2013 Latvian Higher League

Latvian Higher League
Season	2013
Matches played	135
Goals scored	392 (2.9 per match)
Top goalscorer	Artūrs Karašausks ; Andrejs Kovaļovs; (16 goals)
Biggest home win	FK Daugava 7-1 Ilūkstes NSS
Biggest away win	Ilūkstes NSS 2-10 SK Liepājas Metalurgs
Highest scoring	Ilūkstes NSS 2-10 SK Liepājas Metalurgs
Longest winning run	FK Ventspils, Skonto FC (6)
Longest unbeaten run	Skonto FC (26)
Longest losing run	Ilūkstes NSS (7)
	← 2012 2014 →

The 2013 Latvian Higher League was the 22nd season of top-tier football in Latvia. FC Daugava were the defending champions. The season started on 29 March 2013.^[1]

The league comprised ten teams. The champions of this season were FK Ventspils, followed by Skonto FC

Teams[]

The league had a ten-team circuit like the 2012 season. 2012 Latvian First League champions Ilūkstes NSS from Ilūkste were directly promoted.

FK Daugava Rīga finished the 2012 season in ninth place and were therefore required to compete in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off against First Division runners-up . FK Daugava Riga won the play-off 4–1 on aggregate and therefore stayed in the Higher League.

Stadiums and locations[]

Ventspils

Ilūkstes NSS

Daugava Riga
FS METTA
Skonto

Metalurgs

Jūrmala
Spartaks

Jelgava

Daugava

Location of teams in the 2013 Latvian Higher League

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
FC Daugava	Daugavpils	Daugava Stadium	4,100
FK Daugava Rīga	Riga	Daugava Stadium	5,000
Ilūkstes NSS	Ilūkste	Ilūkstes pilsētas stadions	500
FK Jelgava	Jelgava	Zemgales Olimpiskais Sporta Centrs	2,200
FC Jūrmala	Jūrmala	Slokas Stadium	5,000
SK Liepājas Metalurgs	Liepāja	Daugava Stadium	6,000
FS Metta/LU	Riga	Stadions Arkādija	500
Skonto FC	Riga	Skonto Stadium	10,000
FK Spartaks Jūrmala	Jūrmala	Slokas Stadium	5,000
FK Ventspils	Ventspils	Olimpiskais Stadium	3,200

Personnel and kits[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
FC Daugava Daugavpils	Ivan Tabanov	Daniel Ola	Erreà	—
FK Daugava Rīga		Mantas Savenas	Nike	—
Ilūkstes NSS		Dmitri Kozlov	Erreà	—
FK Jelgava			Macron	Igate
FC Jūrmala			Givova	—
SK Liepājas Metalurgs		Antons Jemeļins	Adidas	—
FS Metta/LU	Andris Riherts		Nike	SMS Credit.lv
Skonto FC	Tamaz Pertia	Juris Laizāns	Jako	Granat Investment
FK Spartaks Jūrmala	Jurijs Popkovs		Nike	—
FK Ventspils	Jurģis Pučinsks	Vitālijs Smirnovs	Adidas	VK Tranzīts

Managerial changes[]

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Jelgava	Dainis Kazakevičs	Own decision	4 December 2012	Pre-Season	Jānis Dreimanis	20 December 2012
Skonto	Marians Pahars	Own decision	22 December 2012	Pre-Season	Tamaz Pertia	22 December 2012
FK Daugava Rīga	Jurijs Popkovs	End of contract	27 December 2012	Pre-Season		27 December 2012
FC Jūrmala		End of contract	9 January 2013	Pre-Season		9 January 2013
Spartaks	Arminas Narbekovas	End of contract	10 December 2012	Pre-Season	Oleg Kubarev	7 February 2013
Ilūkste		Own decision	6 March 2013	Pre-Season		6 March 2013
Jelgava	Jānis Dreimanis	Health issues	22 March 2013	Pre-Season		22 March 2013
Spartaks	Oleg Kubarev	Sacked	27 July 2013	5th	Aleksandrs Stradiņš	27 July 2013
Spartaks	Aleksandrs Stradiņš	Sacked	22 September 2013	6th	Jurijs Popkovs	22 September 2013
Ilūkste		Own decision	End of September	10th		End of September

Broadcasting[]

As in the previous season most of the matches are being transmitted live via sportacentrs.com online and sportacentrs TV channel.^[2] In June 2012 broadcasting rights were also bought by the English company Bet365.^[3] Since 2012, the league's homepage futbolavirsliga.lv has been active and since September 2012 this website has been accompanied by the InStat Football system, showing information and analysis of each match individually.^[4] Since October 2012, the Virslīga has also had its own analytical broadcast after each round of matches with football experts discussing the games and future events connected to Latvian football. It is transmitted via sportacentrs TV.^[5]

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Ventspils (C)	27	21	4	2	65	19	+46	67	Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round
2	Skonto	27	18	8	1	68	11	+57	62	Excluded from European competitions^[a]
3	Daugava Daugavpils	27	15	7	5	44	19	+25	52	Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round
4	Daugava Rīga	27	14	6	7	44	21	+23	48	Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round
5	Liepājas Metalurgs	27	11	7	9	54	35	+19	40	The Club was dissolved after the season
6	Jūrmala	27	7	5	15	20	52	−32	26
7	Spartaks Jūrmala	27	7	4	16	30	49	−19	25
8	Jelgava	27	5	8	14	26	46	−20	23	Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round
9	METTA/LU (O)	27	4	7	16	15	47	−32	19	Qualification for relegation play-offs
10	Ilūkstes NSS (R)	27	2	6	19	26	93	−67	12	Relegation to Latvian First League

Source: LFF:Virslīga 2013
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th overall wins; 5th goal difference; 6th goals scored. The winners of the 2013–14 Latvian Football Cup competition will qualify for the first qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ UEFA barred Skonto from European competitions for three years for falling foul of Financial Fair Play regulations.^[6]

Relegation play-offs[]

The 9th-placed sides will face the runners-up of the 2013 Latvian First League in a two-legged play-off, with the winner being awarded a spot in the 2014 Higher League competition.

14 November 2013

19:00

FS METTA/LU	1–0	FB Gulbene
72' (pen.)

, Riga

17 November 2013

14:00

FB Gulbene	2–4	FS METTA/LU
Rimkus 26' 33'		Kalniņš 11', 85', 88' Milašēvičs 67' (pen.)

, Riga

FS METTA/LU won 5–2 on aggregate.

Results[]

Regular home games
Home \ Away	DGD	ILU	JEL	FCJ	DGR	LIE	MLU	SKO	SPJ	VEN
FC Daugava Daugavpils		5–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	3–0	1–4	3–2	0–1
Ilūkstes NSS	0–2		2–1	0–2	2–5	1–2	1–1	1–7	1–3	1–7
Jelgava	0–3	2–2		0–1	0–3	2–2	1–0	0–3	1–2	1–2
FC Jūrmala	0–1	1–1	4–2		0–5	3–1	1–2	0–5	0–1	0–2
FK Daugava Rīga	0–1	4–0	1–0	1–0		2–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–1
SK Liepājas Metalurgs	2–2	3–1	3–0	2–0	0–2		4–0	0–5	1–2	3–1
METTA/LU	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–2	0–3		0–2	0–1	0–2
Skonto FC	0–0	5–0	1–1	0–0	5–0	2–0	4–0		3–1	3–0
Spartaks Jūrmala	0–2	2–2	4–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	4–0	1–2		2–3
Ventspils	4–3	4–1	4–0	3–0	2–1	2–2	4–0	0–0	1–0

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Additional home games
Home \ Away	DGD	ILU	JEL	FCJ	DGR	LIE	MLU	SKO	SPJ	VEN
FC Daugava Daugavpils		6–1	0–0		0–1	1–0		0–0
Ilūkstes NSS						2–10	1–2	0–2		0–5
Jelgava		3–1		2–2	1–0		1–1
FC Jūrmala	0–3	0–0			0–4				2–1
FK Daugava Rīga		7–1				2–2		0–2		0–1
SK Liepājas Metalurgs			0–0	3–0			0–0		6–0	0–1
METTA/LU	1–0			0–1	0–2				2–0
Skonto FC			0–2	5–0		2–1	2–2			1–1
Spartaks Jūrmala	0–2	2–4	1–3		0–0			0–3
Ventspils	0–0		2–0	6–1			3–0		3–0

Source: LFF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics[]

Top scorers[]

As of 9 November 2013

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Artūrs Karašausks	Skonto FC	16
1	Andrejs Kovaļovs	FC Daugava	16
2	Valērijs Šabala	Skonto FC	15
3	Mantas Savėnas	Daugava Rīga	12
3	Vadim Yanchuk	FK Ventspils	12
4	Daniils Turkovs	FK Ventspils	11
5	Povilas Lukšys	Daugava Rīga	10

Player of the Month[]

Month	Player	Club
March/April^[7]	Mantas Savenas	FK Daugava Rīga
May^[8]	Patrick Twumasi	FK Spartaks Jūrmala
June^[9]	Andrejs Kovaļovs	FC Daugava
July^[10]	Paulius Grybauskas	Skonto FC
August^[11]	Ruslan Mingazow	Skonto FC
September^[12]	Juris Laizāns	Skonto FC
October/November^[13]	Kaspars Ikstens	FK Jelgava

Manager of the Month[]

Month	Manager	Club
March/April^[7]		FK Daugava Rīga
May^[8]	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils
June^[9]	Tamaz Pertia	Skonto FC
July^[10]	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils
August^[11]	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils
September^[12]		FK Jelgava
October/November^[13]	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils

Team of the Tournament[]

LFF version[]

Position	Player	Club
Goalkeeper	Paulius Grybauskas	Skonto FC
Defender	Antons Kurakins	FK Ventspils
Defender	Vitālijs Smirnovs	FK Ventspils
Defender	Nauris Bulvītis	Skonto FC
Defender	Vladislavs Gabovs	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Jurijs Žigajevs	FK Ventspils
Midfielder	Aleksandrs Fertovs	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Juris Laizāns	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Ruslan Mingazov	Skonto FC
Forward	Vadim Yanchuk	FK Ventspils
Forward	Valērijs Šabala	Skonto FC
Manager	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils

Sporta Avīze version[]

Position	Player	Club
Goalkeeper	Paulius Grybauskas	Skonto FC
Defender	Vladislavs Gabovs	Skonto FC
Defender	Kaspars Dubra	FK Ventspils
Defender	Renārs Rode	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Jurijs Žigajevs	FK Ventspils
Midfielder	Valērijs Afanasjevs	FK Liepājas Metalurgs
Midfielder	Juris Laizāns	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Ruslan Mingazov	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Andrejs Kovaļovs	FC Daugava
Forward	Artūrs Karašausks	Skonto FC
Forward	Valērijs Šabala	Skonto FC
Manager	Tamaz Pertia	Skonto FC

sportacentrs.com version[]

Position	Player	Club
Goalkeeper	Paulius Grybauskas	Skonto FC
Defender	Antons Kurakins	FK Ventspils
Defender	Renārs Rode	Skonto FC
Defender	Kaspars Dubra	FK Ventspils
Defender	Vladislavs Gabovs	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Juris Laizāns	Skonto FC
Midfielder	Jurijs Žigajevs	FK Ventspils
Midfielder	Andrejs Kovaļovs	FC Daugava
Midfielder	Ruslan Mingazov	Skonto FC
Forward	Daniils Turkovs	FK Ventspils
Forward	Artūrs Karašausks	Skonto FC
Manager	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils

Awards[]

LFF awards 2013
Category	Winner	Club
Best goalkeeper	Paulius Grybauskas	Skonto FC
Best defender	Vladislavs Gabovs	Skonto FC
Best midfielder	Jurijs Žigajevs	FK Ventspils
Best forward	Valērijs Šabala	Skonto FC
Top scorer	Artūrs Karašausks / Andrejs Kovaļovs	Skonto FC / FC Daugava
Best U-21 player	Jevgēņijs Kazačoks	FK Spartaks Jūrmala
Best player	Jurijs Žigajevs	FK Ventspils
Best manager	Jurģis Pučinsks	FK Ventspils
Goal of the season	Jurijs Žigajevs vs FK Spartaks Jūrmala^[14]	FK Ventspils
Fair play award	Club award	FC Jūrmala
Best match organisation	Club award	FK Liepājas Metalurgs

References[]

^ "Virslīgas 2013.gada sezona sāksies 29.martā" (in Latvian). Futbolavirsliga.lv. Archived from the original on 2013-01-09. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
^ "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
^ "Pirmo reizi vēsturē pārdotas Latvijas virslīgas futbola čempionāta interneta translāciju tiesības | Kasjauns.lv". kasjauns.lv. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-03-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2013-03-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Protecting The Game: Metalurh, Skonto excluded; Petrolul cleared - UEFA.com, 4 April 2014
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-05-02). "Par mēneša labāko spēlētāju atzīts Savens, bet treneri – Ļubšis". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-06-05). "Maija labākais spēlētājs Virslīgā - Tvumasi". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Jānis Pārums (2013-07-02). "Virslīgas labākais spēlētājs jūnijā - Kovaļovs". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-08-05). "Par Virslīgas labākajiem jūlijā tiek atzīti Gribausks un Pučinsks". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Jānis Celmiņš (2013-09-04). "Virslīgas mēneša labākais spēlētājs - Mingazovs, treneris – Pučinskis". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-10-07). "Septembra labākais treneris - jelgavnieks Golubevs, spēlētājs - Laizāns". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Jānis Rubulis (2013-11-14). "SMScredit.lv Virslīgas mēneša labākie - Ikstens un Pučinsks". Sportacentrs.com.
^ Egils Broks (2013-09-28). "Video: Žigajevs gūst fantastiskus vārtus šķērītē". Sportacentrs.com.

[table_note_res_EXEC0.3030263200882-7] UEFA barred Skonto from European competitions for three years for falling foul of Financial Fair Play regulations.^[6]

[1] "Virslīgas 2013.gada sezona sāksies 29.martā" (in Latvian). Futbolavirsliga.lv. Archived from the original on 2013-01-09. Retrieved March 3, 2013.

[sportacentrs-2] "sportacentrs.com". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved December 1, 2015.

[kasjauns-3] "Pirmo reizi vēsturē pārdotas Latvijas virslīgas futbola čempionāta interneta translāciju tiesības | Kasjauns.lv". kasjauns.lv. Retrieved December 1, 2015.

[4] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-03-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[5] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2013-03-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[6] Protecting The Game: Metalurh, Skonto excluded; Petrolul cleared - UEFA.com, 4 April 2014

[Edmunds_Novickis-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-05-02). "Par mēneša labāko spēlētāju atzīts Savens, bet treneri – Ļubšis". Sportacentrs.com.

[sportacentrs.com-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-06-05). "Maija labākais spēlētājs Virslīgā - Tvumasi". Sportacentrs.com.

[Jānis_Pārums-10] Jump up to: ^a ^b Jānis Pārums (2013-07-02). "Virslīgas labākais spēlētājs jūnijā - Kovaļovs". Sportacentrs.com.

[ReferenceA-11] Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-08-05). "Par Virslīgas labākajiem jūlijā tiek atzīti Gribausks un Pučinsks". Sportacentrs.com.

[Jānis_Celmiņš-12] Jump up to: ^a ^b Jānis Celmiņš (2013-09-04). "Virslīgas mēneša labākais spēlētājs - Mingazovs, treneris – Pučinskis". Sportacentrs.com.

[ReferenceB-13] Jump up to: ^a ^b Edmunds Novickis (2013-10-07). "Septembra labākais treneris - jelgavnieks Golubevs, spēlētājs - Laizāns". Sportacentrs.com.

[Jānis_Rubulis-14] Jump up to: ^a ^b Jānis Rubulis (2013-11-14). "SMScredit.lv Virslīgas mēneša labākie - Ikstens un Pučinsks". Sportacentrs.com.

[15] Egils Broks (2013-09-28). "Video: Žigajevs gūst fantastiskus vārtus šķērītē". Sportacentrs.com.

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[14]

show v t Seasons of Top Latvian Football Leagues
	1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926
Higher League	1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1942 1943 1944
Latvian SSR	1941 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
Higher League	1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

show v t 2012–13 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus '12 '13 Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia '12 '13 Faroe Islands '12 '13 Finland '12 '13 France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland '12 '13 Israel Italy Kazakhstan '12 '13 Latvia '12 '13 Lithuania '12 '13 Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '12 '13 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland '12 '13 Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden '12 '13 Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
Domestic cups	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands '12 '13 Finland '12 '13 France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland '12 '13 Israel Italy Kazakhstan '12 '13 Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '12 '13 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland '12 '13 Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
League cups	England Finland '12 '13 France Hungary Iceland '12 '13 Israel Northern Ireland Portugal Republic of Ireland '12 '13 Scotland Wales
Supercups	Albania Belarus Belgium Bulgaria England Faroe Islands France Germany Italy Kazakhstan '12 '13 Moldova Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey Ukraine
UEFA competitions	Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round group stage knockout phase final Europa League qualifying phase play-off round group stage knockout phase final Super Cup

show v t 2013–14 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus '13 '14 Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia '13 '14 Faroe Islands '13 '14 Finland '13 '14 France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland '13 '14 Israel Italy Kazakhstan '13 '14 Latvia '13 '14 Lithuania '13 '14 Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '13 '14 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland '13 '14 Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden '13 '14 Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
Domestic cups	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands '13 '14 Finland '13 '14 France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland '13 '14 Israel Italy Kazakhstan '13 '14 Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '13 '14 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland '13 '14 Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
League cups	England Finland '13 '14 France Gibraltar Hungary Iceland '13 '14 Latvia Northern Ireland Portugal Republic of Ireland '13 '14 Scotland Wales
Supercups	Albania Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia England Faroe Islands France Germany Italy Kazakhstan '13 '14 Latvia Moldova Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey Ukraine
UEFA competitions	Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round group stage knockout phase Final Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round group stage knockout phase Final Super Cup Youth League
International competitions	2014 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualification 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup 2015 Euro Under-21 qualification 2014 Euro Under-19 qualifying round elite round 2014 Euro Under-17 qualifying round elite round