2006 Meistriliiga

Meistriliiga
Season 2006
Champions Levadia
(4th title)
Top goalscorer Maksim Gruznov (31)
← 2005
2007 →

2006 Meistriliiga was the 16th season of the Meistriliiga, Estonia's premier football league. Levadia won their fourth title.

Season overview

FC Levadia won the 2006 Meistriliiga championship and entered the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League 1st Qualifying Round. Narva Trans finished in their best ever silver-medal position, while FC Flora also gained a place compared to last season on 2005 champions FC TVMK's disappointing year. The latter will enter the Intertoto Cup and the other two above mentioned teams enter the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds in the summer of 2007.

The bottom of the table provided some intrigue as well. The two Tartu teams ended mid-table, with Tammeka's youthful-looking squad impressing under experienced coach and ex-international Sergei Ratnikov, in his first year as the head coach. Pärnu Vaprus was perhaps the surprise package of the season finishing seventh on their debut year in the Meistriliiga and bringing Pärnu back on to the Estonian football map. Mainly Russian-speaking Tallinn team, FC Ajax Lasnamäe, proved a point by staying up against all predictions. JK Viljandi Tulevik had a dreadful year and had to go into the play-offs against Esiliiga's JK Tallinna Kalev and lost, which should've meant their relegation a step down. But after the merging of the Tartu clubs, JK Maag and Tammeka, they will still be in the Meistriliiga in 2007. The team with the youngest average aged squad in the league, Warrior Valga, were relegated without a meaningful fight.

The league's top scorers were two JK Narva Trans strikers Maksim Gruznov (with 31 goals) and Dmitri Lipartov (27 goals). FC Flora Tallinn's Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko scored 25, FC Levadia Tallinn's Indrek Zelinski 21 goals.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Levadia (C) 36 30 4 2 114 29 +85 94 2007–08 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round
2 Narva Trans 36 25 8 3 106 36 +70 83 UEFA Cup 2007-08 First qualifying round
3 Flora 36 26 4 6 93 34 +59 82
4 TVMK 36 22 6 8 83 37 +46 72 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round
5 Maag 36 13 9 14 65 68 −3 48
6 Tammeka 36 12 7 17 45 57 −12 43
7 Vaprus 36 10 4 22 49 86 −37 34
8 Lasnamäe Ajax 36 6 7 23 35 104 −69 25
9 Tulevik 36 5 5 26 29 74 −45 20 Relegation play-off
10 Warrior (R) 36 3 2 31 16 110 −94 11 Relegation to 2007 Esiliiga
Source: Estonian Football Association (in Estonian)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal difference; 5) head-to-head goals scored; 6) goal difference; 7) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.

Promotion/Relegation play-off

Tallinna Kalev + / - Tulevik
Tulevik - / + Tallinna Kalev

Both games were awarded - / + to Tallinna Kalev since Tulevik fielded an ineligible player.

Kalev had originally won 1 – 1 with away goals

Tulevik kept their place in the Meistriliiga as a result of merger of Tammeka Tartu and Maag Tartu. [1]

Top scorers

Pos Name Team Goals
1 Maksim Gruznov (EST)Trans Narva31
2 Dmitry Lipartov (RUS)Trans Narva27
3 Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko (EST)Flora Tallinn25
4 Indrek Zelinski (EST)Levadia Tallinn21
5 Aleksandr Dubõkin (EST)Trans Narva19
6 Vitali Gussev (EST)Maag Tartu18
– Vladislav Gussev (EST)TVMK Tallinn18
– Konstantin Vassiljev (EST)Levadia Tallinn18
9 Nikita Andreev (RUS)Levadia Tallinn17
– Viktors Dobrecovs (LAT)TVMK Tallinn17

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jalgpalliliit tühistas Kalevi ja Tuleviku mängude tulemused". Eesti Päevaleht. 14 November 2006.
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