Gints Freimanis (9 May 1985 – 6 June 2023) was a Latvian professional

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 le ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Freimanis joined

Saldus SS/Leevon Saldus (; german: Frauenburg) is a Latvian town located in Courland ( lv, Kurzeme) and is the main town, and the central location in Saldus Municipality. The name Saldus has been noted in historical sources as far back as the mid-13th century, bu ...

in 2020.

International career

Freimanis first call-up to the senior Latvia national team squad came in May 2014 for the

2014 Baltic Cup The 2014 Baltic Cup was a football competition, held between 29 and 31 May 2014, hosted by Latvia. Format For the second time in a row Finland joined Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, thus the knock-out tournament format established in the pre ...

, making his national team debut as a 94th-minute substitute in the final game 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 ...

, helping Latvia to win the trophy by a 1–0 scoreline.

Illness and death

Freimanis was diagnosed with

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

in October 2021. He died on 6 June 2023, at the age of 38.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Freimanis goal.''

Honours

FK Jelgava *

Latvian Football 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 ...

: 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 Latvia * Baltic Cup:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual * Best defender of

2016 Latvian Higher League The 2016 Latvian Higher League was the 25th season of top-tier football in Latvia. FK Liepāja were the defending champions. The season began on 11 March 2016 and ended on 5 November 2016; the relegation play-offs took place on 9 and 13 November 2 ...

References

External links

* 1985 births 2023 deaths Deaths from skin cancer Deaths from cancer in Latvia Latvian men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Latvia men's international footballers Latvian Higher League players League of Ireland players FS Jelgava players FK Ventspils players RSK Dižvanagi players FK Rīga players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Greifswalder FC players FK Spartaks Jūrmala players People from Saldus Latvian expatriate men's footballers Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Expatriate men's footballers in Germany {{Latvia-footy-bio-stub