1996 Latvian Higher League
The 1996 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the sixth domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Tenth teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.
First round
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skonto FC | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 74 | 9 | 65 | 47 |
| 2 | FK Daugava Rīga | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 11 | 30 | 43 |
| 3 | Dinaburg FC | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 19 | 11 | 32 |
| 4 | FK Baltika | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 28 |
| 5 | FK Universitāte | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 29 | -5 | 26 |
| 6 | FK Starts | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 20 |
| 7 | FK Vairogs | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 32 | -13 | 18 |
| 8 | FK Lokomotīve Daugavpils | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 31 | -13 | 17 |
| 9 | Skonto/Metāls | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 38 | -29 | 9 |
| 10 | FK Jūrnieks | 18 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 44 | -33 | 9 |
Second round
Championship
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skonto FC | 28 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 12 | 86 | 73 |
| 2 | Daugava Rīga | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 18 | 43 | 61 |
| 3 | Dinaburg FC | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 53 | 31 | 22 | 47 |
| 4 | FK Universitāte | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 37 | 45 | -8 | 39 |
| 5 | FK Baltika | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 44 | -12 | 38 |
| 6 | FK Starts | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 69 | -43 | 23 |
Relegation
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | FK Lokomotīve Daugavpils | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 38 | 45 | -7 | 39 |
| 8 | FK Vairogs | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 37 | 54 | -17 | 33 |
| 9 | Skonto/Metāls | 30 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 53 | -28 | 27 |
| 10 | FK Jūrnieks | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 61 | -36 | 20 |
Topscorers
| Pos | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mihails Miholaps (LAT) | FK Daugava Rīga | 33 |
| 2 |  Aleksandr Pindeyev (UKR) | Skonto FC | 17 |
| 3 | Vladimirs Babičevs (LAT) | Skonto FC | 16 |
| - | Juris Karašausks (LAT) | Dinaburg FC | 16 |
| 5 | Aleksandrs Fedotovs (LAT) | Skonto FC | 13 |
Awards
| Best | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Raimonds Laizāns (LAT) | Skonto FC |
| Defender | Jurijs Ševļakovs (LAT) | Skonto FC |
| Midfielder | Vitālijs Astafjevs (LAT) | Skonto FC |
| Forward | Mihails Miholaps (LAT) | FK Daugava Rīga |
Skonto FC 1996
| Pos | Name | Birthdate | P |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | Vitālijs Astafjevs | 03.04.1971 | 18 | 12 | 1 | - |
| MF | Vladimirs Babičevs | 22.04.1968 | 25 | 16 | 3 | - |
| - |  Vladlen Bausev | 03.03.1967 | 10 | 3 | - | - |
| DF | Oļegs Blagonadeždins | 16.05.1973 | 23 | 1 | - | - |
| MF | Imants Bleidelis | 16.08.1975 | 20 | 3 | - | - |
| - | Konstantin Ivanov | 10.05.1964 | 6 | - | - | - |
| MF | Valērijs Ivanovs | 23.02.1970 | 27 | 3 | 2 | - |
| FW | Aleksandrs Jelisejevs | 11.08.1971 | 15 | 10 | 1 | - |
| GK | Aleksandrs Koļiņko | 18.06.1975 | 9 | –3 | 1 | - |
| GK | Raimonds Laizāns | 05.08.1964 | 19 | –9 | 1 | - |
| - | Vsevolods Līdaks | 22.10.1977 | 6 | 1 | - | - |
| - | Valentins Lobaņovs | 23.10.1971 | 19 | 3 | 2 | - |
| DF | Boriss Monjaks | 11.04.1970 | 10 | - | - | - |
| FW | Marians Pahars | 05.08.1976 | 28 | 12 | 2 | - |
| - | Aleksandr Pindejev | 03.03.1971 | 26 | 17 | 5 | - |
| - | Igors Stepanovs | 21.01.1976 | 22 | 2 | 3 | - |
| DF | Jurijs Ševļakovs | 24.01.1959 | 24 | 1 | 5 | - |
| FW | Andrejs Štolcers | 08.07.1974 | 26 | 6 | 3 | - |
| DF | Igors Troickis | 11.01.1969 | 26 | 3 | 4 | - |
| DF | Mihails Zemļinskis | 21.12.1969 | 24 | 4 | 3 | - |
| Manager: Aleksandrs Starkovs | ||||||
References
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