Fricis Kaņeps (10 August 1916, in

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

– 30 November 1981, in

Staicele Staicele (; german: link=no, Staizel; liv, Staitsõl) is a town in Latvia, and birthplace of Latvian conductor Jānis Zirnis. The area of Staicele has been inhabited only since the 19th century when a tavern and ferryman's house on the banks of ...

) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He was one of the most powerful Latvian forwards of the 1930s who didn't have a very good technique but compensated it mostly by his physical strength. In earlier years when still playing in Ventspils Kaņeps also played in defence.

Biography

Fricis Kaņeps was the most notable footballer from

in the era between the two world wars. The first club that he played for was Ventspils Spars, one of the strongest sides in Kurzeme at the time. Before the 1936 he moved to

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

to play with the best football club in Latvia outside

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Olimpija Liepāja Olimpija Liepāja was a Latvian football club. It was based in Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-larg ...

. This was a serious step in forward for Kaņeps and the year which he spent with Olimpija was a very productive one. Olimpija won the

Latvian Higher League Latvian Higher League or Virslīga is a professional football league and the top tier of association football in Latvia. Organised by the Latvian Football Federation, the Higher League is contested by 10 clubs. The full name of the league is O ...

title and Kaņeps was the club's best goalscorer with 12 league goals (just one less than the overall leader Aleksandrs Vanags). After just one season with Olimpija Kaņeps moved to

where he joined the strongest local side - RFK. In the first year with RFK Kaņeps scored 11 league goals, a tally which he could have improved had he not gotten ill before the end of the season. Kaņeps played with RFK until its dissolution in 1940. Over the four years with the club he won his second Latvian league title and became a two-time winner of the

Latvian Cup The Latvian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Latvian football. Since 2021, its full name is Responsible Game Latvian Football Cup (''Atbildīgas spēles Latvijas kauss'') due to the sponsorship by sports betting company Wil ...

, scoring 39 league goals over 3 seasons. In addition to good success with the club since 1937 he became a regular selection for the

Latvia national football team The Latvia national football team ( lv, Latvijas futbola izlase) represents Latvia in international football and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the FIF ...

. He made his international début in a 1937 friendly against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

alongside his main competitor as the best goalscorer in the Latvian league Aleksandrs Vanags.Latvia - Germany 1:3!
/ref> In 1937 Kaņeps was a member of the Latvian team that won the Baltic Cup, he also scored several goals for Latvia in world cup qualifiers against

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. In 1940 after RFK was disbanded Kaņeps played with Dinamo Riga, the next year - with

RGK Riga RGK may refer to: *RGK Foundation *RGK Mobile **RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service *RGK color space, see RG color space *Red Wing Regional Airport (FAA Code: RGK) *Gorno-Altaysk Airport (IATA Code: RGK) *Romano-Germanic Commission (' ...

. In 1942 he played with the reformed RFK. In 1945 Kaņeps was arrested and deported to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. After his return to Latvia he lived and played football in

where he lived until his death in 1981.

Honours

Club Titles *

: 1936 (Olimpija Liepāja), 1940 (RFK) *

: 1937 (RFK), 1939 (RFK) National Team * Baltic Cup: 1937

References

1916 births 1981 deaths Latvian footballers Latvia international footballers People from Ventspils Association football forwards Soviet footballers {{Latvia-footy-bio-stub