Eduards Višņakovs (born 10 May 1990) is a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

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 plays as a forward for

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 ...

side SK Super Nova.

Club career

Early 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 ...

, as a youth player Višņakovs played for his local club JFC Skonto till 2003, when he moved to Daugava Rīga. Being taken to the first team in 2008, Višņakovs scored 30 goals in 30 Latvian First League appearances, becoming the top scorer of the league and helping his team clinch an automatic promotion to the

. He was also named the league's best player in a ceremony on 22 December 2008.

FK Ventspils

Before the start of the

2009 Latvian Higher League Latvian Higher League 2009 ( lv, Virslīga) 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 champ ...

season Višņakovs refused to extend his contract with Daugava, joining that time Latvian champions

FK Ventspils FK Ventspils is a Latvian football club, based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils city and is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. The club played in the Latvian Virsliga since 1997. It was abolished in 2020, but ha ...

. Right after joining Višņakovs was given out on loan to the league's newcomers

FC Tranzit FC Tranzit was a Latvian football club that is based in Ventspils. Prior to 2010 it was known as FC Tranzīts.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 ...

in 2010,

and Latvian Cup in 2011. Višņakovs also participated in the

2009–10 UEFA Europa League The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years. Sp ...

group stages.

Shakhter Karagandy

In June 2012 Višņakovs moved to the

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, ''Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy''), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan ...

champions

Shakhter Karagandy Football Club Shakhter ( kk, "Шахтер" футбол клубы, Shakhter fýtbol klýby), commonly referred to as FC Shakhter Karagandy ( kk, Қарағанды/Qarağandı ;Russian: Караганда/Karaganda), is a professional footbal ...

. He scored his first league goal for the club on 9 July 2012 in a 5–1 victory over

FC Zhetysu Jetisu Taldykorgan ( kk, Жетісу Талдықорған футбол клубы, ''Jetisý Taldyqorǵan Fýtbol Klýby'') is a Kazakh professional football club based at the Zhetysu stadium in Taldykorgan. They are founding members of the K ...

. All in all, Višņakovs participated in 20 league matches, scoring 4 goals. He helped his team become the champions of Kazakhstan in 2012 and lift the Kazakhstan Super Cup in 2013.

Widzew Łódź

In July 2013 Višņakovs went on trial with the Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 ...

club Widzew Łódź and signed a one-year contract with them after a successful trial. He scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Zawisza Bydgoszcz on his debut for the club. In his second match for Widzew, Višņakovs yet again scored both goals, securing a 2–1 victory over

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce, , (Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish football club, which will compete in Ekstraklasa in the 2022–23 season. In the years 2002–08 the club b ...

. On 18 August 2013 Višņakovs scored the only goal in a 1-0

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa titl ...

1/16 finals victory over Ursus Warszawa. On 25 August 2013 Višņakovs scored his fifth goal of the season in a 1-3 loss against Śląsk Wrocław. He scored his sixth goal of the season on 6 October 2013 in a 4-1 victory over

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football club based in Gdańsk. The club was founded in 1945 by people expelled from Lwów, who were supporters of Poland's oldest football team Lechia Lwów, founded in 1903. The club's name comes from Lechia, a ...

. Višņakovs scored his seventh and eighth goal of the season, respectively, in a 3-1 loss to

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by local members of the ''Y ...

and a 2-1 victory over Pogoń Szczecin on 19 October and 2 November 2013. At the start of December 2013 Višņakovs extended his contract with Widzew till June 2016. All in all he scored 12 goals in 36 league matches that season and was reportedly close to a move to the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

, while Widzew were relegated from the Ekstraklasa.

2014 transfer saga

In December 2013 it was reported that Widzew had rejected an offer of 450,000 euros for Višņakovs from the Polish champions

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...

. Having been previously linked with a possible move to either FC St. Pauli,

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of thr ...

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bunde ...

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

, Višņakovs finally went on trial with 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 ...

club Torpedo Moscow in July 2014, the only team ready to pay the transfer fee requested by Widzew. Višņakovs himself stated that his priority was the German Bundesliga but that

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. T ...

, who were also interested in the player, was an alternative.

Ruch Chorzów

On 28 August 2014 Višņakovs officially moved to the Polish Ekstraklasa club

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: fourteen-time national champions, and three-time winners of the Polish Cup. Currently the team play ...

, signing a three-year contract. He made his debut for Ruch on 31 August 2014 in a 3-3 draw against

, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal.

International career

Eduards Višņakovs has represented Latvia at U-19 and U-21 levels. He participated and scored a goal in the U-23 friendly match against

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

on 5 June 2013, helping his team secure a 2–0 victory. On 10 September 2013 the U-23 team beat

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

1-0, with Višņakovs scoring his second goal in two matches. Višņakovs was firstly called up to

Latvia national football team The Latvia national football team ( lv, Latvijas futbola izlase) represents Latvia in international football and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the FI ...

for the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying matches against Lithuania and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

on 11 and 15 October 2013. He made his debut for the national team in the match against Lithuania, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute and replacing Māris Verpakovskis. A local scandal arose when Widzew refused to fulfill its previously given promise to 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 ...

and did not allow Višņakovs to join the national team for the Baltic Cup matches in May 2014. Resentment was expressed by the Latvian Football Federation and the player himself but Latvia, eventually, went on to win the tournament without the help of Višņakovs. In September 2014, prior to the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

, Višņakovs revealed that while he was playing for Shakhter Karagandy he was urged to take on Kazakhstani citizenship but despite not being on the radar of Latvia national team at the time, he had declined the offers stating that he would only play internationally for Latvia.

International stats

Honours

FK Daugava Rīga

* Latvijas Pirmā līga: 2008

FK Ventspils

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 ...

: 2011 * Latvian Cup:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

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 ...

: 2009–10

FC Shakhter Karagandy

* Kazakh Premier League:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Kazakhstan Super Cup:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Individual

* Latvijas Pirmā līga top scorer: 2008 (30 goals)

Personal life

His elder brother

Aleksejs Aleksejs is a Latvian-language Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the offici ...

is also a professional footballer. While Eduards was a part of

squad, they also played together. In 2013 they became the second pair of brothers to play for Widzew together after Lithuanians Artūras and

Igoris Steško Igoris Steško (born 25 March 1976) is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. His twin brother Artūras was also a footballer. Steško previously played for Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish foo ...

during the 2001-2002 season.

References

External links

*
Profile
at Soccerbase.com * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Visnakovs, Eduards 1990 births Living people Footballers from Riga Latvian people of Russian descent Latvian footballers Association football forwards Latvia youth international footballers Latvia under-21 international footballers Latvia international footballers Latvian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Belarus Expatriate footballers in Romania Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Belgian First Division A players Ekstraklasa players I liga players II liga players III liga players FC Tranzīts players FK Ventspils players FC Shakhter Karagandy players Widzew Łódź players Ruch Chorzów players K.V.C. Westerlo players FK RFS players FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk players FK Spartaks Jūrmala players CSM Reșița players MKP Pogoń Siedlce players