Artis Lazdiņš (born 3 May 1986) is a Latvian former 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Early career

Artis Lazdiņš started playing football in his early childhood being taken to trainings to his local team ''FK Limbaži'' (coach: Valdis Matīss) by his father. In 2000 his family decided to move to the USA. He then continued playing football in an American-Ukrainian football (soccer) academy ''Chornomorets-USA'' in NYC. In 2004, after graduating from the

Julia Richman High School The Julia Richman Education Complex (JREC) is an educational multiplex located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Named after the district superintendent of schools, Julia Richman, it houses six autonomous small schools for ...

, he returned to Latvia and played for

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in Riga until the end of 2005.

Ventspils

In 2006 Lazdiņš was signed by

Ventspils Ventspils () 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 is situated on the Venta River and ...

. In his first season in Ventspils Lazdiņš played for the reserve team and did not take part in the first-team action. In 2007 Lazdiņš had three appearances, not finding the net. In the next two years the number of appearances grew to 12 and 18, respectively. Lazdiņš became the champion of Latvia with FK Ventspils three times in a row - from 2006 to 2008. He also participated in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group stages in 2009. However, in 2009 the team's managers changed and Lazdiņš was no more needed within the squad, with his contract being terminated by a mutual agreement.

Jelgava

After leaving Ventspils Lazdiņš started looking for a club abroad but was then handed an offer by the Latvian

Virsliga Latvian Higher League or Virslīga, also known as TonyBet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Latvia and the highest level of the Latvian football league system. Organised by the Latvian Football ...

newcomers

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

. He signed a contract for one season and soon after joining became a first eleven player. In his first season there he played 24 matches and also managed to win the

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

. In January 2011 Lazdiņš extended his contract with

FK Jelgava FK Jelgava is a Latvian football club that is based in Jelgava. The club plays its home-matches at the Zemgales Olimpiskais Sporta Centrs stadium with capacity of 1,560 people. In 2021, the club dissolved its professional team, which was abso ...

for another season. In August 2011 he went on trial with the Danish team

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

club

Piast Gliwice Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice () is a Polish professional football club based in Gliwice. In the 2018–19 season, Piast won its first Polish championship. As of 2025–26, it competes in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division. Histo ...

and signed a contract with them in September 2012. He scored his first goal for the club on 30 March 2013 in a 1–1 league match draw against

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...

. The 2012-13 season, which was the debut season for Piast since the return to the Ekstraklasa, saw the club finish the league in the 4th position of the table, qualifying for the

for the first time in the club's history. Lazdiņš participated in the second leg of the second qualifying round, when Piast played a 2–2 draw against the Azerbaijani club Qarabağ. In his second season with Piast Lazdiņš gradually lost his place in the starting line-up, playing just seven league and two cup matches for the club.

Return to Jelgava

On 26 March 2014, the return of Lazdiņš was officially confirmed by his former club Jelgava. Despite suffering from a long-term injury in the second half of the season, Lazdiņš participated in 18 league matches as well as the UEFA Europa League qualifiers, ceding to the Norwegian side Rosenborg over two legs in the first qualifying round of the tournament. He helped Jelgava win the

and reach bronze medals in the domestic championship for the first time in the club's history.

Saldus SS/Leevon

On 19 March 2020, Lazdiņš joined Latvian club Saldus SS/Leevon.

Greifswalder FC

In February 2022, Lazdiņš moved to German club Greifswalder FC of the fifth-tier

NOFV-Oberliga Nord The NOFV-Oberliga Nord is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the northern states of the former East Germany and West Berlin. It covers the States of Germany, German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a ...

. At the end of the 2022–23 season he left the club and retired from playing.

International career

Lazdiņš was a member of Latvia U-19 and Latvia U-21 football teams, being called up to the senior side for the Baltic Cup matches in 2010. He made his international debut in the second match of the tournament against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

on 19 June 2010. He then came on as a substitute, replacing

Juris Laizāns Juris Laizāns (born 6 January 1979) is a Latvian former professional footballer. A midfielder, he spent a large part of his playing career abroad in Russia. He made 113 appearances for the Latvia national team scoring 15 goals. Club career Bo ...

. In 2012 Lazdiņš helped Latvia win the Baltic Cup, beating

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in the final. Latvia won the Baltic Cup for the second time in a row in May 2014, beating

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in the final. As of March 2015, Lazdiņš had played 21 matches for

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Personal life

According to ''fkjelgava.lv'', Lazdiņš loves cinema and also has a

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account. His native language is Latvian, but he also speaks English fluently, Russian well and German at a basic level. His aim in football is to improve and reach career heights.

Honours

Ventspils *

Latvian Higher League Latvian Higher League or Virslīga, also known as TonyBet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Latvia and the highest level of the Latvian football league system. Organised by the Latvian Footbal ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: 2007 *

Baltic League The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinavi ...

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

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lazdins, Artis 1986 births Living people People from Limbaži Sportspeople from Vidzeme Latvian men's footballers 21st-century Latvian sportsmen Men's association football midfielders Latvia men's youth international footballers Latvia men's under-21 international footballers Latvia men's international footballers Latvian Higher League players Ekstraklasa players Regionalliga players Oberliga (football) players FK Auda players FK Ventspils players FS Jelgava players Piast Gliwice players Greifswalder FC players Julia Richman Education Complex alumni Latvian expatriate men's footballers Latvian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany