Gatis Kalniņš

Gatis Kalniņš (born 12 August 1981) is a Latvian football striker, currently playing for FK Valmiera in the Latvian Higher League.

Gatis Kalniņš
Personal information
Full name Gatis Kalniņš
Date of birth (1981-08-12) 12 August 1981
Place of birth Valmiera, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Republic of Latvia)
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 FK Valmiera
Number 19
Youth career
FK Valmiera
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 FK Valmiera 4 (0)
2002–2008 Skonto Rīga 141 (58)
2009 FK Auda 2 (0)
2009 FK Jūrmala-VV 8 (3)
2009–2010 Othellos Athienou 6 (0)
2010–2011 FK Jūrmala-VV 39 (10)
2011–2012 FK Jelgava 11 (1)
2012–2017 FS METTA/Latvijas Universitāte 101 (17)
2018– FK Valmiera
National team‡
2004–2007 Latvia 19 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 October 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 October 2013

Club career

As a youth player Gatis Kalniņš played for his local club FK Valmiera, being taken to the first team in 2000. He played there for 2 years, playing 29 matches and scoring 10 goals. In 2002, he was signed by Skonto Riga. He played there until 2008 - played 141 matches and scored 58 league goals over 7 seasons. In July 2008 he went on trial with the Championship side Burnley, but didn't stay with the team.[1] In 2008 Kalniņš was released from Skonto and he signed a contract with Jūrmala-VV for the upcoming season. After scoring 3 goals in the first 8 matches he decided to leave and went abroad, signing a contract in Cyprus with Othellos Athienou from the Cypriot Second Division. He managed to play only six matches there, scoring no goals due to his long-term injuries. He was released after the season. In 2010, he came back to Latvia, signing for Jūrmala-VV once again. He played there for the next two seasons. Scoring 10 goals in 39 league games he became the team's top scorer for the both of them. In March 2011 Kalniņš went on trial with the Finnish team Inter Turku, but didn't sign a contract then.[2] In July 2011 he moved to FK Jelgava, as the team from Jūrmala was financially struggling. In his first season with Jelgava, Kalniņš scored 1 goal in 11 league matches. Before the start of the 2012 season Gatis joined the Latvian Higher League newcomers FS METTA/Latvijas Universitāte.[3] On 17 November 2013 Kalniņš scored a hat-trick in the promotion/relegation play-offs and helped his team retain a place in the Latvian Higher League, with a 5–2 victory over FB Gulbene on aggregate.[4] After the 2013 season he was named FS METTA/Latvijas Universitāte player of the season.[5]

International career

Kalniņš has had 19 appearances for the Latvia national football team and he has scored 1 goal. He made his debut in February 2004 in a friendly match against Hungary. He scored his first and since then only international goal in 2005 against Oman.

Honours

Skonto Riga
  • Latvian champion
    • 2002, 2003, 2004
  • Latvian Cup winner
    • 2002

References
  1. http://sports.delfi.lv/news/football/news/gatis-kalnins-ieradies-uz-parbaudi-anglijas-kluba-burnley.d?id=21434969
  2. http://sportacentrs.com/futbols/legionari/08032011-gatis_kalnins_atradisies_turku_inter
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. http://sportacentrs.com/futbols/virsliga/17112013-kalninam_hat_trick_metta_lu_speles_virsli
  5. http://sportacentrs.com/futbols/virsliga/11122013-mettas_gada_futbolists_gatis_kalnins
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