Ritus Krjauklis (born 23 April 1986) is 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 le ...

who currently plays for Latvian Higher League club

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

as a centre back.

Club career

As a child and teenager, Ritus Krjauklis played for his local club FK Ilūkste under coach Vladimirs Vinokurovs from 1993 till 2002. In 2002, he moved to

and continued playing for

Dinaburg Daugavpils Dinaburg FC was a Latvian football club, playing in the city of Daugavpils. In 2009 it merged with FK Daugava. The club played at the Daugava Stadium (capacity 4,070). On October 5, 2009, Dinaburg was expelled from the Virsliga and both the pre ...

youth team. In 2005 Krjauklis was taken to the first team by

Tamaz Pertia Tamaz Pertia (born 23 December 1974) is a former Georgian football midfielder, currently a manager with FK Liepāja in the Latvian Higher League. Playing career During his playing career, Pertia has played for Lokomotiv Minsk in the Belaru ...

. In 2006 Krjauklis was signed by FK Ventspils but he couldn't prove his abilities there so he had to move back to

just one year later. He spent the next 3 seasons there, from 2007 to 2009 respectively, and managed to become a vital player at the club, playing 77 matches and scoring 6 goals during those 3 seasons. In 2009, after

were excluded from the Latvian Higher League because of suspect about betting against their own results, Krjauklis was set free. Then he joined FK Ventspils again. This time he became a starting eleven player and played 25 matches in the 2010 season. After that season Krjauklis accepted an offer from Azerbaijan and signed a two-year contract with the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...

club

AZAL PFC Shuvalan FK ( az, Şüvəlan Futbol Klubu, ) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Şüvəlan, Baku. The club was renamed four times in its short history becoming Olimpik Baku, Olimpik-Shuvalan Baku, AZAL and Shuvalan. UEFA is still recognizi ...

. His start there was bright as he played in the starting elven but then, after just 10 matches, in August 2011 he was released. Krjauklis returned home and after a few days was signed by the Latvian Higher League club Liepājas Metalurgs. Until the end of the season he participated in 10 league matches and also managed to score once. On 15 July 2012, he moved to the South African

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

club

Golden Arrows Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. are a South African soccer club based in Durban that plays in the Premier Soccer League. History It was founded in 1943 in the streets of Lamontville, a township in Durban. The club played in the defunct Nation ...

. Krjauklis was released from his contract after a single season at Golden Arrows and joined fellow

club Ajax Cape Town in August 2013. Prior to the

2014 Latvian Higher League The 2014 Latvian Higher League was the 23rd season of top-tier football in Latvia. FK Ventspils are the defending champions. The season started on 21 March 2014. Initially, Skonto Riga and Daugava Daugavpils, the second and third teams from the p ...

season he returned to Latvia, joining

FK Spartaks Jūrmala FK Spartaks is a Latvian football club that is based in Sloka, Jūrmala. In 2012, they finished 3rd in the Latvian First League championship and after winning the play-offs against JFK Olimps were promoted to the Latvian Higher League. The club ...

. At the end of January 2015 Krjauklis moved to the defending Latvian champions FK Ventspils. On 25 February 2019, Krjauklis transferred to the

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

side

Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard F.C. () is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the China League One division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang and their home stadium ...

Career statistics

Club

International career

Ritus Krjauklis made his debut for

in a friendly match against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

on 12 August 2009. As of 2012, he has been capped 18 times, scoring no goals. He received regular call-ups under the management of Aleksandrs Starkovs till 2012, but since the appointment of Marians Pahars in 2013 Krjauklis has not been called up to the team. As of February 2015, he has played 22 international matches for Latvia, scoring no goals.

Honours

FK Ventspils

* Latvian champion ** 2006 * Baltic League winner ** 2010

National team

* Baltic Cup winner ** 2012

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krjauklis, Ritus 1986 births Living people People from Ilūkste Latvian footballers Latvia international footballers Dinaburg FC players Latvian expatriate footballers Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Latvian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan Expatriate footballers in China AZAL PFK players Expatriate soccer players in South Africa FK Ventspils players FK Liepājas Metalurgs players Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. players Cape Town Spurs F.C. players FK Spartaks Jūrmala players FK RFS players Association football defenders Ilūkstes NSS players Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard F.C. players Nanjing City F.C. players BFC Daugavpils players China League One players