Tartu JK Tammeka, commonly known as Tartu Tammeka or simply Tammeka, is a
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all ...
, based in
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
, Estonia, that competes in the
Meistriliiga
Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-professional with ...
, the top flight of
Estonian football.
Founded in 1989, the club has played in the Meistriliiga since the
2005 season and have never been relegated from the Estonian top division. The club's home ground is
Tartu Tamme Stadium.
History
Early years and road to the Meistriliiga
Tammeka was founded on 13 June 1989 as a youth academy by Hillar Otto, Avo Jakovits and Heino Ligi. In 2000, the club joined the
Estonian football league system
Football in Estonia is governed by the Estonian Football Association (Eesti Jalgpalli Liit). The EJL controls the domestic club championships (Meistriliiga, II liiga, III liiga, IV liiga; Naiste Meistriliiga, Naiste Esiliiga, Naiste II liiga), ...
and began competing in the Southern division of the
III liiga. Tammeka's debut season was a success as the team finished first with 46 points out of the possible 60. Tammeka was promoted to the
II liiga
II liiga is the fourth level of football league competition in Estonia arranged by the Estonian Football Association. It consists of 28 teams, divided geographically into two divisions with 14 teams respectively in group North/East and South/Wes ...
, and in 2001, to the
Esiliiga
The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B.
As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends ...
. The club established itself in the Esiliiga by placing sixth in the
2002 season and seventh in the
2003 season. Tammeka won the Esiliiga in the
2004 season and was promoted to the
Meistriliiga
Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-professional with ...
. The team defeated
Dünamo 9–0 in their first Meistriliiga match and finished their
first season in the Estonian top flight in seventh place. In December 2005,
Sergei Ratnikov
Sergei Ratnikov (born 21 November 1959) is an Estonian professional football manager and former player. He last managed Levadia in Estonian Meistriliiga.
Personal
Two of Ratnikov's sons, Eduard Ratnikov and Daniil Ratnikov, are footballers.
I ...
was appointed as manager. Tammeka finished the
2006 season in sixth place.
In 2007, Tammeka merged with
Maag Maag is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Bruno Maag (born 1962), Swiss type designer
* Dan Maag (born 1975), German film producer
* Karin Maag (born 1962), German politician
* Peter Maag (1919–2001), Swiss conductor
* R ...
and became Maag Tammeka. Despite pooled resources, the team lost several key players and finished the
2007 season in fifth place. Ratnikov resigned in November 2007 and his assistant Sergei Zamogilnõi took over as manager. Maag Tammeka reached the
2007–08 Estonian Cup final, but lost to
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
1–3. The team finished the
2008 season in seventh place, after which the sponsorship deal with Maag ended and Tammeka continued to operate as an independent club.
The following season, Tammeka had to operate with a smaller budget and lost several players. Reserve team coach
Norbert Hurt was appointed as manager and several reserve team players were promoted to the first-team squad. Despite a slow start, Tammeka managed to finish the
2009 season in seventh place. In December 2009,
Marko Kristal replaced Hurt as manager. Kristal rebuilt the team around youth system players
Albert Prosa,
Kaarel Kiidron and
Siim Tenno, finishing the
2010 season in sixth place. Despite a good start in the
2011 season, the team's performance faded in the second half of the season. In September 2011, former Tammeka player Kristjan Tiirik replaced Kristal as manager and the team finished the season in seventh place. The subsequent winter transfer window saw the departure of several key players, including Prosa, Kiidron and Tenno. Following a poor start to the
2012 season, Tiirik was replaced by Joti Stamatopoulos in July 2012. Stamatopoulos failed to make a difference and Tammeka finished the season last, amassing only 20 points. Despite finishing last, Tammeka escaped relegation as
Viljandi
Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu. ...
disbanded. In January 2013,
Uwe Erkenbrecher
Uwe Erkenbrecher (born 14 November 1954) is a German football manager and a former player who is the current manager of MTV Gifhorn.
References
External links
*
1954 births
Living people
People from Delmenhorst
Footballers from Lowe ...
was appointed as manager. Despite growing financial troubles, Tammeka finished the
2013 season in ninth place and defeated
Tarvas 6–2 on aggregate in the relegation play-offs, securing their Meistriliiga spot.
Troubles with Meistriliiga license and new legal entity
In February 2014, Tammeka lost their Meistriliiga license due to failing to pay players wages and refusing the reorganization plan proposed by the
Estonian Football Association
The Estonian Football Association (EJL; et, Eesti Jalgpalli Liit) is the governing body of football, beach soccer and futsal in Estonia, established on 14 December 1921. It organizes the football league, including the championship which is calle ...
. The license to compete under the name Tammeka was granted to the team's academy. Former Tammeka player Indrek Koser was appointed as manager and the team came seventh in the
2014 season.
Tammeka finished the
2015 season in ninth place, but avoided relegation by defeating
Tallinna Kalev 4–2 on aggregate in the relegation play-offs. The team came seventh in the
2016 season. In November 2016, Tammeka announced that Mario Hansi and Kaido Koppel would replace Koser in the coming season. The team reached the
2016–17 Estonian Cup final, but were defeated by
FCI Tallinn 0–2. Tammeka finished seventh again in the
2017 season. After the season, Hansi was appointed head of youth development and Koppel became the sole manager. Tammeka finished sixth in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
and fifth in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. After finishing fifth again in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
, Tammeka experienced a difficult season in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
, finishing in ninth place and having to play the relegation play-offs to secure their top-flight spot. For the
2022 season, Tartu Tammeka appointed Portuguese Miguel Santos as the manager of the team, but his tenure only lasted 21 games, as he left the role midway through the season. Tammeka finished the 2022 season in sixth place.
Stadium
The club's home ground is the 1,750-seat Tartu Tamme Stadium.
Opened in 1934, it is the largest football stadium in
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
. The stadium was renovated and re-opened in 2011. Tartu Tamme Stadium is located at Tamme 1,
Tammelinn, Tartu.
Tammeka use the
artificial turf at the Sepa Football Centre for training and home matches during winter and early spring months.
Players
Current squad
''For season transfers, see
transfers summer 2022 and
transfers winter 2022–23.''
Out on loan
Reserves and academy
Club officials
Coaching staff
Managerial history
Honours
League
*
Esiliiga
The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B.
As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends ...
** Winners (1):
2004
Cup
*
Estonian Cup
The Estonian Cup ( et, Eesti Karikas) is the national knockout competition in Estonian football. In 2012, the competition was unofficially rebranded as Evald Tipner's Cup. The winner will compete in UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifyi ...
** Runners-up (2):
2007–08,
2016–17
Seasons and statistics
Seasons
References
External links
*
JK Tammekaat Estonian Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tammeka
1989 establishments in Estonia
Association football clubs established in 1989
Football clubs in Estonia
Meistriliiga clubs
Sport in Tartu