Juris Laizāns (born 6 January 1979) is a Latvian former 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 lea ...
. A
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
, he spent a large part of his playing career abroad in Russia. He made 113 appearances for the
Latvia national team scoring 15 goals.
Club career
Born in
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, Laizāns started his career with
Skonto FC
Skonto FC was a Latvian professional Association football, 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 o ...
and moved to the Russian team
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
in 2000. His team managed to win the
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. After leaving CSKA Laizāns kept playing in Russia for
FC Torpedo Moscow
Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their colours are white and b ...
,
FC Rostov
FC Rostov () is a Russian professionalism in association football, professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club competes in the Russian Premier League, playing their home matches at the Rostov Arena.
History
Soviet era (1930-199 ...
,
FC Kuban Krasnodar and
FC Shinnik Yaroslavl. In 2009, he came back to Latvia, signing for
Olimps/RFS, later also playing for
FK Ventspils and participating in the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
group stages. Laizāns signed for Skonto FC at the start of 2010, but left the team soon - he joined the Russian team
FC Salyut Belgorod
FC Salyut Belgorod is a Russian association football club based in Belgorod. They play in the fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B.
History Naming history
The club was founded in 1960 and has been known as:
* ''Tsementnik'' (Cement Work ...
. At the end of the season he was released, and he returned to Skonto FC. Playing 14 matches and scoring two goals, he again left Riga, this time in July 2011 for
Fakel Voronezh, playing in the
Russian First League
The Russian First League (, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division () and Russian Football National League (FNL) () is the second level of the Football in Russia#League system, Russian football league system.
The Russian Professio ...
. After a season spent in Russia, Laizāns again joined Skonto on 30 August 2012. Laizāns played for Skonto till April 2014, afterwards ending his professional footballer's career.
International career
Laizāns played 113 international matches and scored 15 goals for
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. He debuted in 1998 and played in 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 football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...
. His last official international match was a friendly against
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
on 15 November 2013. As of 2014, Laizāns ranks third in the list of Latvia's most capped players internationally with 113 appearances. His 15 goals for the national team rank him fifth in the table of top scorers.
Post-playing career
After the end of his professional footballer's career on 11 April 2014, Laizāns accepted an offer from the
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...
club
FC Krasnodar
FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. They are the league's reigning champions.
The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Divis ...
to become a member of their scouting staff.
Career statistics
*1997 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(2/0)
*1998 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(26/1)
*1999 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(27/3)
*2000 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(26/6)
*2001 -
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
(26/0)
*2002 -
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
(26/3)
*2003 -
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
(21/1)
*2004 -
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
(4/0)
*2005 -
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
(3/1),
FC Torpedo Moscow
Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their colours are white and b ...
(9/1)
*2006 -
FC Rostov
FC Rostov () is a Russian professionalism in association football, professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club competes in the Russian Premier League, playing their home matches at the Rostov Arena.
History
Soviet era (1930-199 ...
(21/1)
*2007 -
FC Kuban Krasnodar (24/4)
*2008 -
Shinnik Yaroslavl (24/1)
*2009 -
Olimps/RFS (10/0)
*2009 -
FK Ventspils (6/1)
*2010 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(12/1)
*2010 -
FC Salyut Belgorod
FC Salyut Belgorod is a Russian association football club based in Belgorod. They play in the fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B.
History Naming history
The club was founded in 1960 and has been known as:
* ''Tsementnik'' (Cement Work ...
(13/1)
*2011 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(14/2)
*2011/12 -
FC Fakel Voronezh
FC Fakel Voronezh () is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Voronezh. Founded in 1947, the club has played in the Soviet Top League and the Russian Premier League. The club will return to the Russian First League i ...
(17/3)
*2012 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(6/0)
*2013 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(25/3)
*2014 -
Skonto Riga
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 (15 in total), and often provided the cor ...
(1/0)
Honours
Club
*Champion of Latvia: 1998, 1999, 2000
*Champion of Russia: 2003, 2005
*
Russian Cup: 2002, 2005
*
Russian Super Cup
The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football (soccer), football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Rambler Russian ...
: 2004
*
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: 2005
*
Triobet 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 Scandinavi ...
: 2011
*
Baltic Cup:
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
,
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
Individual
*
Latvian Footballer of the Year
Latvian Footballer of the Year is an association football award for Latvia. It is held by the Latvian Football Federation. Since 2005, there has also been an award for the top female player.
Women's winners
Men's winners
See also
*List ...
: 2002
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
In association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official appearance for their national team. This article lists all men's football players who have played in 100 or more official internat ...
References
External links
Voetbal InternationalLatvian Football Federation(in Latvian)
Guardian's Stats Centre*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laizans, Juris
1979 births
Living people
Footballers from Riga
Latvian men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Latvian expatriate men's footballers
Latvia men's international footballers
Skonto FC players
Latvian Higher League players
Russian Premier League players
PFC CSKA Moscow players
UEFA Europa League–winning players
FC Torpedo Moscow players
FC Rostov players
FC Kuban Krasnodar players
FC Shinnik Yaroslavl players
UEFA Euro 2004 players
FIFA Men's Century Club
Expatriate men's footballers in Russia
Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
FC Salyut Belgorod players
FC Fakel Voronezh players
JFK Olimps players
FK Ventspils players