Meistriliiga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Meistriliiga | |
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| Country | Estonia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Relegation to | Esiliiga |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Estonian Cup |
| UEFA cup(s) | Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup |
| Current champions | FC Levadia Tallinn (2007) |
| Most successful club | FC Flora Tallinn (7 titles) |
| Website | http://www.jalgpall.ee |
 2008 season |
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Meistriliiga is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded in 1991 and 2008 is the league's 18th season. It is not fully professional, only 6 teams are professionals and the other 4 teams are semi-professional.
As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts around March and ends in late November. The championships top division consists of ten clubs, all teams play each other four times. After each season the bottom team is relegated, with the winner of Esiliiga being promoted (unless it is a reserve team for a Meistriliiga team, in which case the next team receives automatic promotion) and the 2nd last team from Meistriliiga and the 2nd team from Esiliiga play a two-legged playoff to get into/stay in the Meistriliiga. The team that finishes as champions of the Meistriliiga qualifies for the 1st Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League, the 2nd team will play in the 1st Qualifying Round of the UEFA Cup along with the winner of the Estonian Cup. Depending on the cup winner, a fourth team will enter the 1st round of the Intertoto Cup.
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[edit] Meistriliiga clubs 2008
The following 10 clubs are competing in the Meistriliiga during the 2008 season.
| Club | Position in 2007 |
First season in Meistriliiga |
Last title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Flora Tallinna,b |
2nd | 1992 | 2003 | |
 Kalju Nõmme |
6th, Esiliiga | 2008 | n/a | |
 Kalev Sillamäea |
3rd, Esiliiga | 1992 | n/a | |
 Kalev Tallinn |
6th | 2007 | n/a | |
 Levadia Tallinn |
1st | 1999 | 2007 | |
 Maag Tammeka Tartu |
5th | 2007 | n/a | |
 TVMK Tallinna |
3rd | 1992 | 2005 | |
 Trans Narvaa,b |
4th | 1992 | n/a | |
 Tulevik Viljandia |
7th | 1992 | n/a | |
 Vaprus Pärnu |
8th | 2002 | n/a | |
| a = Founding member of the Meistriliiga b = Played in every Meistriliiga season |
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[edit] Champions and top goalscorers
[edit] Performance by club
| Club | Winners | Runners-Up | 3rd Position | Seasons Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flora Tallinn |
7 | 5 | 3 | 1993-94, 1994-95, 1997-98, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003 |
| Levadia Tallinn/Maardu |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007 |
 Lantana/Marlekor/Nikol Tallinn |
2 | 1 | 3 | 1995-96, 1996-97 |
 Norma Tallinn |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1992, 1992-93 |
| TVMK/Tevalte/Marlekor Tallinn |
1 | 3 | 6 | 2005 |
 Sadam Tallinn |
0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Trans Narva |
0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Tulevik Viljandi |
0 | 1 | 1 | |
 EP Jõhvi |
0 | 1 | 0 |
[edit] 1921-1944 Champions
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[edit] Estonian SSR Champions
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[edit] Individual all-time leaders
[edit] Appearance leaders
| Rank | Player | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Maksim Gruznov |
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| 2 | Martin Reim |
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| 3 | Stanislav Kitto |
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| 4 | Andrei Borissov |
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| 5 | Eduard Sarajev |
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| 6 | Viktor Alonen |
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| 7 | Andrei Krõlov |
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| 8 | Jaanus Sirel |
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| 9 | Maksim Rõtškov |
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| 10 | Konstantin Nahk |
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| As of March 1, 2007 (Players in bold are still active in the Meistriliiga). | ||
[edit] Goal scoring leaders
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maksim Gruznov |
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| 2 | Andrei Krõlov |
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| 3 | Dmitri Ustritski |
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| 4 | Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko |
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| Sergei Bragin |
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| 6 | Konstantin Nahk |
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| Indrek Zelinski |
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 Dmitri Lipartov |
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| 9 | Toomas Krõm |
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| 10 | Vitali Leitan |
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| As of March 1, 2007 (Players in bold are still active in the Meistriliiga). | ||
