FCI Levadia Tallinn
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football club
Football Club Infonet Levadia Tallinn, commonly known as FCI Levadia, or simply as Levadia, is a professional football club based in Tallinn that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Lilleküla Stadium.
Founded in 1998 in Maardu, the club moved to Tallinn in 2000 and officially affiliated themselves with the capital city in 2004. In 2017, Levadia's first team merged with FCI Tallinn, and became FCI Levadia. Levadia has played in the Meistriliiga since the 1999 season and have never been relegated from the Estonian top division. Levadia are the second most successful club in Estonian football with 31 domestic titles; including 11 Meistriliiga titles, a record 11 Estonian Cups and 9 Estonian Supercups.
History
Foundation and immediate success (1998–2003)
Levadia was founded on 22 October 1998, when Viktor Levada's Levadia Group OÜ became the official sponsor of Maardu based Esiliiga club Olümp, which subsequently changed its name to Levadia.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> The club won the 1998 Esiliiga and were promoted to the Meistriliiga. Before the start of the season, Levadia merged with JK Tallinna Sadam to grant the club a place in the UEFA Cup through Sadam's European qualification.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Led by head coach Sergei Ratnikov, Levadia immediately made a mark during their first season in top flight football in 1999, becoming the first team to win the Meistriliiga, the Estonian Cup and the Estonian Supercup in the same year.
After the turn of the century, Levadia moved their home matches from Maardu to the Kadriorg Stadium<ref name=":0" /> and managed to repeat their success by winning another treble during the 2000 season, which included going unbeaten in the league. In the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, Levadia defeated The New Saints 6–2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, but lost to Shakhtar Donetsk 2–9 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. Following the loss to Shakhtar Donetsk, Ratnikov was sacked.<ref name="hist">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2001, Valeri Bondarenko was appointed as a manager. Levadia failed to defend their title, finishing the 2001 season in third place and in November 2001, Bondarenko was replaced by Pasi Rautiainen. Under Rautiainen, Levadia finished the 2002 Meistriliiga as runners-up, only two points behind champions Flora. After the season, Rautiainen resigned and was replaced by Franco Pancheri in January 2003. Pancheri coached Levadia for just 9 Meistriliiga matches, before he was sacked in June 2003. He was replaced by Tarmo Rüütli and Levadia finished the 2003 season in third place.<ref name="hist" />
Relocation to Tallinn and domestic dominance (2004–2016)
In 2004, Levadia officially moved to Tallinn and the club was renamed from Levadia Maardu to Levadia Tallinn, although the team had already been playing at the Kadriorg Stadium since 2000. The club's previously Tallinn-based reserve team changed its name to Levadia II. Under Rüütli, Levadia won the league in the 2004 season, but failed to defend the title in 2005, finishing as runners-up. In the 2006–07 UEFA Cup qualifying rounds, Levadia defeated Haka and Twente, both by a 2–1 aggregate score, and became the first Estonian club to reach the first round of the UEFA Cup.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Levadia faced Newcastle United and were eliminated from the competition by losing 1–3 on aggregate.<ref name="hist"/> Domestically, Levadia went on to win four consecutive Meistriliiga titles in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
In March 2008, Rüütli was hired by the Estonian FA to coach the Estonia national team and his assistant Igor Prins took over as manager. Under Prins, Levadia won the aforementioned 2008 and 2009 league titles, with the 2009 title achieved with a record 97 points. The club also lifted the Estonian Cup in 2010. In August 2010, Prins was sacked due to disagreements with the board and replaced by Levadia II manager Aleksandr Puštov. Levadia finished the 2010 season as runners-up. In July 2011, Puštov was sacked after disappointing results in the Meistriliiga and the Champions League and replaced by Sergei Hohlov-Simson. Levadia finished the 2011 season in fourth place, their lowest ever league placing since the club was promoted to the Meistriliiga. In December 2011, Marko Kristal was appointed as manager. The club won the 2011–12 Estonian Cup and finished the 2012 season as runners-up. Levadia won the Meistriliiga title in the 2013 season and defended their title in 2014, but finished the 2015 season as runners-up. In November 2015, it was announced that Sergei Ratnikov will return to Levadia after 15 years and replace Kristal as manager. Ratnikov's second tenure as Levadia's manager lasted until July 2016, when he was sacked following a 0–1 loss to Pärnu Linnameeskond. He was replaced by another returning manager, Igor Prins. Levadia finished the 2016 season as runners-up.
Merger with FC Infonet and 10th league title (2017–2022)
Following another second-place finish in the 2017 season, Levadia announced they will merge with FC Infonet Tallinn, the Estonian champions of 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two clubs merged their first teams, becoming FCI Levadia, with FCI Tallinn's Aleksandar Rogić taking over as manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> FCI Levadia finished the 2018 season as runners-up, but won the Estonian Cup, beating rivals FC Flora 1–0 in the final. In 2019, Levadia moved to Estonia's largest stadium A. Le Coq Arena.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 15 September 2019, Rogić was sacked after disappointing results, with assistant coach Vladimir Vassiljev taking over as caretaker manager. In November 2019, former Estonia head coach Martin Reim was appointed as manager. However, after a disappointing start to the season, Martin Reim decided to resign in July 2020 and Vladimir Vassiljev took over the role.
In August 2020, Levadia's former assistant coach Marko Savić returned to the club and became joint managers with Vassiljev. In the following 2021 season, Levadia ended their 7-year Premium Liiga title drought, becoming Estonian champions in the last day of the season, after drawing 2–2 with rivals FC Flora in the title-deciding final match.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> FCI Levadia also lifted the Estonian Cup in 2021 and Estonian Supercup in February 2022, again beating Flora in both of the finals. In July 2022, Marko Savić and Vladimir Vassiljev announced they will be stepping down as head coaches of the club, with the main driver for the resignation being the disappointing 1–6 loss against Víkingur Reykjavík in the UEFA Champions League preliminary round.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The remainder of the 2022 season was widely described by Estonian media outlets as turbulent, with Levadia changing head coaches multiple times in a short period of time and sporting director Tarmo Kink and CEO Sergei Hohlov-Simson also leaving the club. FCI Levadia finished the 2022 season as runners-up.
Recent history (2023–present)
In November 2022, Levadia announced the appointment of former Spanish international Curro Torres as manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The club finished the 2023 season as runners-up, before winning the double in 2024 by defeating Paide Linnameeskond 4–2 in the 2023–24 Estonian Cup final and lifting their 11th Premium Liiga title at the end of the 2024 season. Levadia began the 2025 season by winning their 9th Estonian Supercup against Nõmme Kalju, but lost the 2024–25 Estonian Cup final to the same opponent on penalties three months later.
Kit
Colours
The colours of Levadia are green and white, with primary colour green symbolising that "Levadia" roughly translates to meadow in both Ukrainian (Левада) and Greek (λιβάδιον).<ref name=":1" />
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–1999 | Uhlsport | — | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1999–2008 | Adidas | Estonian Oil Service | |
| 2009–2011 | EuroPark | ||
| 2012–2021 | Viimsi Keevitus | ||
| 2022 | Admirals, Viimsi Keevitus | ||
| 2023 | Macron | ||
| 2024– | Viimsi Keevitus |
Stadiums
Lilleküla Stadium
Template:Main Since 2019, the club's home ground is the 14,336-seat Lilleküla Stadium (commonly known as A. Le Coq Arena for sponsorship reasons). Opened in 2001 and expanded from 2016 to 2018, it is the largest football stadium in Estonia. The stadium is also home to Levadia's rival FC Flora and the Estonian national team. Lilleküla Stadium is located at Jalgpalli 21, Kesklinn, Tallinn.<ref name="stad"/>
Levadia uses Sportland Arena artificial turf stadium for training and home matches during winter and early spring months. Levadia's training in summer and autumn takes place in their Maarjamäe training complex.
Kadriorg Stadium
Template:Main From 2000 to 2018, Levadia played at the Kadriorg Stadium.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Built from 1922 to 1926 and renovated from 2000 to 2001, it is one of the oldest football stadiums in Estonia and used to be the home ground of the Estonia national team until the completion of Lilleküla Stadium in 2001.<ref name="stad"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rivalries
The Tallinn Derby
Levadia's deepest rivalry is with FC Flora and the fixture between the two clubs is known as the Tallinn Derby (Template:Langx). Levadia and Flora are the two biggest and most successful clubs in Estonian football. The rivalry began in 1999, when Levadia entered Meistriliiga and immediately challenged the reigning champions Flora for the title, winning the treble in their first year in top-flight football.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In the early 2000s, language and nationality was also one of the separating factors between the two clubs, as Levadia was seen as the club of choice for the Russian speaking population of the city and Flora for the Estonian speaking. However, that image of Levadia has since then faded away. From 2019, the two clubs also share their home ground A. Le Coq Arena. The attendance record of 3,510 was set on 28 June 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Players
First-team squad
Template:Updated<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Fs start Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs mid Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs player Template:Fs end
Out on loan
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Reserves and academy
Club officials
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Current technical staff
| Position<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Template:Flagicon Curro Torres |
| Assistant coaches | Template:Flagicon José Soto Navarro |
| Template:Flagicon Karel Voolaid | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Template:Flagicon Ain Tammus |
| Fitness coaches | Template:Flagicon Trevor Elhi |
| Template:Flagicon Dmitri Kovt | |
| Template:Flagicon Pavlo Sirenko | |
| Physiotherapists | Template:Flagicon Andrey Petrov |
| Template:Flagicon Maksim Kaho | |
| Template:Flagicon Gretemari Metsaveer | |
| Management<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| President | Template:Flagicon Viktor Levada |
| Vice President | Template:Flagicon Andrei Leškin |
| Sporting Director | Template:Flagicon Mikhail Gulordava |
| Technical Director | Template:Flagicon Dmytro Shkrebets |
| Scout | Template:Flagicon Andrii Oliinyk |
| Chief Executive Officer | Template:Flagicon Jevgeni Gurtšioglujants |
| CDO | Template:Flagicon Lauri Välja |
Managerial history
| Dates<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Name |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Template:Flagicon Sergei Ratnikov |
| 2000 | Template:Flagicon Ants Kommussaar |
| 2000 | Template:Flagicon Eduard Võrk |
| 2001 | Template:Flagicon Valeri Bondarenko |
| 2002 | Template:Flagicon Pasi Rautiainen |
| 2003 | Template:Flagicon Franco Pancheri |
| 2003–2008 | Template:Flagicon Tarmo Rüütli |
| 2008–2010 | Template:Flagicon Igor Prins |
| 2010–2011 | Template:Flagicon Aleksandr Puštov |
| 2011 | Template:Flagicon Sergei Hohlov-Simson |
| 2012–2015 | Template:Flagicon Marko Kristal |
| 2016 | Template:Flagicon Sergei Ratnikov |
| 2016–2017 | Template:Flagicon Igor Prins |
| 2018–2019 | Template:Flagicon Aleksandar Rogić |
| 2019 | Template:Flagicon Vladimir Vassiljev (interim) |
| 2020 | Template:Flagicon Martin Reim |
| 2020–2022 2021–2022 |
Template:Flagicon Vladimir Vassiljev Template:Flagicon Marko Savić |
| 2022 | Template:Flagicon Ivan Stojković (interim) |
| 2022 | Template:Flagicon Maksym Kalynychenko |
| 2022 | Template:Flagicon Nikita Andreev (interim) |
| 2023– | Template:Flagicon Curro Torres |
Honours
League
- Meistriliiga
- Esiliiga
- Winners (1): 1998
Cups
- Estonian Cup
- Estonian Supercup
- Winners (9): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025
Seasons and statistics
Seasons
Europe
Notes
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References
External links
- Template:Official website Template:In lang
- FCI Levadia at Estonian Football Association