Jalgpalliselts Estonia Tallinn was an Estonian football club based in Tallinn. Founded in 1930 by active and ex-footballers, the club won five domestic league titles and were the second most successful football club in Estonia during the country's first period of independence.
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| Full name | Jalgpalliselts Estonia Tallinn | |
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| Founded | 19 November 1930 | |
| Dissolved | August 1944 | |
| Ground | Kadriorg Stadium | |
| Capacity | 5,000 | |
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The club was dissolved in 1944 due to Soviet occupation of Estonia. JS Estonia's five consecutive league titles from 1934 to 1939 has remained to be the Estonian top division record in terms of consecutive titles.
History
editFounded in secret (1928–1930)
editAlthough the official foundation of Jalgpalliselts Estonia dates to November 1930, the first attempt to establish the club took place on 27 February 1928 by several Sport and TJK players.[1] As the players had founded the club in secret and informed their former clubs only two days prior to transfer deadline day, rival clubs opposed and the formation of the new club fell through.[1]
In November 1930, a number of prominent Estonian footballers revived the plan to form JS Estonia[2] and on 19 November, the club was accepted as a member by the Estonian FA.[1] The formation of Jalgpalliselts Estonia was driven by footballers who felt growing discontent in other clubs and saw the need for a strictly football-concentrated club to make better use of the income generated from football matches.[1] The club's name was inspired by Austria Wien and Hungária Budapest, and the team began playing in blue shirts.[3]
Domestic dominance (1931–1944)
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Despite strong performances in their first preseason, including a 3–0 win against Finnish bronze medalists Helsingin Palloseura and a 2–0 win against Estonian champions Kalev, JS Estonia suffered a surprise 2–3 loss to Narva THK and failed to win promotion to the Estonian Championship.[1] Despite playing in the second division, four players were still selected to the national team during their first season in existence.
JS Estonia won promotion to the top division for the 1933 season, where they finished runners-up to Sport. The club won their first Estonian Championship title in 1934 without losing a single game, and repeated the feat in 1935. The team's 23-game unbeaten run came to an end during the 1936 season, but nonetheless they became the Estonian champions by a five-point margin ahead of Sport and scored 60 goals in 14 games – a number which remained to be the pre-war record.[4]
Throughout their period of dominance, the club became the leading provider of players for the Estonia national team and at their peak, on 22 June 1938 during Estonia–Hungary, had ten players in the starting line-up of the national team.[4] JS Estonia won their fourth and fifth league titles in the 1937–38 and 1938–39 seasons, with their last title coming by a six-point margin ahead of second placed TJK. In the last official season before World War II, the club narrowly finished as runners-up to Tartu Olümpia.
The club was dissolved in 1941 after the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, but was re-established a year later during the German occupation and won the unofficial league title in 1943. Jalgpalliselts Estonia Tallinn was closed down in 1944 after Soviet Union retook Estonia.
Managerial history
edit| Dates | Name[4] |
|---|---|
| 1930–1936 |  Elmar Kaljot
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| 1937 | Elmar Saar
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| 1938–1944 | Elmar Kaljot
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Seasons and statistics
edit| Season[5] | Division | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Top goalscorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | B Division | N/A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | – | N/A |
| 1932 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 5 | N/A | |
| 1933 | Top Division | 2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 10 | +25 | 15 | Heinrich Uukkivi (9)
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| 1934 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 3 | +19 | 17 | Eduard Eelmann-Eelma (5)
| |
| 1935 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 3 | +23 | 13 | Valter Mäng (7)
| |
| 1936 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 15 | +45 | 23 | Nikolai Linberg (21)
| |
| 1937–38 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 17 | +34 | 22 | Heinrich Uukkivi (12)
| |
| 1938–39 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 11 | +29 | 23 | Richard Kuremaa (8)
| |
| 1939–40 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 14 | +25 | 21 | Nikolai Linberg (15)
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Honours
editLeague
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e Schwede, Indrek (2024). Eesti jalgpalli ajalugu II osa. Eesti Jalgpalli Liit. pp. 146–147, 242–243.
- ^ "Kas lagunewad suurseltsid? "Estonia" loomine päewakorral". Uudisleht. 8 November 1930.
- ^ "Palliilma suur üllatus – jalgpalliselts Estonia". Päewaleht. 29 February 1928.
- ^ a b c Luik, Margus. Estonian Football 100 years. ML Agency. p. 268. ISBN 978-9949-18-257-2.
- ^ "Estonia 1931–40". Retrieved 21 July 2009.
External links
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