Aleksejs Višņakovs

Aleksejs Višņakovs (born 3 February 1984 in Riga) is a Latvian football midfielder, who currently plays for Riga FC in Latvian Higher League. He is also a member of Latvia national football team.

Aleksejs Višņakovs
Personal information
Full name Aleksejs Višņakovs
Date of birth (1984-02-03) 3 February 1984
Place of birth Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Republic of Latvia)
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Riga
Youth career
JFC Skonto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Skonto Rīga 2 (0)
2002 FK Auda 20 (1)
2003–2008 Skonto Rīga 139 (32)
2009–2011 FK Ventspils 42 (14)
2011–2012 Cracovia 37 (4)
2012–2013 Baltika Kaliningrad 17 (2)
2013 Spartaks Jūrmala 4 (1)
2013–2014 Widzew Łódź 23 (1)
2014 Zimbru Chișinău 12 (1)
2015–2016 Skonto Rīga 20 (3)
2016–2017 RFS 51 (4)
2018 Spartaks Jūrmala 27 (13)
2019– Riga 0 (0)
National team‡
2004– Latvia 81 (9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 November 2017
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 November 2017

Club career

Latvia

As a youth player Višņakovs played for JFC Skonto. Being a promising youngster, in 2001 he was brought to the first team by that time manager Aleksandrs Starkovs. It was hard for the young player to fit in the squad, as he played only 2 matches in his first season with the club. After the season, he was given away to another club from Riga, this time FK Auda, playing in the Latvian First League. Višņakovs played 20 matches for them, scoring his first goal then. After showing some pretty good qualities, he was taken back to Skonto Riga and surely didn't disappoint this time. He had a long spell with the club that lasted for 5 years, from 2003 till 2008. During this time he became well known among the fans and was a vital player in the starting eleven, all in all making 139 appearances and scoring 31 goal. In 2009, he left the club, as his contract ended. Immediately after leaving, on 13 February 2009, he signed a contract with Skonto Riga rivals FK Ventspils.[1] He played there for the next two seasons, also appearing in the UEFA Europa League group stages.[2] All in all he played 43 matches, scoring 16 goals, becoming one of the league's top scorers.

Spartak Nalchik

After the successful season he was linked with a move to the Russian Premier League club Spartak Nalchik. In January 2011 he joined them on trial, and as it was successful, he signed a contract with them.[3] Unfortunately, soon after the deal club's managers changed and as the new coach stated, Višņakovs was no more needed for the team, and Višņakovs was released.

Cracovia

Soon after leaving Nalchik Višņakovs went on trial with Cracovia, playing in the Polish Ekstraklasa.[4] In February, 2011 he signed a two and a half-year contract with them, soon after joining already proving his qualities.[5] Joining in the middle of the season, he played 14 matches and scored 3 goals, helping the club secure a place in the next year's Ekstraklasa. But the next season, Cracovia were relegated from Ekstraklasa and Višņakovs terminated his contract by a mutual agreement.[6]

Baltika Kaliningrad

In July 2012 Višņakovs was about to sign a contract with the Latvian Higher League club Spartaks Jūrmala,[7] but eventually the move fell through and Aleksejs joined the Russian First Division club Baltika Kaliningrad on 11 August 2012, signing a one-year contract.[8] He played 17 matches for Baltika, scoring 2 goals. In July 2013 his contract was terminated by mutual consent[9] and Višņakovs joined Spartaks Jūrmala on a short-term contract.[10]

Widzew Łódź

In August 2013 Višņakovs went on trial with the Polish Ekstraklasa club Widzew Łódź[11] and signed a one-year contract with them on 23 August 2013, becoming a teammate of his younger brother Eduards.[12] Višņakovs scored his first goal for Widzew in a 1-1 league draw against Jagiellonia Białystok on 31 August 2013.[13]

Zimbru Chișinău

On 9 August 2014 Višņakovs signed a contract for one year with Moldovan club Zimbru Chișinău.[14]

Return to Latvia

Before the 2015 season Višņakovs returned to his first club Skonto. In February 2016 he joined RFS, a newly promoted club in Latvian Higher League.[15]

Višņakovs joined Riga FC for the 2019 season.[16]

International career

Višņakovs made his debut for Latvia in 2004 against Oman, but he didn't participate in the EURO 2004 group stages.[17] As of 19 March 2015, he has had 57 caps and 8 goals for the national team.[18]

International goals
Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first.[19]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.9 February 2005Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus Austria1–11–1 (5–3 pen.)2005 Cyprus International Football Tournament
2.12 November 2005Vitebsky Central Sport Complex, Vitebsk, Belarus Belarus1–01–3Friendly
3.7 October 2006Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia Iceland4–04–0UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
4.17 November 2007Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia Liechtenstein4–14–1UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
5.28 March 2009Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Luxembourg3–04–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.7 October 2011Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia Malta1–02–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
7.1 June 2012Võru Spordikeskuse Staadion, Võru, Estonia Lithuania3–05–02012 Baltic Cup
8.28 March 2015Eden Arena, Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic1–01–1UEFA UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
9.29 March 2016Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar Gibraltar4–05–0Friendly

Personal life

His younger brother Eduards is also a professional footballer, currently playing for Widzew Łódź in the Polish Ekstraklasa as a forward. While Aleksejs was a part of FK Ventspils squad, they also played together. They are the second pair of brothers to play for Widzew together after Lithuanians Artūras and Igoris Steško during the 2001-2002 season.

Honours
Runner-up: 2005, 2009, 2010
  • Latvian Cup (1) - 2001
Runner-up: 2006
Runner-up: 2008
  • Latvian young player of the year (2) - 2004, 2005
  • Baltic Cup (1): 2008, 2012, 2014
Runner-up: 2005
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References
  1. LFF: Aleksejs Višņakovs pievienojas Latvijas čempioniem "FK Ventspils"
  2. 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage#Hertha BSC v Ventspils
  3. Latvijas izlases pussargs Aleksejs Višņakovs pievienojas Naļčikas 'Spartak' - DELFI
  4. Arī A.Višņakovs tēmē uz Poliju, Cauņa gatavojas Eiropas līgai – Leģionāri – Futbols – Sportacentrs.com
  5. Aleksejs Višŋakovs został nowym piłkarzem Cracovii 24.02.2011, cracovia.pl
  6. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  7. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  8. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  9. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  10. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  11. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  12. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  13. "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  14. "Aleksejs Visnakovs a semnat cu ZIMBRU". Zimbru.Md. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  15. "Debitantei RFS skaļš pastiprinājums – izlases pussargs A. Višņakovs" (in Latvian). sportacentrs.com. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  16. “Riga” vienojas ar rezultatīvo Višņakovu un Uvarenko, rigafc.lv
  17. Lff: Aleksejs Višņakovs
  18. LFF: SPĒLĒTĀJI | Players Archived 12 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Višņakovs, Aleksejs". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
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