FK Ventspils

Ventspils
Full name Futbola Klubs Ventspils
Nickname(s) Champions, Yellow – Blue
Founded 1997
Ground Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions,
Ventspils, Latvia
Ground Capacity 3,200
Manager Paul Ashworth
League Virsliga
2015 3rd
Website Club home page

FK Ventspils is a Latvian football club, based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils city and is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. The clubs plays in the Latvian Virsliga.

In total, FK Ventspils has won six league titles and six Latvian Cups. They became Latvian Higher League champions in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2014.[1] In 2009 FK Ventspils became the first Latvian club to participate in the group stages of a UEFA competition after beating BATE Borisov from Belarus.

Paul Ashworth became the manager of the club on 15 September 2015, replacing Jurģis Pučinskis, after a 7-game non winning streak.

History

FK Ventspils was founded in 1997 with the merger of two former Ventspils clubs FK Venta and FK Nafta. Its predecessor, Venta, was one of the leading clubs in the Latvian league in the 1960s.

FK Venta

The next notable success for “Venta” was in 1967, when they won the Latvian Cup. By that time they had quite a fighting fit line-up, and 1969 already was their golden year when Venta became champions. During the tournament they gained 43 points; 20 matches won, 3 matches ended with a draw and only 3 matches lost. Additionally, they lost only in the away matches. They scored 45 goals and 16 conceded. At that time Venta's leader was a player manager, who is well known not only to the admirers of Ventspils, but the whole of Latvian football, Vladimir Chikinov.

This was the golden line-up: Leonid Virko, Konstantin Zhurkevich, Aleksandr Busarov, Valery Yashenko, Aleksandr Tronev, Ariy Shmerling, Vladimir Samohvalov, Aleksandr Novash, Nikolay Chaevky, Nikolay Pozdnyakov, Vladimir Chikinov, Viktor Yurinov, Viktor Litvinenko, Aleksandr Rakicky, Valentin Ipolitov, Vladimir Kutuzov, Valentin Vetrenko, Genady Hrustalov.

Of course, the victories did not come easy. There was a huge effort put into both – the matches and training. However, at that time they had quite a modest material and technical basis. They trained in the sport hall of Ventspils port, had training camps in Piltene and went to Moldova several times. They had close contacts with a children’s sport school from which talented youth players often came into the team. Whereas these days there are limits on foreign born players, at that time it was an obligation for the team to have two players younger than 18 years of age in the line-up. Thus, V. Kutuzov, V. Ivankovich, N. Dishlov and later Y. Romanenko, V. Fedotov and others appeared in the team.

In 1963 Ventspils gained a place and the rights to play in the Latvian championship (Virsliga). The next major achievement for "Venta" came in 1967, when it won the Latvian Cup. In 1969 "Venta" were champions of Latvia, in that season "Venta" got 43 points, 20 matches won, 3 drawn and 3 lost. In the 1970s the team lost its position, in the 1980s it lost its financial support and became defunct for some years. In 1994 Venta returned to 1. liga but after that season many players left the club as FK Nafta was formed. Until the merger Venta played in 1. liga.

FK Nafta

FK Nafta was formed in 1995, in the first season the club won its 2nd league division and earned a promotion to the 1st league. In its only season there the club finished higher than FK Venta. After the season the teams merged to form FK Ventspils.

FK Ventspils

The recent history of “Ventspils” began in 1997, the year of the team’s foundation. In February 2007, the club that represents the town on the bank of the river Venta with a population of 45 thousand people, celebrated its 10th anniversary. In a relatively short period of time FK “Ventspils” has become one of the strongest clubs in Latvia. FK “Ventspils” has rapidly developed and gained a reputation of a serious Latvian club, winning various trophies.

In 2003 FK "Ventspils” won the Latvian Cup for the first time in the club's history. The team won this trophy the next two years in a row. And only the main trophy – golden medal of the Latvian championship – hadn't been achieved for a long time. The team won silver and bronze medals of the Latvian championship several times, and, finally, in 2006 FK "Ventspils" became the champions of Latvia.

The Ukrainian specialist Roman Hryhorchuk led FK Ventspils to the main trophy. Prior to that, in 2003, FK Ventspils had won the Latvian Cup for the first time . Also, in 2004 and in 2005, FK Ventspils won the trophy, but only managed to finish second and third in the Latvian championship. Before Hryhorchuk the team was managed by Russian coach Boris Sinicin, English coach Paul Anthony Ashworth, Lithuanian specialist Saulius Širmelis and the Latvian local Sergejs Semjonovs.

Despite being a relatively new club, FK Ventspils has also had a quite rich and interesting history in the Eurocups. In 1999 FK Ventspils had its debut in the Intertoto Cup and managed to beat Norwegian team Vålerenga on aggregate. Later the club took part in the UEFA Cup, thus allowing fans to see matches against such famous European clubs as Stuttgart, Rosenborg, Brøndby and Newcastle United. The 0–0 draw in the away match against Newcastle United might have been called the greatest achievement of FK Ventspils until 2009. However, even more memorable were the matches against Brøndby in 2004, when FK Ventspils managed to eliminate the Danish club from the UEFA Cup.

On 17 July 2007 FK Ventspils made its debut in the UEFA Champions League. The yellow-and-blue started their historical trip of the most prestigious club tournament in Europe in Wales, where they played against TNS. The author of the first FK Ventspils goal in the Champions League was forward Vits Rimkus. One week later, on 25 July, FK Ventspils achieved their first victory in the Champions league, beating TNS 2–1 at home. Goals were scored by defenders Jean-Paul Ndeki and Deniss Kačanovs. In the second qualifying round the Roman Hryhorchuk's team played against Red Bull Salzburg, led by the legendary Italian specialist Giovanni Trapattoni and lost. In 2008 FK Ventspils participated in the Champions league for the second time. The first opponents of the team were again the champions of Wales, Llanelli.

In the 2009–10 season FK Ventspils became the first Latvian club to participate in the group stages of UEFA club competitions after beating BATE Borisov from Belarus in the last UEFA Europa League qualification round. FK Ventspils opponents in the group stages were Sporting CP from Portugal, Hertha BSC from Germany and Heerenveen from the Netherlands. Adding several experienced players to the squad, FK Ventspils managed to show a remarkable performance, playing 1–1 draws away in the Olympiastadion in Berlin and Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. They also managed to keep a 0–0 draw against Heerenveen at home. With three points in six matches FK Ventspils finished last in Group D, failing to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stages.

In 2010 FK Ventspils won the 2009–10 Baltic League. They finished second in the national championship, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League first qualification stage. The club was knocked out of the tournament in the third qualification stage by Red Star Belgrade. In 2011 they won the national championship, securing their fourth league title. In 2013 FK Ventspils managed to win the league for the fifth time and lifted the Latvian Cup for the sixth time in the club's history. In the middle of 2013 the club participated in the UEFA Europa League qualification stages, reaching the third qualification stage. They knocked out the Welsh champions Airbus UK Broughton and Luxembourg National Division club Jeunesse Esch, but lost to the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.

Team honours

Individual honours

Year Player/manager Award
2005 Latvia Igors Sļesarčuks Virslīga top scorer
2006 Cameroon Jean-Paul Ndeki Virslīga best defender
2006 Cameroon Jean-Paul Ndeki Virslīga best player
2006, 2007, 2008 Latvia Andris Vaņins Virslīga best goalkeeper
2006, 2007, 2008 Ukraine Roman Hryhorchuk Virslīga best manager
2007 Latvia Vīts Rimkus Virslīga best player
2007 Cameroon Jean-Paul Ndeki CIS Cup best player
2007, 2008 Latvia Vīts Rimkus Virslīga top scorer
2007, 2008 Latvia Vīts Rimkus Virslīga best forward
2008 Latvia Andris Vaņins Virslīga best player
2008 Latvia Andris Vaņins Latvian Footballer of the Year
2010 Latvia Jurijs Žigajevs Virslīga best player
2010, 2013 Latvia Jurijs Žigajevs Virslīga best midfielder
2011 Latvia Oļegs Laizāns Virslīga best midfielder
2011 Latvia Oļegs Laizāns Virslīga best player
2011 Russia Sergei Podpaly Virslīga best manager
2013 Latvia Jurijs Žigajevs Virslīga best player
2013, 2014 Latvia Jurģis Pučinskis Virslīga best manager
2014 Latvia Kaspars Dubra Virslīga best defender

Participation in Latvian Championships

Year Division Position
1997 Virsliga 4th
1998 Virsliga 3rd
1999 Virsliga 3rd
2000 Virsliga 2nd
2001 Virsliga 2nd
2002 Virsliga 2nd
2003 Virsliga 3rd
2004 Virsliga 3rd
2005 Virsliga 3rd
2006 Virsliga 1st
2007 Virsliga 1st
2008 Virsliga 1st
2009 Virsliga 2nd
2010 Virsliga 2nd
2011 Virsliga 1st
2012 Virsliga 3rd
2013 Virsliga 1st
2014 Virsliga 1st
2015 Virsliga 3rd

Participation in Baltic League

Year Position
2007–08 Runners-up
2008–09 Semi-finals
2009–10 Winners
2010–11 Runners-up

European record

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R Norway Vålerenga 2–0 0–1 2–1
2R Turkey Kocaelispor 1–1 0–2 1–3
2000–01 UEFA Cup QR Hungary Vasas 2–1 1–3 (aet) 3–4
2001–02 UEFA Cup QR Finland HJK Helsinki 0–1 1–2 1–3
2002–03 UEFA Cup QR Switzerland Lugano 3–0 0–1 3–1
1R Germany Stuttgart 1–4 1–4 2–8
2003–04 UEFA Cup QR Poland Wisła Płock 1–1 2–2 3–3 (a)
1R Norway Rosenborg 1–4 0–6 1–10
2004–05 UEFA Cup 1QR Faroe Islands B68 Toftir 8–0 3–0 11–0
2QR Denmark Brøndby 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a)
1R Poland Amica Wronki 1–1 0–1 1–2
2005–06 UEFA Cup 1QR Northern Ireland Linfield 1–2 1–0 2–2 (a)
2006–07 UEFA Cup 1QR Iceland Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur 2–1 2–0 4–1
2QR England Newcastle United 0–1 0–0 0–1
2007–08 UEFA Champions League 1QR Wales The New Saints 2–1 2–3 4–4 (a)
2QR Austria Red Bull Salzburg 0–3 0–4 0–7
2008–09 UEFA Champions League 1QR Wales Llanelli 4–0 0–1 4–1
2QR Norway Brann 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2009–10 UEFA Champions League 2QR Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 3–0 3–1 6–1
3QR Belarus BATE Borisov 1–0 1–2 2–2 (a)
PO Switzerland Zürich 0–3 1–2 1–5
UEFA Europa League Group D Germany Hertha BSC 0–1 1–1 1–2
Netherlands Heerenveen 0–0 0–5 0–5
Portugal Sporting CP 1–2 1–1 2–3
2010–11 UEFA Europa League 1QR Republic of Macedonia Teteks 0–0 1–3 1–3
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 2QR Belarus Shakhtsyor Salihorsk 3–2 1–0 4–2
3QR Serbia Red Star Belgrade 1–2 0–7 1–9
2012–13 UEFA Champions League 2QR Norway Molde 1–1 0–3 1–4
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1QR Wales Airbus UK Broughton 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a)
2QR Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 1–0 4–1 5–1
3QR Israel Maccabi Haifa 0–0 0–3 0–3
2014–15 UEFA Champions League 2QR Sweden Malmö FF 0–1 0–0 0–1
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 2QR Finland HJK Helsinki 1–3 0–1 1–4
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1QR      

UEFA ranking 2014/15

Rank Country Team Points
256DenmarkAC Horsens5.460
257LatviaFK Ventspils5.350
258SloveniaND Mura 055.225

Sponsors

General sponsors

Latvia Ventspils Pilsētas Dome
Latvia VK Tranzīts
Latvia LDZ Cargo
Latvia Ventspils Nafta

Kit manufacturer

Germany Adidas

Other sponsors

Latvia Ventamonjaks Serviss
Latvia Ventspils Brīvostas Pārvalde
Latvia Latus Sardze
Latvia Vats
Latvia Venden
Latvia Kurzemes Radio
Latvia Albert Hotel
Latvia Radio SWH
Latvia From Me

Players and staff

Current squad

As of 4 March 2016 [2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Latvia GK Maksims Uvarenko
2 Latvia DF Raivis Hščanovičs
3 Latvia MF Vadims Žuļevs
5 Nigeria MF Adebayo Adigun
7 Latvia MF Jurijs Žigajevs
8 Latvia MF Alans Siņeļņikovs
9 Lithuania MF Simonas Paulius
10 Albania FW Ndue Mujeci
11 Nigeria MF Abdullahi Alfa
13 Latvia GK Valentīns Raļkevičs
14 Latvia MF Eduards Tīdenbergs
No. Position Player
16 Latvia GK Andrejs Pavlovs
17 South Korea MF Lee Hyeok-jun
19 Latvia DF Nikita Koļesovs
20 Latvia FW Ģirts Karlsons
21 Latvia FW Kaspars Svārups
22 Serbia DF Nikola Boranijašević
25 Latvia MF Ritvars Rugins
26 Latvia DF Antons Jemeļins
28 Latvia MF Vladimirs Mukins
77 Latvia MF Vitālijs Rečickis

For recent squad changes see: List of Latvian football transfers summer 2015 and List of Latvian football transfers winter 2015-16

International players

  • Latvia Vitālijs Barinovs (U-21)
  • Latvia Dāvis Indrāns (U-21)
  • Latvia Vladimirs Mukins (U-21)
  • Latvia Eduards Tīdenbergs (U-21)
  • Latvia Deniss Bezuščonoks (U-19)

Foreign players

Non-EU Nationals

  • Albania Ndue Mujeci

EU Nationals

  • Lithuania Simonas Paulius

Staff

Position Name
President Latvia Guntis Blumbergs
Sporting director Latvia Andrejs Butriks
Commercial director Latvia Sergejs Usačovs
Manager England Paul Ashworth
Assistant manager Lithuania Saulius Cekanavičius
Assistant manager Latvia Māris Smirnovs
Goalkeeping coach Latvia Sergejs Diguļovs
Masseur Latvia Oļegs Nazarovs
Press secretary Latvia Mihails Koroļovs
Administrator Latvia Nikolajs Djakins

Notable former players

Managers

Name Period
Belarus Sergei Borovsky Jan 1, 1997 – Jan 1, 1998
Lithuania Saulius Cekanavičius (caretaker) 1998
Russia Boris Sinitsyn 1999–00
Lithuania Saulius Cekanavičius (caretaker) 2000
England Paul Ashworth January 1, 2001 – June 30, 2003
Lithuania Saulius Širmelis 2003–04
Latvia Sergejs Semjonovs 2005
Ukraine Roman Hryhorchuk July 1, 2005 – Aug 11, 2009
Italy Nunzio Zavettieri Aug 11, 2009 – Dec 31, 2010
Russia Sergei Podpaly Jan 17, 2011 – May 17, 2012
Latvia Jurģis Pučinskis July 1, 2012–14th Sept, 2015
England Paul Ashworth Sept 15th, 2015 

References

  1. "Ventspils hold on to oust BATE". UEFA.
  2. "FK Ventspils". FK Ventspils. Retrieved 26 March 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.