FK Metta (also called FK Metta/Latvijas Universitāte from 2007 till the end of 2018 season) is a professional Latvian football club in Riga. As of 2012 they play in the Latvian Higher League. Metta play their home games at Daugava Stadium. Until June 2018, their home venue was the Riga Hanza Secondary School Stadium.[1]
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| Full name | Futbola Klubs METTA (Football Club METTA) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2 May 2006 | ||
| Ground | Daugava Stadium, Riga | ||
| Capacity | 10,461 | ||
| Chairman | Ģirts Mihelsons | ||
| Manager | Andris Riherts | ||
| League | Virslīga | ||
| 2023 | Virslīga, 9th of 10 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History edit
FS Metta was officially founded on May 2, 2006, though the club had been active in youth tournaments since 2000. In 2007 FS Metta and University of Latvia (Latvijas Universitāte) merged as a senior professional team and participated in the Latvian Championship first division (Traffic 1. līga). They finished the season in the fourth position. The club remained at the same level for the next four seasons. Though a professional club, Metta retained the prefix FS (Futbola Skola), since their policy was to invest in youth players. In 2011 Metta won the Latvian First League championship and were automatically promoted to the Latvian Higher League – the top tier of Latvian football.[2]
The affiliation with the university provides the club with a greater financial backing and the players with the opportunity, if wanted, to study at the most prestigious Latvian University. The club was created with the aim to gather the greatest youth talents from across the country and surrounding areas to build and shape them into expensive players for sale to bigger clubs.[3]
In 2020 FK Metta were the youngest top-tier team in Europe.[4] At the end of the season, the team's average age was 19,5.[5]
In September 2020, FK Metta forward Raimonds Krollis made his debut for the Latvia national football team.[6] He became the first-ever player that has gone through the whole FK Metta academy and played for the Senior national team.
Patron of the University of Latvia edit
Football school "Metta" is a silver patron of the University of Latvia Foundation. They have supported the University of Latvia since 2016, donating to the football system and scholarships.[7]
Participation in Latvian Championships edit
| Season | Division (Name) | Pos./Teams | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Latvian Football Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2nd (1.līga) | 4/(16) | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 67 | 23 | 61 | 1/8 finals |
| 2008 | 2nd (1.līga) | 5/(15) | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 43 | 27 | 48 | 1/8 finals |
| 2009 | 2nd (1.līga) | 6/(14) | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 47 | 19 | 45 | Not Held |
| 2010 | 2nd (1.līga) | 5/(12) | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 42 | 25 | 36 | 1/8 finals |
| 2011 | 2nd (1.līga) | 1/(13) | 24 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 61 | 14 | 56 | 1/8 finals |
| 2012 | 1st (Virslīga) | 8(10) | 36 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 39 | 82 | 29 | 1/8 finals |
| 2013 | 1st (Virslīga) | 9(10) | 27 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 47 | 19 | 1/16 finals |
| 2014 | 1st (Virslīga) | 9(10) | 36 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 26 | 69 | 16 | 1/16 finals |
| 2015 | 1st (Virslīga) | 7(8) | 24 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 19 | 56 | 12 | 1/4 finals |
| 2016 | 1st (Virslīga) | 7(8) | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 32 | 47 | 30 | 1/4 finals |
| 2017 | 1st (Virslīga) | 7(8) | 24 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 46 | 15 | 1/4 finals |
| 2018 | 1st (Virslīga) | 7(8) | 28 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 24 | 52 | 19 | 1/2 finals |
| 2019 | 1st (Virslīga) | 9(9) | 32 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 35 | 60 | 26 | 1/8 finals |
| 2020 | 1st (Virslīga) | 9(10) | 27 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 22 | 55 | 16 | 1/8 finals |
Honours edit
- Latvian First League champions (1)
- 2011
Managers edit
Andris Riherts (02.05.2006 – 09.06.2021)- Andrejs Gluščuks (11.06.2021 – present)
Current players edit
First-team squad edit
As of 9 April, 2023 [8] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Player of the year edit
| Season | Player |
|---|---|
| 2006 |  Jānis Kauss
|
| 2007 | Vladimirs Cīmanis
|
| 2008 | Ivars Gailis
|
| 2009 | Marsels Vapne
|
| 2010 | Juris Skābardis
|
| 2011 | Rūdolfs Puķītis
|
| 2012 | Mārtiņš Milašēvičs
|
| 2013 | Gatis Kalniņš
|
| 2014 | Edgars Vardanjans
|
| 2015 | Eduards Emsis
|
| 2016 | Roberts Uldriķis
|
| 2017 | Dāvis Indrāns
|
| 2019 | Dāvis Ošs
|
| 2019 |  Kgotso Masangane
|
| 2020 | Raimonds Krollis
|
| 2021 | Lūkass Vapne
|
| 2022 | Jānis Beks
|
Club officials edit
Board of directors edit
- General secretary: Ģirts Mihelsons
- Executive Director: Maira Mihelsone
Coaching staff edit
- Manager: Andris Riherts
- Coach: Kristaps Niemans
- Coach: Jurģis Rosenbergs
- Fitness Coach: Filips Grojsmans
- Second team coach: Aleksejs Berezins
- Goalkeeping Coach: Vsevolods Popkovs
Medical staff edit
- Physiotherapist: Rajmonds Hegels
- Physiotherapist: Aleksandrs Volodins
Staff edit
- Press Officer: Māris Gerhards
- PR manager: Vladimirs Morozovs
- Technical manager: Ivans Rebrovs
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers edit
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 |  Nike
|
Deac
|
| 2008 | Elko
| |
| 2009 | Deac
| |
| 2010 | ||
| 2011 | ||
| 2012 | SMScredit.lv
| |
| 2013 | ||
| 2014 | none | |
| 2015 | ||
| 2016 | ||
| 2017 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2019 | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 |
References edit
- ^ "Oficiāli: "Metta"/LU no skolas laukuma pārcelsies uz "Daugavas" stadionu". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- ^ "Metta" uzvar 1. līgā un nākamgad spēlēs Virslīgā Archived 2012-12-05 at the Wayback Machine (Latvian)
- ^ Komanda Archived 2016-07-27 at the Wayback Machine (Latvian)
- ^ "FK Metta - the youngest team in European football highest leagues". 25 July 2020.
- ^ "Sezonas apskats - Andris Riherts: Paši sevi nolikām uz izkrišanas sliekšņa, kas nebija patīkami.". 6 December 2020.
- ^ "Atskats METTAs vēsturē: Zīmīgākie notikumi septembrī". 9 September 2020.
- ^ "Futbola skola "METTA"".
- ^ "Players".
- ^ FS Metta Squad 2023
External links edit
- (in Latvian) Official website
- (in Latvian) FS Metta University of Latvia
- (in Latvian and English) Official Latvian Football Federation website