Ventspils
Full nameFutbola Klubs Ventspils
Nickname(s)Yellow-Blues
Founded1997 (1997)
GroundVentspils Olimpiskais Stadions
Capacity3,200
ManagerIgor Kichigin
LeagueLatvian First League
20222nd
WebsiteClub website

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 club played in the Latvian Virsliga since 1997. It was abolished in 2020, but has since returned to Latvian football and competes in the Latvian First League as of 2023.

In total, FK Ventspils has won six league titles and seven 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.

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, three drawn and three 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. līga 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 finished 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 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 eliminated 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.

UEFA Europa league Group stage 2009/10

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 showed a remarkable performance, playing 1–1 draws away in the Olympiastadion in Berlin and Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. They also kept 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 won 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.

Disqualification

On 9 June 2021, UEFA banned FK Ventspils from participating in UEFA club competitions for the next seven years (i.e. up to and including the 2027–28 season) for violating UEFA regulations related to "fraud, bribery and/or corruption" and for "violation of the integrity of matches and competitions". Club officials Nikolajs Djakins and Adlan Shishkanov were banned from football for 4 years and for life, respectively.[2] The charges were related to July 2018 Europa League qualifier against Bordeaux, Russian referee Sergey Lapochkin who was refereeing that game was banned from football activity for 10 years.[3]

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
2016 Virsliga 3rd
2017 Virsliga 4th
2018 Virsliga 2nd
2019 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 4th
Netherlands Heerenveen 0–0 0–5
Portugal Sporting CP 1–2 1–1
2010–11 UEFA Europa League 1QR North Macedonia Teteks 0–0 1–3 1–3
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 2QR Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk 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 Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta 2–0 2–0 4–0
2QR Scotland Aberdeen 0–1 0–3 0–4
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1QR Iceland Valur 0–0 0–1 0–1
2018–19 UEFA Europa League 1QR Albania Luftëtari 5−0 3–3 8–3
2QR France Bordeaux 0–1 1–2 1–3
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 1QR Albania Teuta 3–0 0–1 3–1
2QR Malta Gżira United 4–0 2–2 6–2
3QR Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 0–3 0–6 0–9
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 1QR Moldova Dinamo-Auto 2–1
2QR Norway Rosenborg 1–5

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

Current squad

As to 30 July 2023
No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Latvia LVA Ilja Isajevs
GK Latvia LVA Alekss Petrovs
GK Latvia LVA Krists Svarups
DF Latvia LVA Aleksandrs Baturinskis
DF Latvia LVA Mariss Bite
DF Latvia LVA Nikita Rozancevs
DF Latvia LVA Janis Jekabs Gaisins
DF Latvia LVA Markoss Feldmans
DF Latvia LVA Vladislavs Bojaruns
DF Latvia LVA Tomass Ziborkins
MF Latvia LVA Niks Jansons
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Latvia LVA Rainers Veidemainis
MF Latvia LVA Davis Kaneps
MF Latvia LVA Valters Valts Grislis
MF Latvia LVA Artemijs Mihails Lucins
FW Latvia LVA Vladimirs Mukins
FW Latvia LVA Kristaps Kancs
FW Latvia LVA Kirils Markovs
FW Latvia LVA Valters Liepajnieks
FW Latvia LVA Klavs Vilumovs
FW Latvia LVA Divs Rins
FW Latvia LVA Kaspars Svārups

Notable former players

  • Past (and present) players who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles can be found here.

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 2015–2017
Montenegro Dejan Vukićević 2018–2019
Latvia Igors Kļosovs 2019
Moldova Viorel Frunză 2020–

References

  1. "Ventspils hold on to oust BATE". UEFA.
  2. "CEDB decisions on FK Ventspils". UEFA. 9 June 2021.
  3. "CEDB decision on Russian match official". UEFA. 9 June 2021.
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