# 2013 Meistriliiga

The 2013 Meistriliiga (also known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd season of the Meistriliiga, the first level in the Estonian football system. The season began on 2 March 2013 and ended on 9 November 2013. Nõmme Kalju, the defending champions, finished runners-up behind Levadia, who won their 8th title.

## Teams

2012 Esiliiga champions Infonet, who lost out to Kuressaare in the promotion/relegation play-off as Esiliiga Runners-up in 2011, were promoted to this season's Meistriliiga making their first appearance in the top division. Esiliiga runners-up Tarvas lost out on promotion as Meistriliiga's 9th placed club Tallinna Kalev defeated them 3–1 on aggregate in the Promotion/relegation play-off.
Tammeka finished at the bottom of the 2012 season but escaped relegation due to dissolving of seventh place Viljandi.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Seating capacity |
| Flora | Tallinn | A. Le Coq Arena | 9,692 |
| Infonet | Tallinn | Sportland Arena | 540 |
| Kuressaare | Kuressaare | Kuressaare Linnastaadion | 1,000 |
| Levadia | Tallinn | Kadriorg Stadium | 5,000 |
| Narva Trans | Narva | Kreenholm Stadium | 1,065 |
| Nõmme Kalju | Tallinn | Kadriorg Stadium | 5,000 |
| Paide Linnameeskond | Paide | Paide linnastaadion | 368 |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Sillamäe | Sillamäe Kalev Stadium | 800 |
| Tallinna Kalev | Tallinn | Kalevi Keskstaadion | 11,500 |
| Tammeka | Tartu | Tamme Stadium | 1,750 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Flora | Norbert Hurt | Sander Post | Nike | |
| Infonet | Aleksandr Puštov | Jevgeni Gurtšioglujants | Joma | Infonet |
| Kuressaare | Sergei Zamogilnõi | Sander Viira | Joma | Saaremaa Lihatööstus |
| Levadia | Marko Kristal | Roman Smishko | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus |
| Narva Trans | Valeri Bondarenko | Stanislav Kitto | Nike | Sportland |
| Nõmme Kalju | Igor Prins | Alo Bärengrub | Adidas | Maxima |
| Paide Linnameeskond | Meelis Rooba | Carl Tubarik | Nike | Verston |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Sergei Ratnikov | Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko | Uhlsport | Alexela |
| Tallinna Kalev | Frank Bernhardt | Ats Sillaste | Jako | Viking Line |
| Tammeka | Uwe Erkenbrecher | Kristjan Tiirik | Nike | Tartu |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Tallinna Kalev | Sergei Ratnikov | Mutual agreement | 18 November 2012 | Pre-season | Frank Bernhardt | 4 December 2012 |
| Tammeka | Joti Stamatopoulos | Resigned | 22 November 2012 | Pre-season | Uwe Erkenbrecher | 8 January 2013 |
| Sillamäe Kalev | Algimantas Briaunys | Contract terminated | 2 April 2013 | 4th | Sergei Ratnikov | 2 April 2013 |
| Narva Trans | Aleksei Yagudin | Mutual agreement | 8 April 2013 | 10th | Valeri Bondarenko | 8 April 2013 |
| Flora | Marko Lelov | Sacked | 20 July 2013 | 3rd | Norbert Hurt (caretaker) | 21 July 2013 |

### Player transfers

* Transfers made during the 2012–13 winter transfer window:
* Transfers made during the 2013 summer transfer window:

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Levadia (C) | 36 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 69 | 24 | +45 | 91 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Nõmme Kalju | 36 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 78 | 23 | +55 | 84 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sillamäe Kalev | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 75 | 22 | +53 | 75 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Flora | 36 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 83 | 40 | +43 | 68 | |
| 5 | Paide | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 47 | |
| 6 | Infonet | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 38 | |
| 7 | Narva Trans | 36 | 11 | 3 | 22 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 36 | |
| 8 | Tallinna Kalev | 36 | 10 | 4 | 22 | 35 | 77 | −42 | 34 | |
| 9 | Tammeka (O) | 36 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 68 | −38 | 32 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 10 | Kuressaare (R) | 36 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 22 | 87 | −65 | 11 | Relegation to Esiliiga |

### Relegation play-offs

Tammeka as 9th-placed team faced 2013 Esiliiga side Rakvere Tarvas in a two-legged play-off for the spot in next year's competition.
    Tammeka won 6–2 on aggregate and retained their Meistriliiga spot for the 2014 season.

## Results

Each team plays every opponent four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 36 games.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Vladimir Voskoboinikov | Nõmme Kalju | 23 |
| 2 | Rimo Hunt | Levadia | 22 |
| 3 | Kassim Aidara | Sillamäe Kalev | 17 |
| 4 | Albert Prosa | Flora | 16 |
| 4 | Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko | Sillamäe Kalev | 16 |
| 6 | Hidetoshi Wakui | Nõmme Kalju | 15 |
| 7 | Sander Post | Flora | 14 |
| 8 | Tarmo Neemelo | Nõmme Kalju | 11 |
| 9 | Yevgeni Kabaev | Sillamäe Kalev | 10 |
| 10 | Rauno Alliku | Flora | 9 |
| 10 | Nikolai Mashichev | Sillamäe Kalev | 9 |
| 10 | Artur Rättel | Levadia | 9 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Sander van de Streek | Flora | Paide Linnameeskond | 6–0 (A) | 9 March 2013 |
| Sander Post $^4$ | Flora | Kuressaare | 6–0 (H) | 21 May 2013 |
| Vladimir Voskoboinikov | Nõmme Kalju | Flora | 4–3 (H) | 31 May 2013 |
| Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko | Sillamäe Kalev | Tammeka | 3–0 (A) | 3 August 2013 |
| Rimo Hunt | Levadia | Tallinna Kalev | 4–1 (A) | 20 August 2013 |
| Yevgeni Kabaev | Sillamäe Kalev | Tammeka | 6–0 (H) | 26 October 2013 |
| Kassim Aidara | Sillamäe Kalev | Tallinna Kalev | 9–0 (A) | 2 November 2013 |
| Rimo Hunt | Levadia | Kuressaare | 4–2 (A) | 9 November 2013 |
| Vladimir Voskoboinikov | Nõmme Kalju | Tammeka | 3–0 (A) | 9 November 2013 |
* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals.

### Average attendance

| Club | Average attendance |
| Tartu JK Tammeka | 357 |
| Tallinna FC Flora | 336 |
| Tallinna FC Levadia | 305 |
| Nõmme JK Kalju | 250 |
| JK Sillamäe Kalev | 180 |
| Paide Linnameeskond | 178 |
| Tallinna FC Infonet | 155 |
| JK Tallinna Kalev | 147 |
| FC Kuressaare | 138 |
| JK Narva Trans | 107 |

## Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| March | Marko Kristal | Levadia | Hidetoshi Wakui | Nõmme Kalju |
| April | Meelis Rooba | Paide Linnameeskond | Rimo Hunt | Levadia |
| May | Valeri Bondarenko | Narva Trans | Vladimir Voskoboinikov | Nõmme Kalju |
| June | Uwe Erkenbrecher | Tammeka | Nikolai Mashichev | Sillamäe Kalev |
| July | Sergei Ratnikov | Sillamäe Kalev | Lauri Varendi | Paide Linnameeskond |
| August | Marko Kristal | Levadia | Kassim Aidara | Sillamäe Kalev |
| September | Igor Prins | Nõmme Kalju | Allan Kimbaloula | Nõmme Kalju |
| October | Marko Kristal | Levadia | Rimo Hunt | Levadia |