Dzintars Sproģis (born 13 May 1971) is a former

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 ...

n football defender. Sproģis was recognized as the best defender in the first season of

Virslīga 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 ...

Playing biography

Dzintars Sproģis came from a sporting family - his father Aivars played for Darba reserves and Dzintars' older brother

Haralds Sproģis Haralds is a Latvian given name, a variant of Harold. It may refer to: *Haralds Blaus (1885–1945), Latvian sports shooter *Haralds Kārlis (born 1991), Latvian professional Basketball player * Haralds Mednis (1906–2000), Latvian conductor * ...

was also a footballer with whom Dzintars played together in several clubs. The first club that Dzintars played with was Zvejnieks Liepāja in 1988 (at the age of just 17) from which he moved to

RAF Jelgava RAF Jelgava was a Latvian football (soccer), football club based in Jelgava.The foundation of the club is considered in 1988 and for the first two years there were two teams of RAF Jelgava which in 1990 merged into one. One of those played in the ...

in 1989. In 1989, he also made a debut with Daugava Rīga. With RAF he played in lower Soviet leagues. In the first

season Dzintars joined former Daugava head coach Jānis Skredelis with Kompar-Daugava but in 1993 he went to play abroad - with KTH Diest in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. In 1994 Sproģis returned to Latvia where with FC DAG Rīga he won the bronze medals of Virslīga and reached the Latvian Cup final. In 1995 and 1996 Sproģis played in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

- first with Kolos Krasnodar, then with Tekstilshchik Kamyshin. When Tekstilshchik was relegated from the top division Sproģis returned to

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-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice ...

where his career had started and joined Baltika Liepāja. In 1998 Sproģis was already in another club - he had joined Daugava/LU which performed rather poorly and in 1999 Sproģis changed the club again - he joined the newly formed FK Rīga (which was formed on the basis of Daugava/LU) with which he won the Latvian Cup in 1999. His last club was

FC Kaisar FC Kaysar ( kk, Қайсар Футбол Клубы, ''Qaısar Fýtbol Klýby'') is a Kazakh professional football club based in the Gany Muratbayev Stadium in Kyzylorda. They are founding members of the Kazakhstan Premier League and have miss ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

. In 2002 Dzintars Sproģis finished his playing career. Sproģis also played 23 international matches for

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 FI ...

from 1992 to 1998. His international debut came in Latvia's first match after it regained independence - a loss of 0:2 against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

in a friendly match. His last match for Latvia was also a friendly game 2:0 win against

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none ( Latin)"United virtue is str ...

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

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

.Latvia international match protocols from 1998
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Honours

* Best Defender in the Latvian League (1): **

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprogis, Dzintars 1971 births Living people Association football defenders Soviet footballers FK Liepājas Metalurgs players Daugava Rīga players FK Jelgava players Latvian footballers Latvia international footballers Latvian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Russia FC Tekstilshchik Kamyshin players Russian Premier League players FC Kaisar players Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan FK Rīga players