Renārs Rode (born 6 April 1989 in
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 ...
) is a retired
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 professional
footballer who played as a
centre-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 ...
. He has also been capped by the
Latvia national football team.
Club career
Skonto Riga
As a youth player Renārs Rode played for the
Skonto Riga
Skonto FC was a Latvian football club, active from 1991 until 2016. The club played at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Skonto won the Virsliga in the first 14 seasons of the league's resumption (15 in total), and often provided the core of the Lat ...
academy. In 2008, he joined the
Latvian Higher League club
JFK Olimps, and played 15 matches, scoring his first league goal in a 7–0 victory over
Daugava Rīga on 8 July 2009. In 2010 Rode moved to
Skonto Rīga. During his first season at the club, he scored 3 goals in 16 league matches and under the manager
Aleksandrs Starkovs became the champion of the Latvian Higher League. In 2011, he helped the club win the
Baltic League and in 2012 won his first
Latvian Cup with Skonto. In January 2012 it was announced that Rode would go on trial with the
Scottish Premiership club
Heart of Midlothian alongside his teammate Armandrs Pētersons, but the potential move fell through. After the
2013 Latvian Higher League
The 2013 Latvian Higher League was the 22nd season of top-tier football in Latvia. FC Daugava were the defending champions. The season started on 29 March 2013.
The league comprised ten teams. The champions of this season were FK Ventspils, follo ...
season Rode was included in the ''sportacentrs.com'' and ''Sporta Avīze'' teams of the tournament, having appeared in 25 league matches and scored 3 goals, with Skonto suffering only one loss throughout the season. All in all, during his four seasons with the club Rode played 90 league matches, scoring 10 goals, and appeared in two
UEFA Champions League and eight
UEFA Europa League matches.
FK Teplice
On 10 December 2013 it was announced that Rode had signed a two-year contract with the Czech
Gambrinus Liga club
FK Teplice after a successful trial period. Rode left the club in March 2014 having been given a notice of contract termination after the arrival of the newly appointed manager. Following the release Rode went on trial with the Norwegian
Tippeligaen side
Sarpsborg 08, but did not stay with the club.
FK Ventspils
On 17 July 2014 Rode returned to the Latvian Higher League, signing a contract with the title holders
FK Ventspils. He helped the club retain the title for the second year in a row.
Return to Skonto
Prior to the 2015 Latvian Higher League season Rode moved to his former club Skonto Riga. He participated in the
UEFA Europa League qualifying stages helping his club beat the Irish club
St Patrick's Athletic
St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...
. Rode scored a goal in the next qualifying round which saw Skonto losing hopelessly against the Hungarian side
Debreceni VSC
Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a professional football club, based in Debrecen, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of the ...
.
SK Sigma Olomouc
Following the 2015 season Rode went on trial with the
Premier Soccer League club
Mpumalanga Black Aces. However, it was later announced that he would not be joining the team at that particular time and that the coach considered a potential move for Rode during the next transfer period. In February 2016 Rode joined the
Czech First League club
SK Sigma Olomouc signing a half-year contract with an option to extend it for another year.
FK Jelgava
On 16 December 2018, Rode signed with
FK Jelgava for one year.
Later career
In the beginning of 2020, Rode joined
JDFS Alberts. In June 2020, Rode announced his retirement from professional football and a few days later,
JDFS Alberts confirmed that Rode had been appointed assistant coach of the club.
International career
Rode was a member of
Latvia national under-21 football team. He received his first full international call-up under that time manager
Aleksandrs Starkovs on 22 January 2010 for a friendly match against
South Korea. His next call-up came just 3 years later, when he was included in the national squad for a friendly match against
Estonia on 14 August 2013 by the newly appointed
Marians Pahars. Rode made his full international debut for
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 ...
on 6 September 2013 in a 2–1
2014 World Cup qualifying
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...
victory over
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 ...
. He scored his first international goal on 15 October 2013 in a WC qualifying match against
Slovakia, securing Latvia a point with a late goal in a 2–2 draw.
International goals
:''Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first.''
Honours
*Skonto FC
**
Latvian Higher League champion (1): 2010
**
Baltic League champion (1): 2011
**
Latvian Cup winner (1): 2012
*FK Ventspils
**
Latvian Higher League champion (1): 2014
References
http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/PSL/sim-rode-set-to-depart-cape-town-city-20161230
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rode, Renars
1989 births
Living people
Footballers from Riga
Latvian men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Latvia men's international footballers
JFK Olimps players
Skonto FC players
FK Teplice players
Latvian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic
Latvian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic
Czech First League players
FK Ventspils players
SK Sigma Olomouc players
FK RFS players
FK Jelgava players