--- title: "How did Levadia get here? Looking back at a record-early title" date: 2026-10-11T20:21:43Z lang: en author: "Dmitrijs Kravcenko" canonical: https://balticfootballnews.com/how-did-levadia-get-here-looking-back-at-a-record-early-title/ categories: ["Premium liiga"] --- # How did Levadia get here? Looking back at a record-early title Half an hour after Levadia’s 2-2 draw with Paide on 22nd March 2026, Vjatšeslav **Zahovaiko** was still trying to make sense of the closing minutes. Moussa Sambe had appeared to secure a 3-1 victory before a VAR review disallowed his goal and awarded Paide a free-kick at the other end. Further reviews followed, eventually producing the penalty from which Paide equalised in the 17th minute of added time. “_I don’t want to do this job anymore_,” Zahovaiko told reporters, describing his first reaction to the decisions that had cost his team two points. After another meeting with Paide, this time on 11th October, Zahovaiko returned home to watch Flora’s match at Kuressaare with his family. Levadia had won 1-0, leaving their nearest rivals needing a victory to prolong the title race. When Kuressaare completed a 2-0 surprise win, the congratulations began arriving, with his captain’s call coming almost simultaneously with those from his family. By the time local media reached him, Zahovaiko was describing himself as “_the happiest man in the world_”. Levadia’s 12th Estonian championship had been secured with six rounds remaining, a margin no previous Premium liiga winner had achieved. After 30 matches, they had collected 75 points through 23 victories and six draws, with their only defeat coming against Flora in June. Their 82 goals were the most in the league, while the 21 they had conceded represented its best defensive record. Flora, who had taken the championship from them the previous year, were now 20 points behind. So, how did they do it? ## A winter of change The rebuilding began after a disappointing conclusion to 2025 season, when Levadia surrendered their title after a mid-season collapse following heartbreak in Europe. Curro Torres departed following three seasons in charge, followed by Ernest Agyiri, Brent Lepistu, Til Mavretic and Michael Schjönning-Larsen. By all accounts, Levadia was setting up for a long-term rebuild, especially following sharp criticism from the owner – Viktor Levada – who implied that his club performed below expectations. In line with this, on 6th December, Levadia promoted Zahovaiko from their under-17 side, which he had just led to an Estonian youth championship. He was coming in already with experience of previous senior appointments, which included taking Paide to second place in the Premium liiga and winning the Gambian championship with Real de Banjul. Mihkel **Ainsalu** had also been considering a departure. After indicating at the end of the previous season that he wanted a new challenge, the midfielder continued training with Levadia while weighing his options. Zahovaiko gave him time to decide and publicly made clear that he would welcome him back. Ainsalu’s decision to remain was confirmed in February, allowing the new coach to retain a player who had finished the previous league campaign as Levadia’s joint-leading scorer. Joseph **Saliste** arrived from Paide on a three-year contract, bringing an established relationship with Zahovaiko to the left side of the defence. Having spent six seasons at Paide, the full-back was returning to Tallinn to work under a coach he already knew. His signing filled the vacancy left by Schjönning-Larsen, although elsewhere Zahovaiko was still adapting the squad to a midfield diamond that he introduced from the opening pre-season match. Preparations offered limited opportunities to refine that system against outside opposition. Having initially considered a warm-weather camp, Levadia decided to remain in Estonia, but the change left gaps in their friendly schedule. They played five preparation matches, with their final public warm-up taking place against Flora on 14th February. The league opener against Kuressaare was still more than three weeks away, on 8th of March. ## The spring breakaway By the first Tallinn derby on 19th of April, Levadia had won three and drawn three of their opening six league matches. They were third, having already dropped points against Paide and both Nõmme clubs. Against Flora, however, they established an early lead through Bubacarr Tambedou, whom Maksimilian Skvortsov released between the defenders. Mark Oliver Roosnupp added the second before Wendell Gabriel and Rasmus Peetson completed a 4-0 victory after the interval. Levadia moved temporarily into second place, while the defending champions suffered their fourth league defeat. Over the following weeks, Levadia continued winning as they moved through the first half of the schedule. By the next derby, on 13th June, Flora had recovered sufficiently to put together six consecutive league victories. Rauno Sappinen gave them an early lead, but Skvortsov equalised from the penalty spot before Wendell headed Levadia ahead from João Pedro’s free-kick. With Flora committing players forward in search of an equaliser, Ainsalu scored in added time to complete a 3-1 win. That result left Levadia 11 points ahead of Nõmme Kalju and 12 clear of Flora, although both challengers had a game in hand. Tambedou remained an unused substitute throughout the derby, as the goals came from Wendell and two midfielders. Levadia had now won nine league matches in a row, with the tenth following four days later under considerably more difficult circumstances at Nõmme United as Victory Iboro’s first-half dismissal forced Zahovaiko to reorganise a side that had gone ahead through Skvortsov. Peetson dropped from midfield into central defence as Levadia switched to 4-4-1, leaving Wendell alone up front. After United equalised, Zahovaiko changed the setup again, returning Peetson to midfield and operating with three defenders while pursuing another goal. Abraham Nwankwo scored the winner in the 85th minute, before United threatened again and Vallner helped maintain the 2-1 advantage. The run ended with a 1-1 draw against Kalju on 20th of June, followed eight days later by Levadia’s first league defeat. Wendell had put them ahead against Flora, and they retained that lead until Sander Alamaa equalised in the 81st minute. Taaniel Usta then scored in the third minute of added time to complete Flora’s 2-1 comeback, shortly before Levadia’s attention turned to European qualifying. ## Europe and the departure of Tambedou Levadia began their Conference League campaign by beating Caernarfon Town 5-0 in Wales, then repeated the scoreline in Tallinn. The 10-0 aggregate victory established a new club record in European competition and allowed Zahovaiko to make extensive changes during the second leg. Five substitutions arrived together in the 66th minute, with Gregor Lehtmets and Hubert Liiv making their European debuts as Levadia advanced to face IFK Göteborg. A shock 2-1 victory in Sweden gave them an advantage to defend at home, where **Vallner** was repeatedly called upon as Göteborg pressed to overturn the tie. He saved two penalties during the return on 30th July, helping Levadia reach extra time with the aggregate score level. Göteborg eventually won 3-1 on the night and advanced 4-3 overall, despite a late goal from Skvortsov. Even during his championship celebrations in October, Zahovaiko acknowledged that the elimination still troubled him. Within days, Levadia also lost the striker who had supplied 14 goals in 18 league appearances. Sønderjyske announced **Tambedou**’s purchase on 4th of August, with the Gambian signing a four-year contract and moving immediately to Denmark. His goals had contributed to the spring winning run, including the opening strike in April’s 4-0 derby victory, and his departure left Zahovaiko to complete the title challenge without the league’s leading scorer but did offer a chance for Wendell to step in and step up. Wendell did just that and continued to score as Levadia resumed their domestic schedule, while João Pedro and Enock Otoo provided assists from midfield. By the evening when the championship was secured, Wendell had reached 17 league goals, with João Pedro and Otoo on six apiece. All three scored during the comeback at Kalju on 30th of August, when Levadia recovered from a two-goal half-time deficit at Hiiu. Wendell distinguished himself in that game after Roosnupp helped Peetson’s long pass into his path. Saliste then delivered the ball from which João Pedro equalised, bringing Levadia level before the hour. Kalju continued to threaten, requiring another important intervention from Vallner, before substitutes Ainsalu and Guy-Merlin Mollo Bessala combined in the move that brought Otoo’s winner. Levadia left with a 3-2 victory as their second extended winning sequence continued. ## The final push Between 9th of August and 17th of September, Levadia won eight consecutive league matches. Their final three victories in that run came against Kuressaare and Vaprus, both beaten 4-0, followed by a 6-0 win over Tammeka. They were only stopped by bottom-placed Narva Trans, where Wendell’s early goal was cancelled out by Ahmad Gero. Although Narva played the final half-hour with ten men after Murad Velijev’s dismissal, Levadia had to settle for a 1-1 draw that postponed their opportunity to celebrate. By October, Ainsalu had contributed nine league goals and ten assists, while the 18-year-old Skvortsov had eight of each. Roosnupp’s six goals came alongside eight assists, with Saliste adding seven assists from full-back. Saliste and Vallner had appeared in every league match, and the latter had played all 2,700 minutes. The game against Paide on 11th October nevertheless required another late intervention. Vallner was involved early as the visitors threatened from set pieces, while Levadia gradually increased their pressure at the other end. Wendell’s penalty in first-half stoppage time went over the crossbar, and Roosnupp later had a goal ruled out for offside. With the match still goalless in the 89th minute, Frank Liivak delivered the cross that substitute Geovani **Reis** headed past Marko Meerits. Geovani had joined on 23rd of August as Levadia’s final signing of the summer window, leaving him fewer than two months at the club before scoring the goal that put the title within reach that afternoon. His header secured the 1-0 win and allowed Levadia to turn their attention to Kuressaare, where Flora were about to begin the match they needed to win to stay in the running for the title. Aleksander Švedovski, who was spending the second half of the season on loan from Levadia, opened the scoring for Kuressaare. Taavi Jürisoo added the second before half-time, and the home side protected their lead through the remaining 45 minutes. Flora’s 11th league defeat confirmed the lost championship, while Levadia’s own “games lost” column still contained only the June derby loss. Speaking to the press that evening, Zahovaiko credited the relationships that had developed within a squad drawn from several countries and footballing backgrounds. He described the work invested in making players feel valued, and how managing their different personalities had required him to develop beyond his previous approach to coaching. Having arrived from the club’s youth team a mere ten months prior, he was preparing to celebrate his first senior league title in Estonia and Levadia’s 12th. “_It has been a great, great honour to coach them,_” he emphasised in conclusion.