Amstrig Riga

Torpedo Rīga was a football club that played in Riga. The club played in the Latvian league with good success from 1979 to 2000 when it merged with Policijas FK.

Torpedo Rīga was a football club which was supported by the union of Latvian taxicab drivers. As the Latvian league was amateur then (at least—partially), all Torpedo footballers in addition to playing football also had to perform duties as taxi drivers (but, of course, to a lesser extent than regular taxi drivers). As taxi driving was then considered a relatively easy job with rather good pay and the club also paid some bonuses, it attracted several former professionals with experience playing with Daugava Rīga and Zvejnieks Liepāja, for example, Grigorijs Kuzņecovs.

For a couple of decades the club had been playing in lower Latvian football divisions (before Torpedo its name was FK RTP—Riga Taxi Park). In 1963 it even played in the Latvian Cup final, but a place in the top league it earned only after the 1978 season.

In its debut season in the Latvian league in 1979 Torpedo won 13 out of 26 matches and finished a respectable 4th from 14 teams. Several next seasons were significantly less successful, but the mid-1980s brought breakthrough for Torpedo coached by Arkādijs Perkins. The first sign of it came in 1982 as Torpedo reached the Latvian Cup final. Still it came rather unexpected when Torpedo won the Latvian league in 1984. In 1986 the club won another league title, with players like Jurijs Andrejevs and Einārs Gņedojs on the squad. In 1987 Torpedo won the Latvian league for the third and final time, however it remained one of the top squads in Latvia before the country regained independence. In 1989 it won the Latvian Cup by beating Celtnieks Rīga in the final.

The first season in the independent Virslīga wasn't good for Torpedo which had financial difficulties and had to settle for the 8th place from 12 clubs. After the 1992 season the club changed its name to Vidus Rīga (and lost its connection with taxi driving).

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