Valmiera searching for new coach
Tuesday 5 February 2002
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FK Valmiera are looking for a new coach after Vladimirs Serbins left because of the "catastrophic" state of the Latvian club's financial affairs.
'Team is non-existent'
Valmiera chairman Imants Saulitis acknowledged the club's economic troubles and said there was a possibility they would have to quit the Latvian first division. "There is a 90 per cent chance that we will leave the Virsliga," Saulitis said.
'Out of contract'
"The team is literally non-existent at the moment. All the players are out of contract and we cannot re-sign them. I know the Latvia Football Federation [LFF] would not like us to stop playing, but we cannot change anything for the better anymore. It seems that we can only afford to play in the second division."
Coach has had enough
Serbins, who guided the team to a sixth-placed finish in 2001, said he would not give up coaching and added he was searching for a "better option". Valmiera’s possible bankruptcy and the implications behind it could possibly endanger Latvian clubs’ participation in European competition as the Virsliga would be left with just seven teams.
Confident for future
The LFF was concerned about Valmiera's financial trouble last year, but general secretary Janis Mezeckis is now confident there will be a full top flight before the 2002 season starts. "We will have eight teams in the Latvian championship next season, there is no doubt about that," he said.
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