2019 Esiliiga Explained

The 2019 Esiliiga was the 29th season of the Esiliiga, the second tier of Estonian football.

Teams

A total of 10 teams were contesting the league, including six sides from the 2018 season, one relegated from 2018 Meistriliiga and three promoted from the 2018 Esiliiga B.^[1] The 2017 Esiliiga and 2018 Esiliiga champions Maardu Linnameeskond were promoted to the highest tier for the first time.^[2] Nõmme Kalju U21 was the first team to suffer relegation after just returning to Esiliiga. Keila also immediately returned to Esiliiga B after losing the relegation play-offs to Järve. Tallinna Kalev U21 narrowly avoided relegation in its debut season thanks to Santos' decision to start the new season in the fourth tier II liiga.^[3] The other two promoted teams were Legion, who went almost unbeaten in its previous season, and Tammeka U21, who made its debut in the Esiliiga.

Stadiums and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Elva	Elva	Elva linnastaadion	[4]
FCI Levadia U21	Tallinn	Maarjamäe Stadium	[5]
Flora U21		Lilleküla training ground I	[6]
Järve	Kohtla-Järve	Kohtla-Järve Sports Centre Stadium	[7]
Legion	Tallinn	Kadriorg Stadium	[8]
Tallinna Kalev U21		Kalev Keskstaadion artificial turf	[9]
Tammeka U21	Tartu	Tartu Sepa Football Centre	[10]
Tarvas	Rakvere	Rakvere linnastaadion	[11]
Vaprus	Pärnu	Pärnu Rannastaadion	[12]
Welco	Tartu	Tartu Tamme Stadium	[13]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Elva	Veiko Haan	Jürgen Kuresoo	Nike	Sportland
FCI Levadia U21	Vladimir Vassiljev	Moorits Veering	Adidas	Viimsi Keevitus
Flora U21	Ats Sillaste		Nike	Tele2[14]
Järve	Andrei Škaleta	Gleb Pevtsov	Adidas
Legion	Denis Belov		Uhlsport
Tallinna Kalev U21	Daniel Meijel		Nike
Tammeka U21	Marti Pähn		Nike
Tarvas	Tarmo Rebane	Alari Tovstik	Nike	Aqva Hotel & Spa
Vaprus	Taavi Midenbritt Kalev Pajula	Kristen Saarts	Nike	Coolbet
Welco	Janar Sagim	Mikk Valtna	Nike	Liisi

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in the table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Vaprus	Indrek Zelinsk[15]	Signed by KTP	10 November 2018	Pre-season	Taavi Midenbritt Kalev Pajula[16]	22 November 2018
Welco	Yusuf Erdoğan	Mutual consent	25 July 2019	10th	Janar Sagim[17]	25 July 2019

League table

Results

Matches 19–36

Relegation play-offs

Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi won 7–2 on aggregate.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[18]
1		Legion	38
2		Legion	26
3		Vaprus	19
4		Järve	17
align=center rowspan=3	5		Flora U21	align=center rowspan=3	16
	Tallinna Kalev U21
	Vaprus
8	Duván Mosquera	Järve	15
align=center rowspan=2	9		Flora U21	align=center rowspan=2	14
	Tammeka U21

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
March[19]	Denis Belov	Legion	Raivo Saar	Järve
April[20]	Andrei Škaleta	Järve	Ronaldo Tiismaa	Vaprus
May[21]	Taavi Midenbritt Kalev Pajula	Vaprus	Daaniel Maanas	Tammeka U21
June[22]	Denis Belov	Legion	Martin Thomson	Elva
July[23]	Veiko Haan	Elva	Ralf-Sander Suvinõmm	Flora U21
August[24]	Marti Pähn	Tammeka U21	Hendrik Vainu	Vaprus
September[25]	Vladimir Vassiljev	FCI Levadia U21	Marek Šatov	Legion
October[26]	Denis Belov	Legion	Rejal Alijev

Esiliiga Player of the Year

Denis Vnukov was named Esiliiga Player of the Year.^[27]

See also

• 2018–19 Estonian Cup
• 2019–20 Estonian Cup
• 2019 Meistriliiga
• 2019 Esiliiga B

References

1. Web site: Jalgpalliliidu juhatus kinnitas tippliigade koosseisud. Estonian. 4 January 2018. soccernet.ee.
2. Web site: Gussevi 37. värav kindlustas Maardu tiitli. soccernet.ee. 30 September 2018.
3. Web site: Taas ärakukkumine tippjalgpallis: Santos jätkab madalamates liigades . soccernet.ee . 6 February 2019.
4. Web site: Elva linna staadion. et. spordiregister.ee. 1 March 2023.
5. Web site: Maarjamäe jalgpallikeskus. et. spordiregister.ee. 1 March 2023.
6. Web site: A. Le Coq Arena I ja II muruväljak. et. spordiregister.ee. 1 March 2022.
7. Web site: Kohtla-Järve Spordikeskuse staadion. et. spordiregister.ee. 1 March 2022.
8. Web site: Kadrioru staadion. et. Estonian Football Association. 1 March 2022.
9. Web site: Kalevi Keskstaadion. et. spordiregister.ee. 1 March 2023.
10. Web site: Tartu Sepa jalgpallikeskuse kunstmuruväljak. Estonian Football Association. et. 1 March 2023.
11. Web site: Rakvere staadion. Eesti Spordiregister. Estonian.
12. Web site: Pärnu Rannastaadion. Estonian Football Association. et. 1 March 2022.
13. Web site: Tartu Tamme staadion. et. Estonian Football Association. 1 March 2022.
14. Web site: Flora sai koondisega sama sponsori. 3 October 2014. 25 September 2014. Soccernet.ee.
15. News: AMETLIK: Arbeiter lahkub Kalevist, Zelinski Vaprusest ning uuest hooajast asutakse tööle välismaal. soccernet.ee. 8 November 2018. 15 January 2023.
16. News: Vaprust juhendavad uuest hooajast Pajula ja Midenbritt. soccernet.ee. 22 November 2018. 15 January 2023.
17. News: Welco vahetas peatreenerit, uueks juhendajaks Sagim. soccernet.ee. 25 July 2019. 15 January 2023.
18. Web site: MÄNGUDE AJALUGU. Estonian. Estonian Football Association.
19. Web site: Esiliiga kuu parimate auhinnad läksid Kohtla-Järvele ja Legionisse. et. Estonian Football Association. 4 April 2019.
20. Web site: Esiliiga kuu parimad tulevad Kohtla-Järvelt ja Pärnust. et. Estonian Football Association. 30 April 2019.
21. Web site: Esiliiga kuu parimad tulevad Pärnust ja Tartust. et. Estonian Football Association. 4 June 2019.
22. Web site: Esiliiga kuu parimate auhinnad läksid Legioni ja Elva ridadesse. et. Estonian Football Association. 8 July 2019.
23. Web site: Esiliiga kuu parimate auhinnad läksid Elva ja Flora võistkondadele. et. Estonian Football Association. 6 August 2019.
24. Web site: Selgusid tippliigade kuu parimad. et. Estonian Football Association. 16 September 2019.
25. Web site: Esiliiga parimate auhinnad läksid Levadia U21-le ja Legionile. et. Estonian Football Association. 2 October 2019.
26. Web site: Esiliiga kuu parimate auhinnad läksid Legionile. et. Estonian Football Association. 7 November 2019.
27. Web site: Esiliiga parimaks mängijaks valiti Denis Vnukov. Estonian Football Association. 15 January 2023. et.