Koļinko named Latvia's finest

FC Baltika Kaliningrad goalkeeper Aleksandrs Koļinko has been named as Latvia's player of the year, with FK Ventspils boss Jurģis Pučinskas picking up the award for best coach for a second time in a row.

Koļinko came first in the annual poll, conducted by the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) and voted for by players, coaches, officials and media representatives. The 39-year-old finished above club-mate Artūrs Zjuzins and FK Liepāja's Jānis Ikaunieks thanks to his excellent performances in the second half of the season, when he replaced injured Andris Vaņins in goal for the national team.

"I'm obviously very pleased to win this prize for the second time," Koļinko told UEFA.com. "I'm not that young anymore so it is not the prizes I am thinking about these days but being healthy enough to train the next day. But being serious, I want to thank those who found me worthy of this honour. I also thank my team-mates, becasue you cannot win anything alone in football. Success comes when the whole team is united."

Ikaunieks, who scored 23 goals in the Latvian top flight and recently won his first cap at 19, was voted the league's best midfielder and best player. Ventspils' Jurģis Pučinskas took the coaching award while while the remainder of the Latvian First Division awards went to Kaspars Ikstens (best goalkeeper), Kaspars Dubra (best defender) and Vladislavs Gutkovskis (best forward).