Andrejs Rubins (26 November 1978 – 1 August 2022) was a Latvian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

left midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He was a member of the Latvia national team. Rubins worked as a football manager.

Club career

Born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

, Rubins started his career in 1996 at

FK Auda Futbola klubs Auda is a Latvian football club, playing in the highest division of Latvian football ( Latvian Higher League). They are based in Ķekava, near the capital, Riga. Auda won their first ever major trophy in 2022, beating RFS 1–0 in t ...

in the Latvian 2nd Division. The following year he moved to Sweden with

Östers IF Östers Idrottsförening, commonly known as Östers IF or simply Öster, is a Swedish sports club located in Växjö, specializing in football, and playing in the second tier of Swedish football, Superettan. The club has previously also compet ...

, where he made 11 league appearances before moving back to Latvia in 1998 to play for

Skonto Riga Skonto FC was a Latvian 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 (15 in total), and often provided the core of the Lat ...

. He played there for the next three seasons, and managed to win three consecutive league titles in a row. He also won the

Latvian Cup The Latvian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Latvian football. Since 2021, its full name is Responsible Game Latvian Football Cup (''Atbildīgas spēles Latvijas kauss'') due to the sponsorship by sports betting company Wi ...

twice. All in all, over those three seasons he helped his team, scoring 14 goals in 67 league matches. In 2000 Rubins moved to England, joining English

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

club

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. He made just 31 appearances in three seasons at the club but still managed to impress, scoring twice in the League Cup against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. In December 2002 Rubins moved to Russia initially to play for

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * ...

in the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 200 ...

on a free transfer. However, three months later, without playing a game, he moved to

Shinnik Yaroslavl FC Shinnik Yaroslavl (russian: Футбольный клуб «Шинник» Ярославль) is a Russian football club, based in Yaroslavl. From 1957 to 1960 the team was called Khimik (russian: Химик - "the chemist"). In the USSR ...

, where he played 51 games in two seasons, scoring 4 times. In January 2005 Rubins signed a four-year contract with Spartak Moscow, who were then managed by Latvian manager

Aleksandrs Starkovs Aleksandrs Starkovs (born 26 July 1955) is a Latvian football coach and a former player. Most recently he coached FK Liepāja. Starkovs has managed clubs such as Spartak Moscow in Russia, FK Baku in Azerbaijan and Skonto FC in Latvia. He had ...

. After struggling to settle he made just five appearances, and the club sent him on loan back to Shinnik Yaroslavl in January 2006 for 12 months. In June 2007 he was linked with another loan move, this time with English

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

, but he eventually went on loan to the

Latvian Higher League Latvian Higher League or Virslīga 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. The full name of the league is O ...

club

FK Liepājas Metalurgs FK Liepājas Metalurgs ( lv, Futbola klubs "Liepājas metalurgs") was a Latvian football club in the city of Liepāja and playing in the Virslīga. They played at the Daugava Stadium (capacity 5,083). In 2005 Liepājas Metalurgs became the fi ...

on 27 July for six months. He was released by Metalurgs together with his international team-mate

Imants Bleidelis Imants Bleidelis (born 16 August 1975) is a Latvian former professional football midfielder. He made 106 appearances for the Latvia national team. Club career Born in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union, Bleidelis started his career at Skonto in ...

after half-season for unexplained reasons. Bleidelis retired from professional football then, but Rubins signed a contract with the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested ...

club

Inter Baku Shamakhi FK ( az, Şamaxı Futbol Klubu, ) is an Azerbaijani professional football club based in Shamakhi, that currently competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The club has won the Premier League title twice. History Early years (1997–2 ...

in August 2008. He spent two successful seasons there, becoming a vital starting eleven player for the club, scoring nine goals in 49 league games. Rubins also managed to become the champion of Azerbaijan in the 2009–10 with Inter. He started the 2010–11 season in another

club

FK Qarabağ FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place: ...

from

Aghdam Aghdam ( az, Ağdam) is a ghost town and the nominal capital of the Aghdam District of Azerbaijan. Founded in the 18th century, it was granted city status in 1828 and grew considerably during the Soviet period. Aghdam lies from Stepanakert at ...

, joining on a two-year contract on a free transfer. Andrejs suffered several injuries that caused limited game time and he only managed to appear in 12 league games and was released at the end of the season. In 2011, he was signed by Azerbaijan Premier League club

Simurq PFC Simurq PIK ( az, Simurq Peşəkar Idman Klubu) was an Azerbaijani football club based in Zaqatala, that competed in the Azerbaijan Premier League. History Early years (2005–2009) The club was founded in 2005 and participated in the Azerbaijan ...

. Rubins scored one goal in 18 matches for the club, and in July 2012 he was released. Struggling with a long-term hip injury, Rubins announced his retirement from professional football on 13 March 2013, saying: "If I cannot play for 100%, that's not worth it."

International career

Rubins made his international debut for the Latvia national team on 10 November 1998 in a friendly match 3–0 loss against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. With 117 international caps he is the second most capped player in the history of Latvian national team, 50 matches short of

Vitālijs Astafjevs Vitālijs Astafjevs (born 3 April 1971) is a Latvian former professional football midfielder, and current assistant manager of Aris Limassol having previously held the role for the Latvia national team. Astafjevs won nine Latvian championshi ...

. Rubins also participated at the

EURO 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

in Portugal.

Coaching career

After his retirement Rubins started coaching children and youngsters in

Ikšķile Ikšķile (; german: Uexküll; liv, Ikškilā; et, Üksküla; also known as ''Üxküll'') is a town in Latvia, in Ogre Municipality. It was the first capital of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by the German name of Üxküll ...

. Prior to the 2014

Latvian First League The Latvian First League ( lv, Latvijas Pirmā līga, 1. līga) is the second tier of football in Latvia and is organised by the Latvian Football Federation. History The league was founded together with other Latvian football competitions in 1 ...

season Rubins was appointed the assistant manager of

FK Ogre FK Ogre is a Latvian football club. They are based in the Latvian town of Ogre, Latvia. 2014-2017 played in the second-highest division of Latvian football (the Latvian First League) and the Latvian Football Cup The Latvian Football Cup () is th ...

. As of 2022 he was an assistant coach to

FK Spartaks Jūrmala FK Spartaks is a Latvian football club that is based in Sloka, Jūrmala. In 2012, they finished 3rd in the Latvian First League championship and after winning the play-offs against JFK Olimps were promoted to the Latvian Higher League. The club ...

Death

Rubins died on 1 August 2022, the

Latvian Football Federation The Latvian Football Federation (LFF) ( lv, Latvijas Futbola federācija) is the governing body of football in Latvia with its headquarters located in the capital Rimi Sports Centre in Riga. Its activities include the organizing of the Latvian ...

announced his death on 3 August.

Career statistics

Honours

Skonto *

Virslīga Latvian Higher League or Virslīga 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. The full name of the league is O ...

: 1998, 1999, 2000 *

: 1998, 2000; runners-up 1999 Spartak Moscow *

runners-up:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

Liepājas Metalurgs *

runners-up:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Baltic League The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinav ...

Inter Baku *

2009–10; runners-up 2008–09 Latvia * Baltic Cup:

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

References

External links

* *
Andrejs Rubins
at Latvian Football Federation {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubins, Andrejs 1978 births 2022 deaths Latvian people of Russian descent Footballers from Riga Latvian footballers Association football midfielders Latvia international footballers FIFA Century Club Allsvenskan players English Football League players Russian Premier League players Azerbaijan Premier League players Östers IF players FC Spartak Moscow players FC Shinnik Yaroslavl players Crystal Palace F.C. players UEFA Euro 2004 players Skonto FC players Latvian Higher League players FK Liepājas Metalurgs players Shamakhi FK players Qarabağ FK players Simurq PIK players Latvian expatriate footballers Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Russia Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan Latvian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Latvian football managers

Club career

International career

Coaching career

Death

Career statistics

Honours

See also

References

External links