FCI Levadia Tallinn

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. 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. 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 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. 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.

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. Levadia faced Newcastle United and were eliminated from the competition by losing 1–3 on aggregate. 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. The two clubs merged their first teams, becoming FCI Levadia, with FCI Tallinn's Aleksandar Rogić taking over as manager. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The club had strengthened their team with the ambition of reaching the league phase in Europe, but after a disappointing loss in the Conference League third qualifying round, Levadia ultimately finished the 2025 league season as runners-up, and replaced Torres with Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko.

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).

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Stadiums

Main article: Lilleküla Stadium, Kadriorg Stadium

For the first two seasons of its existence, Levadia played their home matches at Maardu linnastaadion in Maardu. In 2000, the club moved to the 5000-capacity Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn. Opened in 1926, 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. [[File:A. Le Coq Arena - Lilleküla staadion.jpg|thumb|[[Lilleküla Stadium|A. Le Coq Arena]], home ground of Levadia since 2019]]In 2019, Levadia moved to 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.

Levadia uses Sportland Arena artificial turf stadium for training and home matches during winter and early spring months. Levadia’s summer and autumn trainings take place at their Maarjamäe training complex.

Rivalries

The Tallinn Derby

Main article: Tallinn derby

Levadia's deepest rivalry is with FC Flora and the fixture between the two clubs is known as the Tallinn Derby (). 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. 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.

Players

First-team squad

Out on loan

For season transfers, see transfers summer 2025. --

Reserves and academy

Club officials

Current technical staff

Managerial history

Honours

League

• Meistriliiga
  • Winners (11): 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2021, 2024
• Esiliiga
  • Winners (1): 1998

Cups

• Estonian Cup
  • Winners (11): 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2023–24
• Estonian Supercup
  • Winners (9): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025

Seasons and statistics

Seasons

Europe

Notes

References

References

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2. "FCI Levadia Ajalugu".
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5. "Klubi ajalugu". FC Levadia.
6. (25 August 2006). "Levadia tegi Eesti jalgpalliajalugu".
7. (4 November 2017). "Jalgpallipomm: FC Levadia ja FC Infonet kavatsevad ühineda".
8. (6 November 2017). "Ühinevate FCI ja Levadia eesmärgiks on pääs eurosarja alagrupiturniirile".
9. (21 December 2018). "AMETLIK {{!}} FCI Levadia kolib enda kodumängud Lilleküla staadionile".
10. (2021-12-06). "Levadia crowned Estonian champs after snowy final match".
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12. (11 November 2022). "FCI Levadia uueks juhendajaks saab endine Hispaania koondislane".
13. (7 December 2025). "“It was very shameful”: Levada recalls decisive European defeat".
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17. (26 April 2019). "Tallinna derbi värvikas ajalugu sai alguse juba 20 aastat tagasi".
18. (28 June 2023). "Publikurekord! Levadia ja Flora duell purustas 20 aastat püsinud tippmargi". Soccernet.
19. "Tallinna FCI Levadia". Estonian Football Association.
20. "Esindusmeeskond - FCI Levadia Tallinn". fcilevadia.ee.
21. "First team". FCI Levadia.
22. "Inimesed - FCI Levadia Tallinn".
23. (11 July 2023). "Staff 2023". FCI Levadia.
24. "Klubi - FCI Levadia".