2020 Meistriliiga

The 2020 Meistriliiga (known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons[1]) is the 30th season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs. The season began on 6 March 2020.[2] Flora are the defending champions.

Meistriliiga
Season2020
Dates6 March – 8 March
19 May – TBA
Matches played40
Goals scored113 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorerRauno Sappinen
(16 goals)
Biggest home winTulevik 5–0 Kuressaare
(7 June 2020)
Biggest away winKalev 1–8 Paide
(7 March 2020)
Highest scoringKalev 1–8 Paide
(7 March 2020)
Longest winning run6 matches
Flora
Longest unbeaten run8 matches
Flora
Longest winless run8 matches
Narva Trans
Longest losing run3 matches
Kuressaare
Kalev
← 2019
All statistics correct as of 17 June 2020.

The season went on break after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The league continued on 19 May 2020 without spectators.[4] Due to the long break, the number of games were reduced. Instead of the regular 36 rounds, the league will be split into two groups after the 27th round – Top 6 and Bottom 4, all play with each team in their group one more time. This means 32 games for the top 6 teams and 30 games for the bottom 4 teams.[5]

Teams

Ten teams compete in the league, nine sides from the 2019 season and 2019 Esiliiga champions Legion. Legion made their debut in the top tier after consecutive promotions from fourth tier in three seasons.[6] Maardu Linnameeskond were relegated at the end of the 2019 season after finishing in the bottom of the table. Kuressaare retained their Meistriliiga spot after winning a relegation play-off against Esiliiga runners-up Vaprus.[7]

Venues
Locations of the 2020 Meistriliiga teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
FCI Levadia Tallinn A. Le Coq Arena 14,336[8]
Flora
Kuressaare Kuressaare Kuressaare linnastaadion 1,000[9]
Legion Tallinn Kadriorg Stadium 5,000[10]
Narva Trans Narva Narva Kreenholm Stadium 1,065[11]
Nõmme Kalju Tallinn Hiiu Stadium 650[12]
Paide Linnameeskond Paide Paide linnastaadion 268[13]
Tallinna Kalev Tallinn Kadriorg Stadium 5,000[10]
Tammeka Tartu Tartu Tamme Stadium 1,500[14]
Tulevik Viljandi Viljandi linnastaadion 1,084[15]

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
FCI Levadia Vladimir Vassiljev Dmitri Kruglov Adidas Viimsi Keevitus
Flora Jürgen Henn Konstantin Vassiljev Nike Tele2
Kuressaare Roman Kozhukhovskyi Märten Pajunurm Nike
Legion Denis Belov Denis Vnukov Uhlsport
Narva Trans Oleg Kurotškin Roman Nesterovski Nike Sportland
Nõmme Kalju Marko Kristal Igor Subbotin Adidas Paf[16]
Paide Linnameeskond Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko Andre Frolov Nike Verston
Tallinna Kalev Liivo Leetma Marek Kaljumäe Macron Coolbet
Tammeka Kaido Koppel Tauno Tekko Nike Metec
Tulevik Sander Post Kaimar Saag Joma Espak[17]

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
FCI Levadia Vladimir Vassiljev Caretaker spell over 11 November 2019[18] Pre-season Martin Reim 11 November 2019[18]
Narva Trans Oleg Kurotškin Caretaker spell over 15 November 2019[19] Cenk Özcan 15 November 2019[19]
Nõmme Kalju Roman Kozhukhovskyi End of contract 28 November 2019[20] Marko Kristal 2 December 2019[21]
Kuressaare Dmitrijs Kalašņikovs End of contract 16 December 2019[22] Roman Kozhukhovskyi 16 December 2019[22]
Tallinna Kalev Aleksandr Dmitrijev Mutual consent 18 March 2020[23] 10th Liivo Leetma 18 March 2020[23]
Narva Trans Cenk Özcan Mutual consent 19 June 2010[24] 10th Oleg Kurotškin 19 June 2010[24]
Levadia Martin Reim Resigned 10 July 2020[25] 3rd Vladimir Vassiljev 10 July 2020[25]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Flora 17 15 1 1 46 12 +34 46 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Nõmme Kalju 17 11 2 4 37 10 +27 35 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3 Paide 17 11 0 6 39 21 +18 33
4 FCI Levadia 17 8 5 4 40 26 +14 29
5 Tulevik 17 8 0 9 23 31 −8 24
6 Trans 17 5 4 8 19 25 −6 19[lower-alpha 1]
7 Tammeka 17 4 5 8 17 28 −11 17[lower-alpha 1]
8 Kuressaare 17 4 4 9 17 31 −14 16
9 Legion 17 3 4 10 9 29 −20 13 Qualification for the Relegation play-offs
10 Tallinna Kalev 17 2 3 12 8 42 −34 9 Relegation to the Esiliiga
Updated to match(es) played on 7 August 2020. 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.[26]
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Tammeka 4, Trans 1

Relegation play-offs

At season's the ninth place club will participate in a two-legged play-off with the runners-up (of independent teams) of the 2020 Esiliiga, for the spot in 2021 Meistriliiga.

Fixtures and results

In the first stage each team will play every opponent three times. A total of 135 matches will be played, with 27 matches by each team. In the second stage, the league is split into 2 groups – top 6 and lower 4, where they play each team in their group one more time.[27]

Rounds 1–18
Home \ Away FLO KUR LEG LEV TRA NÕM PAI KLV TAM TUL
Flora — 3–0 3–1 4–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 3–0 0–0 3–0
Kuressaare 0–4 — 0–0 2–2 3–2 0–2 22 Aug 2–2 2–4 3–0
Legion 23 Aug 1–1 — 0–2 0–0 0–6 0–3 0–0 0–1 0–2
FCI Levadia 1–3 1–0 4–0 — 21 Aug 1–1 4–1 4–0 2–2 5–1
Trans 2–3 1–0 2–0 4–4 — 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–2
Nõmme Kalju 1–2 1–0 1–2 2–0 3–0 — 0–1 2–0 1–1 4 Okt
Paide 1–3 2–0 2–0 4–2 2–1 1–3 — 4–0 3–0 1–2
Tallinna Kalev 0–3 0–2 1–0 0–4 1–1 0–4 1–8 — 22 Aug 0–2
Tammeka 1–3 1–2 1–3 1–1 2–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 — 2–1
Tulevik 2–1 5–0 0–2 1–3 0–1 0–6 1–3 2–1 2–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 7 August 2020. Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Rounds 19–27
Home \ Away FLO KUR LEG LEV TRA NÕM PAI KLV TAM TUL
Flora — — 3 Oct — — 1 Nov 20 Sep — — 29 Aug
Kuressaare 25 Oct — 19 Sep 13 Sep — 7 Nov — 3 Oct — —
Legion — — — 7 Nov 13 Sep — 18 Oct 24 Oct 27 Sep —
FCI Levadia 27 Sep — — — — 20 Sep — 30 Aug 31 Oct 17 Oct
Narva Trans 18 Oct 30 Aug — 24 Oct — — — — — 19 Sep
Nõmme Kalju — — 30 Aug — 27 Sep — 25 Oct — — —
Paide Linnameeskond — 31 Oct — 4 Oct 8 Nov — — 26 Sep 30 Aug —
Tallinna Kalev 12 Sep — — — 31 Oct 17 Oct — — 19 Sep 8 Nov
Tammeka 8 Nov 18 Oct — — 3 Oct 11 Sep — — — —
Tulevik — 26 Sep 1 Nov — — 22 Aug 12 Sep — 24 Oct —
First match(es) will be played on 28 August 2020. Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
As of matches played on 9 August 2020[28]
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Rauno SappinenFlora16
2 Edrisa LubegaPaide Linnameeskond10
3 Pavel MarinTulevik9
4 Vladyslav KhomutovNõmme Kalju8
5 Siim LutsPaide Linnameeskond7
6 Marcelin GandoFCI Levadia6
Kristofer PihtPaide Linnameeskond
Geoffrey ChineduNarva Trans
Kaspar PaurNõmme Kalju
10 Märten KuuskFlora5

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Joseph SalistePaide LinnameeskondTallinna Kalev8–1 (A)7 March 2020[29]

Awards

Monthly awards
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
ManagerClub PlayerClub
May[30] Martin ReimLevadia Pedro VictorNõmme Kalju
June[31] Jürgen HennFlora Pavel MarinTulevik
July[32] Jürgen HennFlora Amir NatkhoNõmme Kalju

Player transfers
gollark: I mostly learned it through Minecraft.
gollark: 5.4 is fine.
gollark: I guess.
gollark: It has been proven that I'm at least 10³⁴³², and have at most 83 prime factors.
gollark: Surprisingly, no.

See also

References
  1. "Kodune tippjalgpall saab peatoetaja" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  2. "Eesti 2020. a jalgpalli meistrivõistluste Premium ja Esiliigade juhend" (PDF) (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  3. "Valitsus kuulutas Eestis välja eriolukorra, kõik jalgpallivõistlused tühistatud kuni 1. maini". Estonian Football Association. 13 March 2020.
  4. Kangur, Kristjan Jaak (14 May 2020). "Ametlik kinnitus: Premium liiga võib uuel nädalal alustada (Esimesed mängud teisipäeval!)". soccernet.ee.
  5. "Premium liiga hooaeg lõpeb liigatabeli poolitamisega". soccernet.ee. 14 May 2020.
  6. "Vägeva lennuga Legion kindlustas hoolimata Kotenko supermängust tõusu Premium liigasse". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  7. "VAATA JÄRELE: Kuressaare ei lubanud Vaprus end üllatada ja kindlustas koha järgmise aasta Premium liigas (galerii)". soccernet.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  8. "A. Le Coq Arena" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  9. "Kuressaare Linnastaadion". spordiregister.ee (in Estonian).
  10. "Kadrioru Staadion". spordiregister.ee (in Estonian).
  11. "Narva Kreenholmi staadion" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  12. "Hiiu kunstmurustaadion" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  13. "Paide linna staadion" (in Estonian). Eesti Spordiregister.
  14. "Tartu Tamme staadion" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  15. "Viljandi linnastaadion" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association.
  16. "Uue suurtoetajaga Kalju sai vägeva rahasüsti". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  17. "Tuleviku peasponsoriks sai kohalik suurettevõte". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  18. "Martin Reim: Levadia ja Flora filosoofiates on erinevusi, aga seda põnevam on see minule". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  19. "Ametlik: Transi uueks juhendajaks saab klubi eelmisel hooajal neljandaks tüürinud türklane". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  20. "Ametlik: Kalju kinnitas, et ei pikenda Kožuhhovskiga lepingut". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  21. "Marko Kristal: Nõmme Kalju peab väljakul toimuvat dikteerima ja olema seejuures edukas". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  22. "Kalju kriisist pronksmedalini vedanud Kožuhhovski asub Kuressaare peatreeneriks". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  23. "Šokkuudis! Tallinna Kalev sai uue peatreeneri". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  24. "AMETLIK! Özcan läinud, ajutine asendaja taas klubi seest". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  25. "Reim lahkus Levadia peatreeneri positsioonilt". soccernet.ee. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  26. "Eesti 2017.a meistrivõistluste Meistri- ja Esiliiga juhend" (PDF). jalgpall.ee (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  27. "Premium liiga jätkub teisipäeval uue formaadiga". Estonian Football Association. 14 May 2020.
  28. "Väravalööjate edetabel". soccernet.ee.
  29. "JK Tallinna Kalev 1 - 8 Paide Linnameeskond" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 7 March 2020.
  30. "Premium liiga kuu parimateks valiti Martin Reim ja Pedro Victor" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 11 June 2020.
  31. https://jalgpall.ee/voistlused/uudised/premium-liiga-juunikuu-parimateks-osutusid-henn-ja-marin-n17461
  32. http://jalgpall.ee/voistlused/uudised/premium-liiga-kuu-parimateks-valiti-amir-natkho-ja-jurgen-henn-n17621
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