Starkovs picking up the pieces

Throughout EURO 2004™ qualifying campaign, Latvia will hope to recapture their form from four years previously, before their disastrous display in the qualifying matches prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan.

High-profile performances
The EURO 2000™ campaign was one of the most successful for Latvia with several players earning themselves high-profile moves at club level through their performances for the national team in that period. Under Georgian coach Revaz Dzodzuashvili, Latvia got their challenge off to a flying start in September 1998, pulling off perhaps the biggest upset of the whole qualification campaign, when they got away with a 3-1 win against Norway. Marians Pahars, Andrejs Stolcers and Mihails Zemlinskis grabbed a goal each as the side recorded a memorable victory.

Dzodzuashvili: 'class has grown'
A month later, Dzodzuashvili's men followed up that success by overcoming Georgia by a solitary Stolcers goal in Riga. Afterwards Dzodzuashvili said: "The class of our team has visibly grown, and now our task is to keep the confidence and stamina for the coming games." However, the winning streak ended with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Slovenia in Maribor, but Latvia stayed top of the group and kept up the pace with a goalless draw against Greece the following March.

Pahars sidelined
But with Pahars missing through injury, Latvia stumbled to another stalemate against Albania and squared up against Slovenia again in what was to be a face-off for the top spot. Pahars returned to score the opener for Latvia, but Zlatko Zahovic responded with a brace to win the crucial encounter for Slovenia.

Shock decision
Confidence was restored with a stunning 2-1 victory in Greece, teenager Maris Verpakovskis marking his international debut with a spectacular goal and Zemlinskis adding an injury-time winner. But then, in the middle of this strong run, the Latvia Football Federation (LFF) made a bizarre decision. British coach Gary Johnson, a man without much coaching experience at any level was put in charge as Dzodzuashvili stepped down. Switching coaches in the middle of the first successful campaign turned out to be a disaster.

Chance blown
Latvians lost their last real chances of qualifying after only managing a 3-3 draw with Albania, then only a last-ditch goal by Igors Stepanovs saved Latvia a point in a 2-2 draw against Georgia. A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Norway in the last set of matches seemed to point towards the fact that under Johnson, Latvia were a different proposition.

From bad to worse
Things went from bad to worse for the British coach. After the Euro campaign turned sour, the World Cup campaign was a nightmare. Ironically, Latvia still finished fourth in the group, but the difference is that they were two points behind Greece in 1999, and an alarming 11 points behind Scotland in 2001. Latvia suffered throughout the campaign, as Johnson tried various tactical moves that failed to change the overall picture. The press cried for Johnson to be immediately dismissed, but the national association had faith, and kept on watching the defeats.

Back-to-back thrashings
Latvia dominated their opening game against Scotland but fell to a solitary goal just minutes from full time. Then back-to-back thrashings dealt out by Belgium and Croatia were barely sweetened by a pathetic 1-0 win over San Marino. The worst was still to come: a humiliating 1-1 draw with San Marino in the return fixture, which let the football minnows to earn the first away point in their history. Johnson was finally sacked, and Skonto Riga head coach Aleksandrs Starkovs agreed to take over. Many were hoping he would be able to turn the situation around. It did not happen, as Latvia lost 3-1 to Belgium, 1-0 at the hands of Croatia and 2-1 to Scotland.

Progress under Starkovs
Nevertheless, the last games under Starkovs showed some progress in terms of performances, as the Latvians looked a more competitive and tactically smart team than under Johnson. Starkovs will aim to banish memories of the World Cup campaign and take Latvia to a new level in the EURO 2004™ qualifiers. The tradition of doing well in European competition is there, after all.