Rakvere JK Tarvas
Estonian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rakvere Jalgpalliklubi Tarvas, commonly known as Rakvere Tarvas, or simply as Tarvas, is an Estonian football club based in Rakvere that competes in II liiga, the fourth tier of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Rakvere linnastaadion.
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| Full name | Rakvere Jalgpalliklubi Tarvas | ||
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| Founded | 2004, as Virumaa JK Rakvere | ||
| Ground | Rakvere linnastaadion | ||
| Capacity | 1,785[1] | ||
| President | Aleksandr Holst | ||
| Manager | Tarmo Rebane | ||
| League | II liiga | ||
| 2024 | II liiga N/E, 3rd of 14 | ||
| Website | http://www.jktarvas.ee | ||
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The club was founded in 2004 as Virumaa JK Rakvere. From 2008 until 2010, the club was named Rakvere FC Flora, and since 2011 Rakvere JK Tarvas. The club has competed in the Estonian top division Meistriliiga once, in 2016.
History
The club was founded in 2004 as Virumaa Jalgpalliklubi Rakvere (English: Virumaa Football Club Rakvere).[2] From 2008, Rakvere became affiliated with Flora and became Rakvere FC Flora. In 2011, the team name was changed to Tarvas (English: Aurochs), which is the symbol of Rakvere and is derived from the historic name of the town, Tarvanpea (Aurochs' head). In 2012, Tarvas was promoted to Esiliiga and finished the 2012 season in third place. The club faced JK Tallinna Kalev in the promotion play-offs, but lost 1–3 on aggregate. Tarvas finished the 2013 Esiliiga season in 4th place but were beaten in the promotion play-offs by Tartu Tammeka 2–6 on aggregate. In July 2014, Valeri Bondarenko was hired as manager.[3]
Rakvere Tarvas finished the 2015 Esiliiga season in 4th place and as the three higher placed teams were reserve teams and thus ineligible for promotion, Tarvas were promoted to the Meistriliiga for the first time in their history. In the process, they became the first club from Lääne-Viru County to play in the Estonian top division. Tarvas earned just 1 point in their first 14 Meistriliiga games and on 4 June 2016, Bondarenko was sacked and replaced as manager by Urmas Kirs. Tarvas earned another two draws and finished the season at the bottom of the table with three points. For the following three seasons, Rakvere Tarvas competed in Esiliiga, before being relegated to Esiliiga B for 2020 and eventually dropping down to the fourth tier in 2021.
Players
Squads
As of 25 June 2025[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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On 10 March 2018[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserves and academy
Personnel
Technical staff
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Managerial history
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Internationals
| Player | Caps while at club | Period at club | Caps overall |
|---|---|---|---|
 Marko Meerits | 1 | 2016 | 5 |
| Kristian Marmor | 0 | 2013 | 1 |
| Toomas Tohver | 0 | 2008 | 24 |
| Mati Pari | 0 | 2008 | 22 |
| Märten Kuusk | 0 | 2016 | 32 |
Statistics
League and Cup
| Season | Division | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Top goalscorer | Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | V liiga | 1 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 12 | +69 | 39 | Alar Petrovits (29) | as Rakvere JK | |
| 2005 | III liiga | 3 | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 28 | +28 | 48 | Esko Brandt Reijo Kuusik (9) |
as Virumaa JK Rakvere | |
| 2006 | 2 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 47 | Alar Petrovits (25) | |||
| 2007 | II liiga | 2 | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 75 | 36 | +39 | 52 | Alar Petrovits (25) | Third round | |
| 2008 | Esiliiga | 8 | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 53 | 82 | −29 | 37 | Alar Petrovits (17) | Second round | as Rakvere FC Flora |
| 2009 | 10 | 36 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 48 | 105 | −57 | 20 | Alar Petrovits (11) | Second round | ||
| 2010 | 9 | 36 | 10 | 3 | 23 | 45 | 95 | −50 | 21 | Alar Petrovits (11) | Second round | ||
| 2011 | II liiga | 1 | 26 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 29 | +71 | 68 | Joonas Ljaš (27) | Third round | as Rakvere JK Tarvas |
| 2012 | Esiliiga | 3 | 36 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 66 | 58 | +8 | 68 | Joonas Ljaš (14) | Fourth round | |
| 2013 | 4 | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 56 | Henri Hang (11) | Third round | ||
| 2014 | 8 | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 46 | Sergei Akimov (21) | First round | ||
| 2015 | 4 | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 47 | Sergei Akimov (16) | Third round | ||
| 2016 | Meistriliiga | 10 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 15 | 113 | −98 | 3 | Märten Kuusk Siim Rannamäe Juhan Jograf Siim (2) | Third round | |
| 2017 | Esiliiga | 3 | 36 | 21 | 4 | 11 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 67 | Joonas Ljaš (22) | Third round | |
| 2018 | 5 | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 52 | Siim Rannamäe (12) | Fourth round | ||
| 2019 | 8 | 36 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 35 | 98 | −63 | 28 | Siim Rannamäe (12) | Second round | ||
| 2020 | Esiliiga B | 10 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 26 | 96 | −70 | 10 | Nevil Krimm (7) | First round | |
| 2021 | II liiga N/E | 9 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 27 | Roland Pakaste (8) | Second round | |
| 2022 | 2 | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 60 | 20 | +40 | 58 | Roland Pakaste Mattias Roop (9) | Second round | ||
| 2023 | 3 | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 97 | 24 | +73 | 58 | Roland Pakaste Mattias Roop (19) | Fourth round | ||
| 2024 | 3 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 79 | 28 | +51 | 55 | Kennert Liblik (20) |