| Season | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Nõmme Kalju |
| Champions League | Nõmme Kalju |
| Europa League | Levadia Flora Narva Trans |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 536 (2.98 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Vladislav Ivanov(23 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Levadia 7–0Kuressaare (30 July) Nõmme Kalju 7–0Tallinna Kalev (4 September) |
| Biggest away win | Kuressaare 0–9Nõmme Kalju (28 August) |
| Highest scoring | Viljandi 1–9Nõmme Kalju (2 October) |
←2011 2013 → | |
The 2012 season of theMeistriliiga the first level in theEstonianfootball system is the 22nd season in the league's history. The competition started on 10 March 2012 and will end on 3 November 2012.[1] The defending champions areFlora, who won their ninth league championship last year.
Ajax finished the2011 season in 10th place and were directly relegated to theEsiliiga, ending a one-year stay in the Estonian top flight. They were replaced byTallinna 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.
| 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 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined underFIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flora | Nike | KH Energia Konsult | ||
| Nõmme Kalju | Adidas | Maxima | ||
| Kuressaare | Joma | — | ||
| Levadia | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus | ||
| Paide Linnameeskond | Nike | Verston | ||
| Sillamäe Kalev | Uhlsport | Alexela | ||
| Tallinna Kalev | Jako | — | ||
| Tammeka | Nike | Mäe-kodu | ||
| Narva Trans | Nike | Sportland | ||
| Viljandi | Joma | Express Hotline |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levadia | End of contract | 30 November 2011 | Pre-season | 1 December 2011[2] | ||
| Narva Trans | End of contract | 9 January 2012 | Pre-season | 10 January 2012[3] | ||
| Narva Trans | Sacked | June | ? | June | ||
| Tammeka | Sacked | 18 July 2012 | 10th | 19 July 2012[4] | ||
| Sillamäe Kalev | Sacked | 7 September 2012 | 4th | 8 September 2012[5] | ||
| Flora | Mutual agreement | 14 October 2012 | 2nd | 15 October 2012[6] |
| 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 forChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Levadia | 36 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 85 | 22 | +63 | 83 | Qualification forEuropa League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Flora | 36 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 87 | 24 | +63 | 81 | |
| 4 | Narva Trans | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 55 | |
| 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 forrelegation play-offs |
| 10 | Tammeka | 36 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 30 | 79 | −49 | 20 | Relegation toEsiliiga[b] |
At season's end, the ninth place club in the Meistriliiga will participate in a two-legged playoff with the runners-up of the2012 Esiliiga for one spot in next year's competition.
| Tarvas | 1–2 | Tallinna Kalev |
|---|---|---|
| Hang | Report | Tomson Kase |
Tallinna Kalev retains their place in the league, winning 3–1 on aggregate.
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[edit]
Source:Estonian Football Association Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. | Second half of season[edit]
Source:Estonian Football Association Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sillamäe Kalev/Narva Trans | 23 | |
| 2 | Nõmme Kalju | 22 | |
| 3 | Flora | 17 | |
| 4 | Nõmme Kalju | 13 | |
| 5 | Levadia | 12 | |
| 6 | Levadia | 11 | |
| 7 | Narva Trans | 10 | |
| Flora | |||
| Levadia | |||
| Nõmme Kalju |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levadia | Kuressaare | 5–0 | 10 April 2012 | |
| Levadia | Paide Linnameeskond | 1–5 | 28 April 2012 | |
| Flora | Paide Linnameeskond | 0–5 | 12 May 2012 | |
| Flora | Tallinna Kalev | 5–0 | 19 May 2012 | |
| Levadia | Tallinna Kalev | 0–6 | 23 July 2012 | |
| Levadia | Kuressaare | 7–0 | 30 July 2012 | |
| Levadia | Flora | 5–4 | 20 August 2012 | |
| Nõmme Kalju | Kuressaare | 0–9 | 28 August 2012 | |
| Flora | Viljandi | 5–0 | 18 September 2012 | |
| Narva Trans | Kuressaare | 0–3 | 22 September 2012 | |
| Nõmme Kalju | Viljandi | 1–9 | 2 October 2012 | |
| Tammeka | Tallinna Kalev | 1–4 | 20 October 2012 | |
| Nõmme Kalju | Tammeka | 5–1 | 3 November 2012 | |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Viljandi | 0–5 | 3 November 2012 |
| Club | Average attendance[9] |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| March[10] | Kuressaare | Levadia | ||
| April[11] | Nõmme Kalju | Levadia | ||
| May[12] | Flora | Flora | ||
| June[13] | Paide Linnameeskond | Nõmme Kalju | ||
| July[11] | Nõmme Kalju | Viljandi | ||
| August[14] | Narva Trans | Nõmme Kalju | ||
| September[15] | Nõmme Kalju | Paide Linnameeskond | ||
| October[16] | Levadia | Flora | ||