Verpakovskis seeks Spanish success
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Article summary
Latvia's Maris Verpakovskis hopes a Spanish loan spell can reignite his career, telling uefa.com: "I don't want to live on memories – I want to play and score again."
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Ambitious forward
The 28-year-old is without doubt the best of Latvia's players. Blessed with pace and wonderful dribbling ability, the hero of the 2004 qualifying play-off defeat of Turkey is capable of creating goals from nothing, and Latvian fans expect a lot of the 71-times capped international – though not perhaps as much as the player expects of himself. He told uefa.com: "I've scored 23 goals at international level and hope to raise that number to 30 soon. In the last three qualifying campaigns for major tournaments I always managed to score at least five goals. I will do my best to at least maintain this kind of goalscoring form."
'Nothing is impossible'
The former SK Liepājas Metalurgs player is hoping Latvia can kick off their Group 2 campaign with good results away against Moldova and at home against Greece on 6 and 10 September, saying: "It's very important to start well. Latvia have a lot of potential. The young players have a good motivation, while the veterans want to repeat their Portugal's experience of four years ago. Nothing is impossible under Starkovs. Obviously, we are not in a group of death, so everything depends on us."
Dynamo despair
Two injury-ravaged seasons at FC Dynamo Kyiv have seen Verpakovskis lose some of his lustre. "I'm far from the kind of form I was in at EURO 2004™, but that's because of the injuries," he admitted. "I don't want to live on my memories. I want to play and score again." To that end, a one-year loan move to Spanish second division side RC Celta de Vigo is a big lift. "I'm very happy with the move to Celta, as I understand that I don't fit into Dynamo's plans," he said. "I don't want to sit on the bench. It's very important to play regularly."
Spanish experience
Loaned to Getafe CF, as well as HNK Hajduk Split, in recent seasons, Verpakovskis knows what to expect in Spain. "I know the language and I know the country, so shouldn't have any problems with adapting," he said. If he can find his goalscoring feet again in Spain, the whole of Latvia will have something to cheer.
