Episodes
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Virsliga season 2024 is over and what a ride it's been! RFS won the League and the Cup, Valmiera almost ceased to exist, and Daugavpils made a legitimate run for Europe! We sit down to review the ups and the downs, to reflect on our start-of-season predictions and review how our 'players to watch' did, to award our season awards, and to ponder on what to look forward to next year!
(00:02:05) End-of-season table review
(00:19:25) Reflecting on our start-of-season predictions
(00:25:44) How did our 'Players to Watch' do?
(00:41:50) End-of-season awards: Best XI, MVP, U21 MVP, Biggest Flop and Biggest surprise!
(00:51:23) What we expect of next season and will Grobina survive?
(00:56:36) Some news
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We sit down with one of the Metta Academy coaches - James Prieditis, former coach at Huddersfield, Rochdale and Burnley - to talk about Latvian football, youth development, things to consider when picking an academy for your child, and about his extraordinary connection with Latvia.*please note that the original interview was about twice longer, but we lost half the footage due to a technical glitch :(Would you like to look as slick as James? Our friends at Manscaped have you covered with a range of new and existing products, ranging from the known and loved Lawn Mover 5.0 Ultra, to the recent Beard Hedger to the newest Scalp Buffer - a silicone pad designed to exfoliate the scalp, stimulate blood flow, and enhance shampoo performance for a cleaner, healthier head of hair. To get this, or any other manly grooming gear of theirs, go to manscaped.com and use our code LFP20 for 20% off plus free shipping!Also, we highly recommend the Bradt Travel Guide to Latvia by Paul Brummel! It is a legitimately excellent guide (even approved by Dmitrijs, wow!) that will make your visit to Latvia much, much more special and enjoyable! OR, if you are already here, will definitely help discover, rediscover or see places around our beautiful land in new light - yes, it's THAT extensive! Bradt offer our listeners a sweet deal with a LATVIA30 promo code!
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Missing episodes?
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Matchday 3 of Europa League 2024/2025 is here and RFS are heading out to Germany, to play one of the most formidable teams on their fixture list - Eintracht Frankfurt. A club with 125 year history and a 58000 capacity stadium, which is expected to be sold out, is a proper powerhouse of European football. To learn more about them, their style of play, and their famous fans, we are joined by Oliver Schliegl, a football agent and former CEO of Latvian Virsliga, to share his unique experience of being a bridge between Latvian and German football.
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With only four rounds to go, there is no shortage of drama and excitement remaining in Virsliga 2024! Whether it is last minute coach changes at Riga FC, seemingly unbeatable RFS, emergent Metta and resurgent Liepaja, failing Valmiera or Grobina in a free-fall, the conclusion of this season is promising to be emotional!
(02:50) Riga rumours and Simo Valakari departure
(09:45) The Latvian Cup - all that happened, scores and misfortunes
(14:00) The cup curses - PPK and Grobina
(20:55) Do Daugavpils have a shot at Europe?
(21:25) Virsliga table, form and teams observations
(23:45) Grobina league woes
(25:11) Latvia win Euro UNITY Cup!
(25:45) Our Virsliga predictions
(33:22) RFS Women win the Latvian Cup!
(34:06) Europa league: RFS vs Galatasaray
One of the most unique games of Europa league is going to be against Ajax in Riga on the 23rd January 2025, which means that it's time to start growing a nice and thick beard in order to keep your face from freezing off during the match. To help you with this, and with your other grooming needs, our friends at manscaped.com developed a whole range of products, including The Beard Hedger - a specialist shaver for your face - and the latest Scalp Buffer - a silicone pad specifically engineered to improve blood circulation on and in your dome. Whether you are as hairy as Herdi Prenga or as shiny as Viktors Morozs, scalp buffer will make you feel fantastic and look your best. To get 20% off any order at manscaped.com + free shipping, use our promo code LFP20.
For a chance to win a EUR100+ shaver (The Lawn Mover 5.0), share what you feel was the closest shave of this season thus far on any of our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok)!
Also, we highly recommend the Bradt Travel Guide to Latvia by Paul Brummel! It is a legitimately excellent guide (even approved by Dmitrijs, wow!) that will make your visit to Latvia much, much more special and enjoyable! Bradt offer our listeners a sweet deal with a LATVIA30 promo code!
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Europa league is underway and one of the largest clubs in the world is about to visit Riga for RFS’s first home fixture at the almost fully sold out Daugava stadium. We are, of course, talking about Turkish Galatasaray! To learn about what we could expect from visiting supporters, as well as to catch up on how Galatasaray currently play, their strengths and weaknesses, Frank sat down with Ahmet Atasoy of the Tottiler Messiler podcast (@messiler)!
Our friends at Manscaped have a range of new products available, including the all new Scalp Buffer - a silicone scalp scrubbed that feels incredible and is very good for your hair and scalp. Remember the heavenly sensation first time someone used those wire head massagers on you? Scalp Buffer makes you feel this way every time you wash your hair, regardless of whether you have the hair of David Beckham in the early 2000s or of Viktors Morozs as he is trying to figure out his starting 11 for Galatasaray. Get 20% off and free shipping with our promo code: LFP20
Don't forget that one of the key games of Europa leagues is going to be against Ajax in Riga on the 23rd January 2025, meaning that it's time to start growing a nice and thick beard to keep your face warm during the match. To help you with this, our friends at manscaped.com developed The Beard Hedger - a specialist shaver for your face bush. To get 20% off any order at manscaped.com and for free shipping, use our promo code LFP20.
For a chance to win a EUR100+ shaver (The Lawn Mover 5.0), share what you feel was the closest shave of this season thus far on any of our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok)!
Also, we highly recommend the Bradt Travel Guide to Latvia by Paul Brummel! It is a legitimately excellent guide (approved by Dmitrijs!) that will make your visit to Latvia much, much more special and enjoyable!
Bradt offer our listeners a sweet deal with a LATVIA30 promo code!
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RFS, Auda, Riga FC and Liepaja delivered a long and generally very successful qualification campaign in Europe, culminating with RFS making history by qualifying for the Europa League league stage, where they will face Galatasaray, Anderlecht, PAOK, Ajax, FCSB, Eintracht Frankfurt and Maccabi Tel-Aviv!
But with all this excitement, we feel that Virsliga got a bit neglected, so, in this episode, we catch up on what's been going on during the summer!
(00:00) Table update
(19:57) Niang to USG!
(22:26) Big Riga Derby 3
(23:35) Can Riga FC catch up?
(27:57) Nations league C debut
(33:24) Europa league in Riga
One of the key games of Europa leagues is going to be against Ajax in Riga on the 23rd January 2025, meaning that it's time to start growing a nice and thick beard to keep your face warm during the match. To help you with this, our friends at manscaped.com developed The Beard Hedger - a specialist shaver for your face bush. To get 20% off any order at manscaped.com and for free shipping, use our promo code LFP20.
For a chance to win a EUR100+ shaver (The Lawn Mover 5.0), share what you feel was the closest shave of this season thus far on any of our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok)!
Also, we highly recommend the Bradt Travel Guide to Latvia by Paul Brummel! It is a legitimately excellent guide (approved by Dmitrijs!) that will make your visit to Latvia much, much more special and enjoyable! Bradt offer our listeners a sweet deal with a LATVIA30 promo code!
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And then there was one! With Auda unable to hold on to their first leg advantage against FC Drita from Kosovo and losing 3-2 in the second leg away, it is now up to RFS to represent Latvia in Europe! And they will whatever the outcome of the final qualification round but, having already qualified for the Conference League, wouldn't it be nice to up the ante and take it all the way to the Europa League?
With only the Cypriot champions APOEL in the way, we are joined by Stel from the This is Mappa podcast to learn more about what this club is all about!
While this game was nowhere near a close shave, you can ensure that you are well groomed with new products from our friends at MANSCAPED! They have a new Beard Trimmer, which will leave you looking gorgeous and very manly indeed. Get your hands on one and show the love for our work by going to manscaped.com and using promo code LFP20 for 20% off plus free shipping!
Did you get inspired by the romance of Latvian football and the beautiful sights in the background of LNK Sporta Parks? If so and you'd like to visit Latvia to enjoy the beautiful game and enjoy our beautiful country, make sure to get your hands on a proper guide (and not those knock-off touristy ones that highlights generic things ChatGPT can). And we've got just the one for you - the Bradt Travel guide to Latvia! Not only is it legitimately impressive, Bradt are also giving our listeners a great deal with the promo code LATVIA30 !
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We continue to reflect on how Latvian clubs performed in the European competitions, where three Riga teams played against clubs from Norway, Poland, and Northern Ireland: Bodo/Glimt, Śląsk Wrocław, and Cliftonville. One game won, one game lost, and one game broke our hearts...
We then look ahead to the upcoming Europa league QR3 match between FC RFS and Andorran champions UE Santa Coloma, and Frank interviews Eljon Kastrati of Kosovo Football (@FootballKosovo) about FK Auda's Conference League QR3 opponents - FC Drita (which means "light" in Albanian).
Please remember to share your thoughts and predictions, like the podcast and join in the conversation in the comments!
Finally, our friends at MANSCAPED came up with a solution for all of you, like Dmitrijs, with a manly bush adorning their faces! The days of using the same trimmer for your face and your private parts are officially over thanks to the Beard & Balls Bundle featuring The Lawn Mower® 5.0 and The Beard Hedger®— a trimmer for the money maker, and another for the boys downstairs. Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LFP20 at manscaped.com. For the premium grooming experience and to show your love for our podcast, trust MANSCAPED.
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European cup qualification rounds 1 are behind us and the highlight is RFS breaking the 15-year long curse of Latvian clubs not progressing past QR1 of the Champions League by convincingly beating Northern Irish Champions Larne FC 7-0 on aggregate! FK Auda also made history by winning their first ever European game and by progressing through a European qualification round for the first time, beating Faroese B36 Torshavn 3-0 on aggregate. Liepaja didn't make it (unsurprisingly) and Riga FC only start their Conference League campaign from QR2.
In this episode, we are first joined by Peter Cinnamond of the Kicking Match: An Irish League Podcast to reflect on RFS - Larne FC tie as well as to learn more about Auda's QR2 opponents - Northern Irish Cup winners Cliftonville FC. We are then joined by a Norwegian sports journalist - Jonas Adnan Giæver - to learn more about RFS's Champions League QR2 opponents - FK Bodø/Glimt.
MANSCAPED.COM know that our listeners are some of the most attractive human beings out there and they want to help bring all this beauty out from underneath a nordic layer of winter wool. In order to help with this, they are willing to give you 20% off on your order with manscaped.com + free shipping when you use promo code LFP20. Help the podcast and help yourself to look neat and fresh with their genuinely very impressive range of products. Franks likes the shaver and Dmitrijs is really impressed with the boxers and the care products!
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Champions of Northern Ireland - Larne FC - have been drawn as Champions League Qualification Round 1 opponents of Latvian Champions FC RFS. But who are this red and white team from just north of Belfast and what are they all about?We are joined by Brian Haveron, a Larne FC supporter of more than 50 years, to introduce us to his club, it's history, and it's role in the local community of just under 20000 residents.For a more analytical approach, check out this analysis by our friend at Latvian Footy in English: https://latvianfooty.substack.com/p/larne-fc-from-lower-league-struggles#championsleague #northernireland #latvia #larnefc #larne #rfs #latvianfootball #football #soccer #nifl #virsliga2024 #teammanscaped With summer being in full swing, make sure to hook yourself (or your very best friend) up with some amazing gear from our friends at manscaped.com. Promo code LFP20 will not only get you 20% off your purchase and free shipping, but will also show appreciation for the podcast and for the work that we do! Make this summer your best one yet with MANSCAPED!
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Baltic Cup - contested every two years by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - is the second (or third) oldest international competition in the world, and the oldest one still running. Older than the FIFA World Cup by 2 years and than UEFA EUROs by 30 years, the Baltic Cup is a fascinating event that not only mirrors the histories of the three Baltic states, but also features some of the most hilarious controversies you'll find in international football.To learn more about all this, we are joined by amateur historian of Latvian football - Raimonds Kaže.Also check out Raimonds's archival project (in Latvian) here: https://kazhe.lv/futbols/Aside from the Baltic Cup, another cool thing about the Baltics in general, and Latvia in particular, are the endless white sand beaches (Latvia has 240km of sandy beaches!). When you hit that beach, make sure to look your best with products from our friends at manscaped.com. To help you out, they are offering listeners of the podcast 20% off + free shipping with the promo code LFP20 !
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Much has happened during the international break, which brought us to the halfway point of Virsliga 2024. In this episode, we catch up on the competition and the surrounding news, as well as take a first look at the Champions League and the Conference League draws for the Latvian clubs.
(00:01:05) Table update
(00:09:24) FC RFS - Riga FC, the Big Riga Derby
(00:13:54) Kalns leaves Valmiera FC for Visakha FC
(00:20:09) Almeida sacked from FK Auda, replaced by Zeljkovic
(00:24:44) Transfer rumours
(00:29:54) On the goalkeepers of RFS and Fabrice Ondoa
(00:32:52) RFS vs Larne FC - Champions League QR1 draw
(00:36:05) More Faroe Islands for Latvia - Conference League QR1 draw
(00:39:06) Goals for 2024 and will Liepaja let us down again?
(00:42:34) A bit of banter about manscaped.com and the Virsliga summer
MANSCAPED.COM know that our listeners are some of the most attractive human beings out there and they want to help bring all this beauty out from underneath a nordic layer of winter wool. In order to help with this, they are willing to give you 20% off on your order with manscaped.com + free shipping when you use promo code LFP20. Help the podcast and help yourself to look neat and fresh with their genuinely very impressive range of products. Franks likes the shaver and Dmitrijs is really impressed with the boxers and the care products! #teammanscaped -
Who are the supporter groups - the Ultras - of Virsliga? In this episode, we delve into the very public yet poorly understood and, in some cases, deliberately concealed world of Latvian Ultras to find out more about who they are, how they function and what they are all about. Additionally, we are joined by football statistician David Parkes to talk about what are club and league coefficients and how they affect clubs and fans from season to season. All of this, of course, after we catch up on the 7 rounds of Virsliga played since the previous episode!
(00:03:47) Virsliga update: Rounds 5-12
(00:26:20) Chastisement of Valmiera
(00:42:03) Who are the Ultras of Virsliga
(01:30:35) Guest interview: club coefficients, with David Parkes
(01:46:01) Final thoughts and what to look forward to in May/June
Hey, football fans! Are you ready to soak up those summer vibes and unveil your ultimate beach bod? Well, you're in luck because our friends over at MANSCAPED™ have you covered from head to toe. As football in Latvia transitions to natural grass, make sure to keep you playing field in tip-top shape! With the Performance Package 5.0 Ultra – this ultimate all-in-one grooming kit is set to have you looking and feeling your best in the summer sun. Trust MANSCAPED™ and unlock the confidence you need to turn heads this season! Join the 10 million men worldwide who trust manscaped.com for 20% off + free shipping with code LFP20. Let's make this summer your smoothest one yet! -
Virsliga 2024 is up and running and we sit down to look back at the first five rounds of what is proving to be a truly unpredictable, dynamic and highly competitive league this year! We also put FK Liepaja under the microscope and discuss possible causes of their poor performance as well as offer our Best XI for March-April.
(00:01:02) Reflections on the first 5 rounds
(00:10:41) Impactful players
(00:17:51) Teams to watch (especially if you are new to the league!)
(00:21:35) What's wrong with FK Liepaja?
(00:58:57) Frank's tour of Latvian stadiums; new main stand at LNK Sporta Parks
(01:10:16) Best XI of March/April
(01:13:17) Please support the show! -
Virsliga 2024 is upon us and so is the second year of the podcast. In this episode, we introduce some changes to the format and composition of the show, talk about major news from pre-season, and introduce the upcoming eight months of highly anticipated Latvian club football! We think this is going to be the best season yet, so tune in to find out why!
(00:00) New cast and new format
(02:44) Paolo Nicolato - new Latvia coach
(07:51) The failed Leevon Saldus takeover
(11:32) Livonian Winter League
(14:09) Latvian Super Cup
(20:27) Virsliga 2024: new derby in Liepaja
(26:50) Virsliga 2024: new coaches
(37:53) Virsliga 2024: our predictions
(55:11) 10 players to watch
(1:11:41) Where/how to watch Virsliga games?
(1:16:02) Why care about Latvian football and concluding remarks -
As the first run of the Livonian Winter League - an international pre-season competition between 24 Latvian and Estonian clubs - comes to a close with a narrow victory for Latvia, we sit down with the Estonian Football Podcast to reflect on the competition, the good and the bad things about it, as well as to have a general chat about the state of Latvian and Estonian association football, not forgetting to briefly discuss the Baltic League idea and the Estonian resistance to it. Tune in, enjoy our first ever crossover episode and please leave a review on whatever platform you use to listen to podcasts!
Estonian Premium liiga starts 1st March and Latvian Virsliga a week later, on the 8th March! -
The Baltic League is a pioneering cross-border league project within the UEFA, meant to unite and enlarge the football markets and competitive levels of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian clubs. But while there are many things that make a great deal of sense about the proposal spearheaded by the Latvian Virsliga, many questions, concerns and even sources of political resistance remain. Pivoting off of the Livonian Winter League, Nick Ames, The Guardian's European sport correspondent, travelled to Riga to find out about the idea first-hand. In this episode, Dmitrijs and Nick sit down to talk about his visit, what he thought of Latvian and regional football, and about the idea of cross-border leagues in general and the proposed Baltic League in particular!
Nick's article in The Guardian 'Baltic League could be pioneer for cross-border football in Europe' (17 Feb 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/17/baltic-league-could-be-pioneer-for-cross-border-football-in-europe -
What does the Virsliga look like to a Latvia-based Welshman and how did he come to support Valmiera FC? Frank Marr joins the show to talk about his love of football, the good and the bad things about Latvian football and the Latvian National Team (NB. this episode was recorded before the appointment of Paolo Nicolato), and about his vision for the future growth of association football in Latvia and in the Baltics!
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Dmitrijs sits down with Charlotte Patterson, an avid football fan and prolific reader, writer, scout, commentator and media manager for Durham City AFC, to find out how she discovered Latvian Virsliga, what she likes and does not like about it, and why Riga is a surprising yet very worthwhile football getaway destination!
Charlotte's book recommendations:
Titans of the Teardrop Isle: A Season as a Pro Footballer in Sri Lanka, by Seth BurkettUp Pohnpei: Leading the ultimate football underdogs to glory, by Paul Watson (of the Sweeper podcast)One Football, No Nets, by Justin Walley -
In this new segment, Dmitrijs sits down with Ben Griffis to find out what Virsliga looks like from the outside (of Latvia). We talk about how Ben, himself from the USA, discovered Latvian football and the Virsliga, what he likes or does not like about it, as well as his work with football data and which of Virsliga teams is the closest to his heart.
Ben Griffis is a football analyst perhaps best known for his work with data and statistical model-building, which he shares on social media (on Twitter/X under the username @begriffis) in order to highlight and promote the beauty of football around the world. - Show more
