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Imants Bleidelis

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Imants Bleidelis
Personal information
Date of birth (1975-08-16) 16 August 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR
(now Republic of Latvia)
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Skonto 1 (0)
1994 Interskonto 11 (1)
1994–1999 Skonto 118 (24)
1999–2002 Southampton 3 (0)
2002–2005 Viborg 57 (6)
2005–2006 Grazer AK 28 (0)
2006–2007 Jūrmala 26 (7)
2007–2008 Liepājas Metalurgs 22 (1)
Total 266 (39)
International career
1995–2007 Latvia 106 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Imants Bleidelis (born 16 August 1975) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 106 appearances for the Latvia national team.

Club career

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Born in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union, Bleidelis started his career at Skonto in 1992. In 1994, he played for Inter Skonto, and then between 1994 and 1999 he played 128 games scoring 24 games for Skonto. Skonto then sold him to English club, Southampton who were then in the Premier League, for £650,000,[1] where he joined fellow countryman Marians Pahars.[2] Bleidelis signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.[1] He played only three league games in three seasons, and after being allowed to go on trial in Denmark with Superliga club, Viborg January 2003[2] Southampton released him on 26 January,[3] and two days later he signed a two-year contract with Viborg,[2][4] where he scored six goals in 57 appearances.

He left Viborg in winter 2004 after turning down a new contract. Despite offers from two Latvian clubs, Skonto and Venta, in 2005, he moved to Austria to play for Austrian Bundesliga club Grazer AK, where he signed a two-year contract.[5] He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2005 in the UEFA Cup[6] against English club Middlesbrough.[7]

He moved back to Latvia in 2006 with Jūrmala. In 2007, he moved to Liepājas Metalurgs. Bleidelis had his contract with Liepājas Metalurgs terminated on 7 July 2008, along with another Latvian international, Andrejs Rubins.

International career

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Bleidelis played over 100 international matches and scored ten goals for the Latvia national team. He made his debut on 19 May 1995 against Estonia in the Baltic Cup. He played at the Euro 2004 finals and his 100th appearance came on 2 June 2007 against Spain in UEFA European Championship qualifier.[8]

Honours

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Skonto[9]

Metalurgs

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Bleidelis signs in £650,000 Dell move". Basingstoke Gazette. 21 December 1999. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  2. ^ a b c "Bleidelis leaves Saints". BBC Sport. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  3. ^ "Transfers: 20–26 January". UEFA. 26 January 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  4. ^ "Bleidelis set for fresh start". UEFA. 28 January 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Bleidelis bound for GAK". UEFA. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  6. ^ "Schachner eyes Middlesbrough upset". UEFA. 17 February 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  7. ^ "GAK equalisers ensure parity". UEFA. 17 February 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  8. ^ "Imants Bleidelis - Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  9. ^ "Imants Bleidelis". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
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