Imants Bleidelis

Last updated

Imants Bleidelis
Personal information
Date of birth (1975-08-16) 16 August 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR
(now Republic of Latvia)
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1992–1993 Skonto 1 (0)
1994 Interskonto 11 (1)
1994–1999 Skonto 118 (24)
1999–2002 Southampton 3 (0)
2002–2005 Viborg 57 (6)
2005–2006 Grazer AK 28 (0)
2006–2007 Jūrmala 26 (7)
2007–2008 Liepājas Metalurgs 22 (1)
Total266(39)
International career
1995–2007 Latvia 106 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Imants Bleidelis (born 16 August 1975) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 106 appearances for the Latvia national team.

Contents

Club career

Born in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union, Bleidelis started his career at Skonto in 1992. In 1994, he played for Inter Skonto, and then between 1994 and 1999 he played 128 games scoring 24 games for Skonto. Skonto then sold him to English club, Southampton who were then in the Premier League, for £650,000, [1] where he joined fellow countryman Marians Pahars. [2] Bleidelis signed a three-and-a-half-year contract. [1] He played only three league games in three seasons, and after being allowed to go on trial in Denmark with Superliga club, Viborg January 2003 [2] Southampton released him on 26 January, [3] and two days later he signed a two-year contract with Viborg, [2] [4] where he scored six goals in 57 appearances.

He left Viborg in winter 2004 after turning down a new contract. Despite offers from two Latvian clubs, Skonto and Venta, in 2005, he moved to Austria to play for Austrian Bundesliga club Grazer AK, where he signed a two-year contract. [5] He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2005 in the UEFA Cup [6] against English club Middlesbrough. [7]

He moved back to Latvia in 2006 with Jūrmala. In 2007, he moved to Liepājas Metalurgs. Bleidelis had his contract with Liepājas Metalurgs terminated on 7 July 2008, along with another Latvian international, Andrejs Rubins.

International career

Bleidelis played over 100 international matches and scored ten goals for the Latvia national team. He made his debut on 19 May 1995 against Estonia in the Baltic Cup. He played at the Euro 2004 finals and his 100th appearance came on 2 June 2007 against Spain in UEFA European Championship qualifier. [8]

Honours

Skonto [9]

Metalurgs

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Māris Verpakovskis</span> Latvian footballer

Māris Verpakovskis, is a Latvian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for the Latvia national team at UEFA Euro 2004 and is the only Latvian player to score at the end stage of a major international football tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latvian Higher League</span> Mens association football top division of Latvia

Latvian Higher League or Virslīga, known for sponsorship reasons as TonyBet Virslīga since 2024, is a professional football league and the top tier of association football in Latvia. Organised by the Latvian Football Federation, the Higher League is contested by 10 clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skonto FC</span> Latvian football club

Skonto FC was a Latvian professional football club, active from 1991 until 2016. The club played at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Skonto won the Virsliga in the first 14 seasons of the league's resumption, and often provided the core of the Latvia national football team. With those 14 national championships in a row, they set a European record, men and women's football combined, until the women of Faroese club KÍ Klaksvík won their 14th championship in a row in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FK Liepājas Metalurgs</span> Latvian football club

FK Liepājas Metalurgs was a Latvian football club in the city of Liepāja and playing in the Virslīga. They played at the Daugava Stadium. In 2005 Liepājas Metalurgs became the first team other than Skonto Riga to win the Virslīga since the league restarted in 1991. After the 2013 league season the club was dissolved due to the bankruptcy of its sole sponsor metallurgical plant Liepājas Metalurgs. The club was replaced by FK Liepāja, founded in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrejs Rubins</span> Latvian footballer (1978–2022)

Andrejs Rubins was a Latvian professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. He was a member of the Latvia national team. Rubins worked as a football manager.

Jurijs Andrejevs is a Latvian former football player and manager who is the sporting director of Latvian Football Federation. Previously he was the manager of the team but was released in 2008 after an unsuccessful season. He was the manager of Latvia national team from 2004 to 2007, having succeeded Aleksandrs Starkovs in December 2004.

Darius Miceika is a Lithuanian former professional footballer. He has played for Lithuanian national team.

Ģirts Karlsons is a Latvian former football forward.

Mindaugas Kalonas is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oskars Kļava</span> Latvian footballer

Oskars Kļava is a Latvian football coach and a former defender. He is the manager of Spartaks Jūrmala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pāvels Surņins</span> Latvian footballer

Pāvels Surņins is a Latvian former professional football midfielder, who spent all his career with FK Liepājas Metalurgs in the Latvian Higher League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genādijs Soloņicins</span> Latvian footballer

Genādijs Soloņicins is a retired Latvian football midfielder. His last professional club was Liepājas Metalurgs in the Latvian Higher League, the club where he spent most of his professional career. Soloņicins was also a member of Latvia national football team.

Antons Jemeļins is a Latvian footballer, who played as a centre-back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomas Tamošauskas</span> Lithuanian footballer and manager

Tomas Tamošauskas is a Lithuanian football manager and a former midfielder.

The 2008 Baltic League was the second Baltic League football tournament. The tournament took place in the Baltic states in 2008. The first matches took place on 4 March.

Latvian Higher League 2009 was the 18th season of top-tier football in Latvia. It began on 14 March 2009 with the first round of games and ended on 8 November 2009 with the 36th round of matches. Ventspils were the defending champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maksims Rafaļskis</span> Latvian footballer

Maksims Rafaļskis is a Latvian football manager, currently coaching the youth squad of Latvian Higher League club Metta, and former player.

The 2011 Latvian Higher League was the 20th season of top-tier football in Latvia. It began on 15 April 2011 and ended on 5 November 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pāvels Šteinbors</span> Latvian footballer

Pāvels Šteinbors is a Latvian professional footballer who plays for Latvian club RFS and the Latvia national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberts Savaļnieks</span> Latvian footballer

Roberts Savaļnieks is a Latvian professional footballer who plays for Latvian Higher League club RFS.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bleidelis signs in £650,000 Dell move". Basingstoke Gazette. 21 December 1999. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bleidelis leaves Saints". BBC Sport. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  3. ↑ "Transfers: 20–26 January". UEFA. 26 January 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  4. ↑ "Bleidelis set for fresh start". UEFA. 28 January 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  5. ↑ "Bleidelis bound for GAK". UEFA. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  6. ↑ "Schachner eyes Middlesbrough upset". UEFA. 17 February 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  7. ↑ "GAK equalisers ensure parity". UEFA. 17 February 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  8. ↑ "Imants Bleidelis - Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  9. ↑ "Imants Bleidelis". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.