also known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga due to sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 1 March 2022 and concluded on 12 November 2022.

The 2022 Esiliiga was the 32nd season of the Esiliiga, the second tier of Estonian football. The season started on 3 March 2022 and concluded on 13 November 2022.

The 2023 Meistriliiga, also known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga due to sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992. It was the first Meistriliiga season with video assistant referee (VAR).

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