Maris Verpakovskis
Encyclopedia
Māris Verpakovskis is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
), is a Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n football forward, currently playing for the Azerbaijan Premier League
Azerbaijan Premier League
-Attendance:- Records :Players in the Premier League compete for the Azerbaijan Premier League Golden Boot, awarded to the top scorer at the end of each season. Nazim Aliyev is the league's all-time top scorer with 183 goals, including 39 in the 1992 season.During the 1995–96 season he became the...
club FK Baku
FK Baku
Football Club Baku is an Azerbaijani football club in Baku, Azerbaijan. The club sponsored by the Baghlan Group Company and ZQAN Holding.FC Baku plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League and have won two Azerbaijan Premier League championships and two Azerbaijan Cups.-History:FC Baku was founded in...
in Azerbaijan and the Latvia national football team
Latvia national football team
The Latvian national football team is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia and represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. So far, they have never qualified for a FIFA World...
.
Latvia
Verpakovskis started his career in the Latvian club FK Liepājas Metalurgs, for which he played from 1995 till 2001 and scored 10 goals in 59 appearances. In 2001 Verpakovskis joined another Latvian side, Skonto RigaSkonto FC
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 , and often provides the core of the Latvia national football team...
, where he scored 41 goals goals in 77 appearances. This time of period is known for being the peak of Verpakovskis's career. His excellent performance was being recognized by many top European clubs, and in the late 2003 he signed a contract with the Ukrainian top team Dynamo Kyiv.
Dynamo Kyiv
Soon after joining, Verpakovskis quickly earned his spot in starting 11, scoring 5 goals in 11 appearances. He scored his first UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
goal against the Turkish club Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Trabzon, Turkey. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor won six championships in Turkish Super League. The Club won their first Championship title in 1975 which is also the Club's initiation year...
, which helped Dynamo Kyiv qualify for the next round and later Verpakovskis also scored a goal against Real Madrid in the group stage, helping to earn a 2:2 draw in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Verpakovskis scored a total of 3 goals in the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. After being honored as the Dynamo Kyiv's best player of 2004 by team fans his career slowly started to decline, majorly due to a conflict with Dynamo's former coach Yozhef Sabo
Yozhef Sabo
Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo is a former Soviet football player of Hungarian ethnicity-Club:Szabó made his name as a player at Dynamo Kyiv, appearing at the club from 1959 to 1969...
. From that time Verpakovkis had been loaned out for several seasons in a row, as his contract with Dynamo was still active.
Loans
In 2007 Verpakovskis made a promising move to Spain, after he was signed on a loan deal by GetafeGetafe CF
Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish La Liga football club based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983.In the top level since 2004-05, it holds home games at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez....
. However, due to a high competition for a place in the starting line-up, Verpakovskis didn't get a chance to show his full brilliance and scored 1 goal in 13 appearances. Right after returning from Spain, Verpakovskis was loaned to HNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian football club founded in 1911 and based in the city of Split. The club's home ground since 1979 is the 35,000-seater Poljud Stadium and the team's traditional home colours are white shirts with blue shorts and...
from Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, along with his Dynamo team-mates Florin Cernat
Florin Cernat
Florin Lucian Cernat is a Romanian football midfielder and playmaker. He is known for his excellent passing play, great vision on field, and highly precise free-kicks and dribbling.- Dinamo Bucharest :...
and Goran Sablić
Goran Sablic
Goran Sablić Goran Sablić Goran Sablić (born on 8 October 1979 in Sinj, Croatia,is a Croatian football player. He is currently free agent and has last played for Hajduk Split in August 2007, being on a one year loan period from Dynamo Kyiv. He signed a four year contract with Dynamo on August 12,...
. Verpakovskis had a good season in Hadjuk, scoring 5 goals in 18 appearances and made some key roles in team's victories. In early 2008 he suffered an injury and did not play for the remained time of his loan to HNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian football club founded in 1911 and based in the city of Split. The club's home ground since 1979 is the 35,000-seater Poljud Stadium and the team's traditional home colours are white shirts with blue shorts and...
. He made a short comeback to Kiev during the summer of 2008. Verpakovskis was on a loan term with Spanish side Celta de Vigo
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...
for the 2008–2009 season, playing 8 league matches and scoring no goals, as he couldn't prove himself there due to the limited game time. In 2009, Verpakovskis had to extend his contract with Dynamo Kiev for two years and the Greek Super League club Ergotelis signed him on a two-year loan. During those 2 years Verpakovskis played 46 league games and scored 7 goals for the club. After the season, in 2011, his loan spell ended and he returned to Kiev.
FK Baku
On 30 June 2011 Verpakovskis signed a contract with the Azerbaijan Premier LeagueAzerbaijan Premier League
-Attendance:- Records :Players in the Premier League compete for the Azerbaijan Premier League Golden Boot, awarded to the top scorer at the end of each season. Nazim Aliyev is the league's all-time top scorer with 183 goals, including 39 in the 1992 season.During the 1995–96 season he became the...
club FK Baku
FK Baku
Football Club Baku is an Azerbaijani football club in Baku, Azerbaijan. The club sponsored by the Baghlan Group Company and ZQAN Holding.FC Baku plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League and have won two Azerbaijan Premier League championships and two Azerbaijan Cups.-History:FC Baku was founded in...
for one season with an option to extend it for another one.
International career
Verpakovskis made his debut for LatviaLatvia national football team
The Latvian national football team is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia and represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. So far, they have never qualified for a FIFA World...
on 9 September 1999 in a 2–1 victory over Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
, scoring in that match. He rose to international prominence as the highest goalscorer for Latvia in their successful Euro 2004 qualification campaign, with 6 goals in 10 matches. He scored once for Latvia in Euro 2004 and nearly scored what would have been the goal of the tournament against Germany, dribbling on a weaving run from the half way line and beating four German players. Verpakovskis is regarded as the most popular Latvian footballer having surpassed Marian Pahars
Marian Pahars
Marians Pahars is a Latvian former footballer, currently the manager of Skonto FC. He spent most of his career as a striker at Southampton in the Premier League and with Skonto in Latvia....
as his country's most recognisable player. He is currently the leading all time top goal scorer for Latvia, with 28 goals .
Top Latvian scorer in Fifa World Cup 2006 qualification, Euro 2008 qualification, as well as the Fifa World Cup 2010 qualification.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 June 1999 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece |
0 – 1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifying | |
| 2. | 28 February 2001 | Vaduz Vaduz Vaduz is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. The town, located along the Rhine, has about 5,100 inhabitants , most of whom are Roman Catholic. Its cathedral is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop.... , Liechtenstein |
0 – 2 | 0–2 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 3. | 3 July 2001 | Riga Riga Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,... , Latvia |
1 – 0 | 3–1 | Baltic Cup 2001 | |
| 4. | 21 August 2002 | Riga, Latvia | 1 – 1 | 2–4 | Friendly | |
| 5. | 7 June 2003 | Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... , Hungary |
0 – 1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying | |
| 6. | 10 September 2003 | Riga, Latvia | 1 – 0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying | |
| 7. | 10 September 2003 | Riga, Latvia | 3 – 0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying | |
| 8. | 11 October 2003 | Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... , Sweden |
0 – 1 | 0–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying | |
| 9. | 15 November 2003 | Riga, Latvia | 1 – 0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying | |
| 10. | 19 November 2003 | Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and... , Turkey |
2 – 2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifying | |
| 11. | 31 March 2004 | Celje Celje Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna... , Slovenia |
0 – 1 | 0–1 | Friendly | |
| 12. | 6 June 2004 | Riga, Latvia | 1 – 0 | 2–2 | Friendly | |
| 13. | 15 June 2004 | Aveiro, Portugal | 0 – 1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 | |
| 14. | 8 September 2004 | Luxembourg Luxembourg (city) The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg... , Luxembourg |
0 – 1 | 3–4 | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualifying | |
| 15. | 9 October 2004 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... , Slovakia |
0 – 1 | 4–1 | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualifying | |
| 16. | 17 November 2004 | Vaduz, Liechtenstein | 0 – 1 | 0–3 | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualifying | |
| 17. | 30 March 2005 | Riga, Latvia | 3 – 0 | 4–0 | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualifying | |
| 18. | 30 March 2005 | Riga, Latvia | 4 – 0 | 4–0 | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualifying | |
| 19. | 7 October 2006 | Riga, Latvia | 2 – 0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying | |
| 20. | 7 October 2006 | Riga, Latvia | 3 – 0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying | |
| 21. | 13 October 2007 | Reykjavik Reykjavík Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay... , Iceland |
1 – 3 | 2–4 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying | |
| 22. | 13 October 2007 | Reykjavik, Iceland | 1 – 4 | 2–4 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying | |
| 23. | 17 November 2007 | Riga, Latvia | 2 – 1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying | |
| 24. | 1 April 2009 | Riga, Latvia | 2 – 0 | 2–0 | FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifying 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 2 The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 2 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg.... |
|
| 25. | 10 October 2009 | Athens, Greece | 1 – 1 | 5–2 | FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifying | |
| 26. | 10 October 2009 | Athens, Greece | 1 – 2 | 5–2 | FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifying | |
| 27. | 7 September 2010 | Ta' Qali, Malta | 0 – 2 | 0–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine... |
|
| 28. | 9 February 2011 | Antalya Antalya Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :... , Turkey |
0 – 1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
FC Dynamo Kiev
- Ukrainian Premier League champion
- 2004
- Ukrainian Cup winner
- 2005, 2006
Personal honours
Verpakovskis has been named Latvian Man Of The Year in 2003–2004. He has also been named Latvian footballer of the year twice - in 2003 and 2004. Verpakovskis currently holds the record as the top scorer in the history of the national teamLatvia national football team
The Latvian national football team is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia and represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. So far, they have never qualified for a FIFA World...
with 28 goals for his name.
Interesting facts
1) Verpakovskis worked as a football commentator for Latvian television during Euro 2008 matches. He remarked this being a great experience and didn't deny the fact that he might work as a commentator for the Ukrainian TV as well. He commentated the first 4 matches of the tournament.2) In 2006–2007 Champions League 2nd Qualifying round Verpakovskis (as a player of Dynamo) faced against his former team FK Liepājas Metalurgs. Dynamo won both games with the scores 1:4 and 4:0. He scored the third goal for Dynamo in Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, helping his team to earn a victory. Games were held on 26 July and on 2 August.
Career statistics
|-|1996
Latvian Higher League 1996
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...
||Baltika Liepāja||Higher League||6||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1997
Latvian Higher League 1997
The 1997 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the seventh domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Ninth teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final table:-Match...
||rowspan="4"|Liepājas Metalurgs||rowspan="4"|Higher League||6||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1998
Latvian Higher League 1998
The 1998 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the 8th domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Eight teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final table:-Match...
||15||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999
Latvian Higher League 1999
The 1999 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the ninth domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Eight teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final table:-Match Table:-Awards:-Skonto...
||21||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000
Latvian Higher League 2000
The 2000 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the tenth domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Eight teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final table:-Match...
||16||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001
Latvian Higher League 2001
The 2001 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the eleventh domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Eight teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final table:-Match...
||rowspan="3"|Skonto
Skonto FC
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 , and often provides the core of the Latvia national football team...
||rowspan="3"|Higher League||27||10||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002
Latvian Higher League 2002
The 2002 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the twelfth domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Eight teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final table:-Match...
||25||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|2003
Latvian Higher League 2003
The 2003 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the thirteenth domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Eight teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.-Final...
||25||22||||||||||||||||
|-
|2003–04
Ukrainian Premier League 2003-04
-Final standings:-Top goal scorers:-European competitions:Champion's Cup Champion's Cup UEFA Cup UEFA Cup -External links:*...
||rowspan="4"|Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...
||rowspan="4"|Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
||11||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|2004–05
Ukrainian Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 Ukrainian Premier League season was the fourteenth since its establishment.The season started on July 15, 2004 with all eight games of the first round. The last day of the competition was June 16, 2005. Shakhtar Donetsk has managed to win its second champion's title place ahead of the...
||23||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|2005–06
Ukrainian Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 Ukrainian Premier League season was the fifteenth since its establishment.The season started on July 12, 2005 with six games of the first round. The last day of the competition was May 10, 2006. However, because the top two teams have finished with equal amount of points, it was decided...
||9||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2006–07
Ukrainian Premier League 2006-07
The 2006-07 Ukrainian Premier League season is the sixteenth since its establishment. The official name of the competition was Soyuz-Viktan Ukrainian football championship. Soyuz-Viktan became the first title sponsor in the League's history....
||6||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2006–07||Getafe
Getafe CF
Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish La Liga football club based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983.In the top level since 2004-05, it holds home games at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez....
||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||13||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08
Prva HNL 2007-08
The 2007-08 Prva HNL season was the seventeenth since its establishment, and started on 20 July 2007...
||Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian football club founded in 1911 and based in the city of Split. The club's home ground since 1979 is the 35,000-seater Poljud Stadium and the team's traditional home colours are white shirts with blue shorts and...
||Prva HNL||18||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|2009–10||Ergotelis||Super League Greece
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
||21||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|2010–11||Ergotelis||Super League Greece
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
||25||4||||||||||||||||
141||50||||||||||||||||
49||11||||||||||||||||
13||1||||||||||||||||
15||5||||||||||||||||
46||7|||||||||||||||
264||74|||||||||||||||||
External links
- Euro 2008 squad details
- Verpakovskis in Primero
- Māris Verpakovskis profile at Nogometni MagazinNogometni MagazinNogometni Magazin is a news organization that focusses on Croatian football news. It was launched in March of 2002. The site's editor-in-chief is Vladimir Benić and it is based out of Zagreb....
- transfermarkt.co.uk profile