Skonto FC

Skonto FC
Full name Skonto Football Club
Founded 1991 as Forums-Skonto
Ground Skonto Stadium, Riga
(Capacity: 10,000)
Owner Tremova Ltd.
Chairman Guntis Indriksons
Manager Marians Pahars
League Virsliga
2011 Virsliga, 4th
Website Club home page
Home colours
Away colours
Current season

Skonto FC is a Latvian football club, founded in 1991. The club plays at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Skonto won the Virsliga in the first 14 seasons of the league's existence (15 in total), and often provides the core of the Latvia national football team. With those 14 national championships in a row, they set a European record, men and women's football combined.[1]

Contents

History

Skonto FC was founded in 1991. It won the Latvian league championship 14 seasons in a row, and only in the 2005 season club finished second after FK Liepājas Metalurgs. In 2006, Skonto finished third in a close contest with FK Liepājas Metalurgs and FK Ventspils. Skonto FC have won the Latvia’s Cup on seven occasions, acquiring the Cup most recently in 2002.

Skonto FC was by no means among the favorites in the first years after its establishment, and the champion’s title had to be won in a fierce competition both with FK Olimpija from Liepāja and RAF Jelgava – even then an additional game was required since the regular championship in 1992 was insufficient to determine the winner of the season. In the same 1992 season, Skonto FC made its debut in the Champion’s League by beating the Faroe Islands champions Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag. After the season, a coach replacement was made and Aleksandrs Starkovs took over from Marks Zahodins.

For the next 10 years in the Domestic League none of their rivals were able to offer significant opposition to Skonto. For two seasons running the team did not lose a single match, surpassing their closest rivals by more than 20 points in the final standings, ensuring the regular title was awarded long before the end of the season.

During the 1998 season, Skonto FC thrashed FK Valmiera 15–2. This saw the highest number of goals scored in a single game in the club's history. During these years Skonto FC players were the source of the national teamMāris Verpakovskis, Marians Pahars, Aleksandrs Koļinko, Vitālijs Astafjevs, Igors Stepanovs, Imants Bleidelis, Juris Laizāns, Mihails Zemļinskis, Valentīns Lobaņovs, Andrejs Rubins and many others played for Skonto FC, while also playing for the national team.

An exciting battle for the Latvian championship title was seen again in the 2001 season when Skonto FC had a two point deficit before the final round to the leading team FK Ventspils, and they had to face a tough game in Liepāja against FK Liepājas Metalurgs – a team which also had hopes of becoming champions. FK Ventspils players couldn't withstand the strain, whereas Skonto FC showed the spirit of champions.

Over the last few seasons FK Liepājas Metalurgs and FK Ventspils have been in close pursuit of Skonto FC players, their attempts in the last two years proving to be successful. It has to be noted that in 2004, the head coach, Aleksandrs Starkovs – one of the essential pillars of the club – left Skonto FC by accepting a proposal to work at FC Spartak Moscow, at that time champions of Russia. The leadership of the team was entrusted to Jurijs Andrejevs, his long-term assistant, but after the loss against Rabotnicki, of the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje in the UEFA Champions League qualification tournament, he resigned from the post. Jurijs Andrejevs was replaced by Paul Ashworth, who had previously worked with FK Ventspils and FK Rīga in the Latvian Higher League and the Russian Premier League club FC Rostov.

The first major victory for Skonto FC players in Euro Cups was gained in 1994, when they defeated the Scottish club Aberdeen, the former European Super Cup winners. Not less significant for Skonto FC was 1999 when it managed to take away the first point in a fixture with Chelsea FC, on its home ground with a 0–0 draw. Skonto FC also played against Spanish FC Barcelona and Inter Milan.

The defender Mihails Zemļinskis has made 252 appearances, the largest number of matches played in the ranks of Skonto FC during the Latvian championships. His 52 games played in European cups are also the highest number within the team. Mihails Miholaps has been the top scorer for Skonto FC. He has scored 155 goals in 216 Latvian championship games, and 18 goals in 38 European cup competitions.

In the last few seasons, Skonto FC's average player age has become younger – experienced players have been replaced by youth football centre Skonto trainees. Young players from outside Latvia are also included in the squad.

On 8 July 2010, Skonto lost in the Europa League first qualifying round to Northern Ireland team Portadown FC. In the first leg Skonto drew 1–1 away from home after an equaliser in injury time. They lost 1–0 at home and went out to a team who hadn't won a European tie in 36 years. Consolation came later in the season, on 31 October 2010, when Skonto drew 2–2 at home to win the Latvian league title for the first time since 2004.

Honours

Managers

Name Period Trophies
Marks Zahodins 1991–1992 2 league titles, 1 Latvian Football Cup
Aleksandrs Starkovs 1993–2004, 2009–2011 12 league titles, 6 Latvian Football Cups
Jurijs Andrejevs 2004–2005 1 league title
Paul Ashworth 2005–2009
Marians Pahars 2011– 1 Baltic League title

UEFA Team Ranking 2011

Rank Country Team Points
280 SK Tirana 2.274
281 Dundalk 2.241
Sporting Fingal 2.241
283 Skonto Riga 2.233
284 NK Koper 2.224
ND Gorica 2.224
NK Olimpija Ljubljana 2.224

As of 16 September 2010. Source

League and Cup history

Latvian SSR

Season Division (Name) Pos./Teams Pl. W D L GS GA P Latvian Football Cup Top Scorer (League) Head Coach
1991 1st (Latvian SSR Higher League) 1/(20) 36 29 5 2 83 15 63 Runner-up Marks Zahodins

Latvia

Season Division (Name) Pos./Teams Pl. W D L GS GA P Latvian Football Cup Top Scorer (League) Head Coach
1992 1st (Virsliga) 1/(12) 24 18 2 2 51 10 38 Winner Aleksejs Semjonovs – 12 Marks Zahodins
1993 1st (Virsliga) 1/(10) 18 17 0 1 63 7 34 1/2 finals Aleksandrs Jelisejevs – 19 Aleksandrs Starkovs
1994 1st (Virsliga) 1/(12) 22 20 2 0 76 9 42 1/4 finals Vladimirs Babičevs – 14 Aleksandrs Starkovs
1995 1st (Virsliga) 1/(10) 28 25 3 0 99 15 78 Winner Vitālijs Astafjevs – 15 Aleksandrs Starkovs
1996 1st (Virsliga) 1/(10) 28 23 4 1 98 12 73 Runner-up Aleksandr Pindeyev – 17 Aleksandrs Starkovs
1997 1st (Virsliga) 1/(9) 24 20 4 0 89 8 64 Winner David Chaladze – 25 Aleksandrs Starkovs
1998 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 21 4 3 98 27 67 Winner Mihails Miholaps – 20 Aleksandrs Starkovs
1999 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 23 0 5 88 15 69 Runner-up David Chaladze – 16 Aleksandrs Starkovs
2000 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 24 3 1 86 10 75 Winner Vladimirs Koļesņičenko – 17 Aleksandrs Starkovs
2001 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 22 2 4 94 26 68 Winner Mihails Miholaps – 24 Aleksandrs Starkovs
2002 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 23 4 1 95 19 73 Winner Mihails Miholaps – 23 Aleksandrs Starkovs
2003 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 23 4 1 91 9 73 Runner-up Māris Verpakovskis – 22 Aleksandrs Starkovs
2004 1st (Virsliga) 1/(8) 28 22 3 3 65 18 69 1/2 finals Mihails Miholaps – 16 Aleksandrs Starkovs / Jurijs Andrejevs
2005 1st (Virsliga) 2/(8) 28 22 5 1 85 19 71 1/2 finals Gatis Kalniņš – 15 Jurijs Andrejevs / Paul Ashworth
2006 1st (Virsliga) 3/(8) 28 16 6 6 55 21 54 Runner-up Mihails Miholaps – 15 Paul Ashworth
2007 1st (Virsliga) 4/(8) 28 16 7 5 54 27 55 1/2 finals Astafjevs / Blanks / Višņakovs – 7 Paul Ashworth
2008 1st (Virsliga) 3/(10) 28 15 7 5 43 31 71 1/2 finals Vladimir Dvalishvili – 9 Paul Ashworth
2009 1st (Virsliga) 3/(9) 32 23 4 5 98 30 73 1/2 finals Ivans Lukjanovs – 14 Paul Ashworth / Aleksandrs Starkovs
2010 1st (Virsliga) 1/(10) 27 22 3 2 86 16 69 1/4 finals Nathan Júnior – 18 Aleksandrs Starkovs
2011 1st (Virsliga) 4/(9) 32 17 9 6 62 21 60 1/4 finals Nathan Júnior – 22 Marian Pahars

Europe record

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1992/93 UEFA Champions League PR KÍ Klaksvík 3–0 3–1 6–1
1 Lech Poznań 0–0 0–2 0–2
1993/94 UEFA Champions League PR Olimpija Ljubljana 0–1 1–0 1–1 (11–10 penalties)
1 Spartak Moskva 0–5 0–4 0–9
1994/95 UEFA Cup PrR Aberdeen F.C. 1–1 0–0 1–1 (a)
1 S.S.C. Napoli 1–1 0–3 1–4
1995/96 UEFA Cup PrR NK Maribor 0–2 1–0 1–2
1996/97 UEFA Cup PrR Newtown FC 3–0 4–1 7–1
QR Malmö FF 1–1 0–3 1–4
1997/98 UEFA Cup 1 Real Valladolid 1–0 0–2 1–2
1997/98 UEFA Champions League 1QR Valletta F.C. 2–0 0–1 2–1
2QR FC Barcelona 0–1 2–3 2–4
1998/99 UEFA Cup 1 FC Dynamo Moscow 2–3 2–2 4–5
1998/99 UEFA Champions League 1QR FC Dynamo Minsk 0–0 2–1 2–1
2QR F.C. Internazionale Milano 1–3 0–4 1–7
1999/00 UEFA Cup 1 Widzew Łódź 1–0 0–2 1–2
1999/00 UEFA Champions League 1QR Jeunesse Esch 8–0 2–0 10–0
2QR Rapid Bucureşti 2–1 3–3 5–4
3QR Chelsea F.C. 0–0 0–3 0–3
2000/01 UEFA Champions League 1QR FK Shamkir 1–4 2–1 3–5
2001/02 UEFA Champions League 1QR F91 Dudelange 0–1 6–1 6–2
2QR Wisla Kraków 0–1 1–2 1–3
2002/03 UEFA Champions League 1QR Barry Town F.C. 1–0 5–0 6–0
2QR PFC Levski Sofia 0–2 0–0 0–2
2003/04 UEFA Champions League 1QR Sliema Wanderers F.C. 3–1 0–2 3–3 (a)
2004/05 UEFA Champions League 1QR Rhyl F.C. 4–0 3–1 7–1
2QR Trabzonspor 0–3 1–1 1–4
2005/06 UEFA Champions League 1QR FK Rabotnički 1–0 0–6 1–6
2006/07 UEFA Cup 1QR Jeunesse d'Esch 3–0 2–0 5–0
2QR Molde FK 1–2 0–0 1–2
2007/08 UEFA Cup 1QR Dinamo Minsk 0–2 1–1 1–3
2009/10 UEFA Europa League 2QR Derry City F.C 1–1 0–1 1–2
2010/11 UEFA Europa League 1QR Portadown F.C. 0–1 1–1 1–2
2011/12 UEFA Champions League 2QR Wisla Kraków 0–1 0-2 0-3

Sponsors

Role Sponsors
General sponsors Gambaro Japan!
Kit manufacturer Kappa
Other sponsors Venden, Bonmark, Alfa star, Bērnu futbola attīstības centrs, Skonto Metāls Sigmen, Sportland, City Real Estate, Ķeizarmežs, Canon IB serviss

Players and staff

As of August 29, 2011, according to the Latvian Football Federation official website.

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Kaspars Ikstens
2 DF Renārs Rode
3 DF Kaspars Dubra
4 DF Vitālijs Smirnovs (captain)
5 DF Ivane Kandelaki
6 MF Ruslan Mingazov
7 FW Nathan Júnior
9 FW Kristaps Blanks
10 FW Artūrs Karašausks
10 MF Minori Sato
11 MF Fabinho
12 FW Elvis Stuglis
13 FW Andrey Nikolaev
14 FW Valērijs Šabala
No. Position Player
15 MF Aleksandrs Fertovs
16 GK Germans Māliņš
17 DF Vitālijs Maksimenko
18 DF Kirils Ševeļovs
19 MF Igors Tarasovs
20 MF Andrejs Siņicins
22 MF Bally Smart
23 FW Alans Siņeļņikovs
24 FW Anton Volkov
25 MF Armands Pētersons
31 GK Jānis Skābardis
-- FW Chinedu Simeon Anajah
-- FW James Aije Nche
-- GK Oskars Darģis

For recent squad changes see: List of Latvian football transfers winter 2010-2011 and List of Latvian football transfers summer 2011.

Management

Name, surname Position
Guntis Indriksons President
Andrejs Baharevs General director
Antanas Sakavickas Sporting director
Genādijs Karavajevs Technical director
Vladimirs Koļesņičenko Commercial director
Uldis Strautmanis Press secretary

Technical staff

Name, surname Position
Marians Pahars Manager
Jurijs Ševļakovs Coach
Vitālijs Astafjevs Coach
Aleksandrs Kulakovs Goalkeeping coach
Viktors Lācis Coach
Alejandro Muñoz Lopez Fitness coach
Dags Čuda Doctor
Aleksandrs Jurovskis Physio
Dmitrijs Jefremenkovs Physio
Ingus Proboks General manager
Ginta Feldmane Accountant
Dmitrijs Andrejevs Video
Igors Kirilovs Driver

Player of the season (since 2010)

Season Player
2010 Aleksandrs Cauņa

Notable players

References

  1. ^ "KÍ maintain Faroe Islands monopoly". UEFA. 14 October 2011. http://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/news/newsid=1696059.html. Retrieved 14 October 2011. "European record, set by Latvia's Skonto FC between 1991 and 2004" 

External links