Valmieras FK

Valmiera Football Club[1] (from February 2020) or shortly Valmiera FC is a Latvian football club, playing in the Virslīga, the highest division of Latvian football. The club is based in the city of Valmiera. By winning the 2017 Latvian First League, the team was promoted to the 2018 Virslīga after a 14-year absence.

"Valmiera Glass Via" redirects here. For the related basketball club, see Valmiera Glass Via (basketball).
Valmiera FC
Full nameValmiera Football Club
Founded1996
GroundJānis Daliņš Stadium, Valmiera, Latvia
Capacity2,000
Chairman Inga Apsīte
Manager Tamaz Pertia
LeagueVirslīga
20194th
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was founded in 1996. It participated in the 1. līga (the second-highest division of Latvian football). The team finished second in the league which gave Valmiera the possibility to battle with the second from bottom team of the Higher League – Skonto-Metāls for a place in the top division of Latvian football. In the first game in Riga Skonto-Metāls won 1:0, but at home Valmiera overcame the one goal deficit and won 2:0 (I. Maļukovs, Dz. Savaļnieks), thus earning a place in the Virslīga.

In its debut season in the Virslīga Valmiera managed to finish 7th out of 9 teams with a comfortable margin over the two weakest teams. The following season was even more successful as the team finished 5th in Virslīga, and the same result was repeated in 1999. The new millennium brought financial difficulties for FK Valmiera. After the 2003 season the team had to leave the Virslīga because of financial difficulties and since then played in the 1. līga, paying more attention to developing young talents.[2]

Several of former Valmiera players have played in the Latvia national football team. Those include Vīts Rimkus, Viktors Morozs, Gatis Kalniņš, Deniss Romanovs and Māris Smirnovs.

For more than ten years Valmiera was a mid level team in the 1. līga. Since 2010, under manager Gatis Ērglis a number of young local players experienced rapid development and the team became one of the leaders of the 1. līga.[3] In 2016 the sports organisation was established as "SO Valmiera Glass / Vidzemes Augstskola" or "Valmiera Glass ViA" - taking the name of the team's long-time sponsor Valmiera Fiberglass and Vidzeme University, which inherited the legacy of Valmiera football.[4] Also joining Valmiera Glass ViA was the school's basketball club.[5] In 2017 the team's best scorers were Alvis Dubovs and Niks Savaļnieks, helping Valmiera Glass ViA to win the Latvian First League with a ten-point margin.

In 2018, Valmiera Glass ViA returned to the Virslīga. One of the biggest offseason deals for the team was the return of Gatis Kalniņš to his hometown, but sadly the veteran striker was mostly sidelined due to injuries.[6] The team struggled in amidst fierce competition and earned only one point in the first ten rounds of the league. That led to the decision to replace long time manager Ērglis with Ukrainian coach Nikolay Trubachov (Mykola Trubachov).[7]

In 2020 club is renamed to "Valmiera FC" (Valmiera Football Club).[8]

League and Cup history
FK Valmiera / Valmiera Glass ViA / Valmiera FC
Season Division (Name) Pos./Teams Latvian Football Cup
1996 2nd (1.līga) 2/(13)
1997 1st (Virslīga) 7/(9)
1998 1st (Virslīga) 5/(8)
1999 1st (Virslīga) 5/(8) 1/4 finals
2000 1st (Virslīga) 6/(8) 1/4 finals
2001 1st (Virslīga) 6/(8) 1/4 finals
2002 1st (Virslīga) 5/(8) 1/4 finals
2003 1st (Virslīga) 6/(8) 1/8 finals
2004 2nd (1.līga) 7/(14) 1/16 finals
2005 2nd (1.līga) 6/(14) 1/8 finals
2006 2nd (1.līga) 7/(16) 1/8 finals
2007 2nd (1.līga) 10/(16) 3rd round
2008 2nd (1.līga) 7/(15) Did not participate
2009 2nd (1.līga) 11/(14) Not held
2010 2nd (1.līga) 6/(12) Did not participate
2011 2nd (1.līga) 9/(13) 1/4 finals
2012 2nd (1.līga) 8/(14) 1/8 finals
2013 2nd (1.līga) 3/(16) 3rd round
2014 2nd (1.līga) 3/(16) 1/8 finals
2015 2nd (1.līga) 2/(16) 1/8 finals
2016 2nd (1.līga) 4/(15) 1/32 finals
2017 2nd (1.līga) 1/(12) 1/8 finals
2018 1st (Virslīga) 8/(8) Quarter-finals
2019 1st (Virslīga) 4/(9) 1/8 finals

European record

As of November 2019

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Agg.
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 1QR
Notes
  • QR: Qualifying round

Players

Current squad
As of 14 March 2020[9]

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Andriy Kozhukhar
2 DF Vitalijs Jagodinskis
3 DF Madis Miķelsons
5 DF Kristaps Liepa
6 DF Krišs Kārkliņš
7 MF Kristers Lūsiņš
8 MF Mykola Musolitin
9 FW Ēriks Punculs
10 MF Alvis Jaunzems
11 FW Samat Sarsenov
13 MF Bogdans Samoilovs
14 MF Luka Silagadze
No. Position Player
16 DF Julien Celestine
17 DF Joshua Kudu
22 DF Olaide Badmus
29 MF Motaz Zaddem
30 MF Gatis Štrauss
37 FW Oleksii Helovani
65 GK Rudolfs Soloha
77 MF Jorge Teixeira
80 DF Victor Diagne
84 GK Vladislavs Lazarevs
97 DF Aleksejs Grjaznovs
99 FW Toluwalase Arokodare

References
  1. https://optibetvirsliga.com/news/kluba-pazinojums-par-nosaukuma-mainu-valmiera-fc
  2. DELFI (2008-02-25). "'Futbols pilsētā': Valmieras futbola vēsture". DELFI (in Latvian). Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  3. ""Valmieras FK" Ērgļa vadībā gatavojas sezonai". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  4. "We are on the ball in supporting young footballers - VALMIERA GLASS GROUP". www.valmiera-glass.com. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  5. "Sport and activities at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences". Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  6. "Kalniņš atgriežas dzimtajā pilsētā un pievienojas Virslīgas jaunpienācējai". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  7. "Virslīgas pastarīti "Valmieru" trenēs ukraiņu speciālists Trubačovs, asistēs Kalniņš". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  8. https://optibetvirsliga.com/news/kluba-pazinojums-par-nosaukuma-mainu-valmiera-fc
  9. "VALMIERA GLASS VIA futbols » Komanda". www.vgvia.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2018-09-27.
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