Happy memories haunt Latvia

By Mihail Korolev

In 2004, Latvia experienced the greatest moment of their footballing history as Aleksandrs Starkovs' side sensationally beat FIFA World Cup bronze-medallists Turkey to claim a place at the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™. For a small nation without many recognisable stars, it was a phenomenal achievement.

No disgrace
And while they did not win any games in Portugal, they were not disgraced. They were leading thanks to Maris Verpakovskis' goal against the Czech Republic in their first game only to lose 2-1 before earning a superb 0-0 draw against Germany and losing their final game against the Netherlands 3-0.

National excitement
Even 12 months on, there is still a sense of disbelief in the Baltic nation as people reflect on the team's achievement. It does not take much to steer locals' conversation on to their memories of watching EURO 2004™, but there is little expectation that the national team will pull off any similar feats in the future.

New coach
With the departure of Starkovs for a new role as coach of FC Spartak Moskva, Latvia are now in the process of rebuilding. In fourth place in FIFA World Cup qualifying Group 3, behind Portugal, Slovakia and Russia, the team are no longer finding results easier to come by.

Unsettled side
While coach Jurijs Andrejevs still needs time to settle his squad as he searches for new players to replace the spine of an ageing team, Latvia have found that they are now regarded with great caution by their opponents. The days when they could surprise the likes of Sweden and Turkey seem to be long gone.

Early defeats
As a result, it did not take long for the post-EURO 2004™ euphoria to wear off. Defeats against Portugal and Slovakia early in the campaign reminded Latvians that their national team were still minnows - a point that was underlined as they could only manage a 1-0 win at home against Liechtenstein on 8 June.

Small pool
Thus it has been a time for reflection in Latvian football as the national team face the reality that any successes they have in the present or the future will have to be battled for and that, with a relatively small pool of players, the odds when playing larger nations will always be stacked against them.

Football focus
The success of the national team increased the country's focus on football in a nation where winter sports had previously dominated. The hope was that the success of Starkovs' men in Portugal would have a knock-on effect on the popularity of the Latvian Virsliga, but this has not been entirely true.

League affairs
At the start of the current season, fans were certainly expecting a tighter competition than usual and for a while it seemed that perennial champions Skonto FC would face challenges from four or five different clubs as they looked to take their 14th successive title.

Venta disaster
Newly-promoted FK Venta were touted as their main challengers. Having earned their place in the top flight, new owners signed a number of major players including former Arsenal FC star Oleh Luzhny, only to run out of money within a few games prompting a mass exodus from the club.

Intrigue still
It was a reminder perhaps that, despite EURO 2004™, domestic football in Latvia was still not ready to sustain that level of investment. Latvians are getting used to such harsh lessons. The only hope is that they can learn from them in the future and maybe reach the heights of summer 2004 again.