The 2018 Meistriliiga (known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) 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.
Teams 10 teams competed in the league. Sillamäe Kalev lost their Meistriliiga license due to a failure to meet their financial obligations and were relegated to the II liiga. On 4 November 2017, it was announced that FCI Tallinn would merge with Levadia.
The two clubs were replaced by 2017 Esiliiga champions Maardu Linnameeskond and runners-up Tallinna Kalev. On 18 December 2017, Kuressaare replaced Maardu Linnameeskond after the latter withdrew from the league due to financial reasons.
Venues
TeamLocationStadiumCapacityFCI LevadiaTallinnKadriorg StadiumFloraTallinnA. Le Coq ArenaKuressaareKuressaareKuressaare linnastaadionNarva TransNarvaNarva Kreenholmi StadiumNõmme KaljuTallinnHiiu StadiumPaide LinnameeskondPaidePaide linnastaadionTallinna KalevTallinnKalevi Keskstaadion artificial turfTammekaTartuTartu Tamme StadiumTulevikViljandiViljandi linnastaadionVaprusPärnuPärnu Rannastaadion
Personnel and kits TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorFCI Levadia Aleksandar Rogić Dmitri KruglovAdidasViimsi KeevitusFlora Jürgen Henn Gert KamsNikeTele2 Kuressaare Jan Važinski Sander ViiraJomaSaaremaa LihatööstusNarva Trans Cenk Özcan IriéNikeSportlandNõmme Kalju Sergei Frantsev Vitali TelešAdidashelp.eePaide Linnameeskond Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko Andre FrolovNikeVerstonTallinna Kalev Argo Arbeiter Hidetoshi WakuiNikeCoolbetTammeka Kaido Koppel Tauno TekkoNikeMetecTulevik Sander Post Indrek IlvesJomaViljandi Aken ja UksVaprus Indrek Zelinski Joosep SarapuuNikeCoolbet
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointmentVaprus Marko LelovResigned5 November 2017Pre-season Indrek Zelinski5 November 2017FCI Levadia Igor PrinsEnd of contract5 November 2017 Aleksandar Rogić6 November 2017Tulevik Aivar LillevereResigned15 November 2017 Marko Kristal 30 December 2017Tallinna Kalev Marko PärnpuuSacked16 November 2017 Argo Arbeiter17 November 2017Tammeka Mario Hansi Kaido KoppelMutual consent21 November 2017 Kaido Koppel21 November 2017Flora Arno PijpersResigned13 December 2017 Jürgen Henn5 January 2018Kuressaare Sander ViiraMutual consent19 December 2017 Jan Važinski19 December 2017Tulevik Marko KristalMutual consent19 April 20189th Sander Post19 April 2018Narva Trans Adyam KuzyaevResigned14 August 20184th Cenk Özcan17 August 2018
League table
Relegation play-offs At season's end Kuressaare, the ninth place club, participated in a two-legged play-off with the runners-up (of independent teams) of the 2018 Esiliiga, Elva, for the spot in 2019 Meistriliiga.
Kuressaare won 2–0 on aggregate and retained their Meistriliiga spot for the 2019 season.
Results Each team played every opponent four times, twice at home and twice away. A total of 180 matches has been played, with 36 matches played by each team.
First half of season
Second half of season
Season statistics Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 LiliuNõmme Kalju312 Zakaria BeglarishviliFlora303 Roman DebelkoFCI Levadia284 Tristan KoskorTammeka215 Dmitri BarkovNarva Trans176 Frank LiivakFlora167 Sander LahtKuressaare158 Marcelin GandoFCI Levadia14 Rimo HuntNõmme Kalju10 Viktor PlotnikovNarva Trans13 Muamer SvrakaFCI Levadia
Hat-tricks PlayerForAgainstResultDate Tristan Koskor4TammekaKuressaare4–0 (A)30 March 2018 Roman DebelkoFCI LevadiaTulevik5–0 (H)5 May 2018 LiliuNõmme KaljuVaprus6–0 (A)5 May 2018 Marcelin Gando4FCI LevadiaVaprus6–1 (H)26 May 2018 LiliuNõmme KaljuPaide Linnameeskond3–0 (A)18 August 2018 Zakaria BeglarishviliFloraTulevik3–1 (A)3 November 2018 4 Player scored 4 goals
Average attendance
+ Club Average attendance Tallinna FC Flora 559 Tartu JK Tammeka 444 Nõmme Kalju FC 404 Viljandi JK Tulevik 278 FCI Levadia 262 Pärnu JK Vaprus 260 JK Narva Trans 250 JK Tallinna Kalev 199 Paide Linnameeskond 187 FC Kuressaare 113+ League average 296
Awards Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthManagerClubPlayerClubMarch Sergei FrantsevNõmme Kalju Roman DebelkoFCI LevadiaApril Aleksandar RogićFCI Levadia LiliuNõmme KaljuMay Jürgen HennFlora Samson IyedePaide LinnameeskondJune/July Sergei FrantsevNõmme Kalju Madis VihmannFloraAugust Kaido KoppelTammeka Gert KamsSeptember Aleksandar RogićFCI Levadia Viktor PlotnikovNarva TransOctober Jürgen HennFlora Herol RiibergTulevik
Meistriliiga Player of the Year Zakaria Beglarishvili was named Meistriliiga Player of the Year.
Goal of the Year Tõnis Vihmoja's goal against Paide Linnameeskond was chosen Goal of the Year.
Player transfers Winter 2017–18 – before the season Summer 2018 – during the season
See also 2017–18 Estonian Cup 2018–19 Estonian Cup 2018 Esiliiga 2018 Esiliiga B
References
External links Official website