Igors Stepanovs
Stepanovs playing for Latvia
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Igors Nauris Stepanovs | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Ogre, Latvia | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender (retired) | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
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Latvia U-17 (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1993 | Skonto Riga | 9 | (0) |
| 1994 | Interskonto | 20 | (2) |
| 1995–2000 | Skonto Riga | 129 | (11) |
| 2000–2004 | Arsenal | 17 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → K.S.K. Beveren (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Grasshopper | 50 | (0) |
| 2006 | FK Jūrmala | 9 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Esbjerg fB | 17 | (1) |
| 2008 | FC Shinnik Yaroslavl | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | RFS/Olimps | 7 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | FK Jūrmala | 25 | (1) |
| Total | 306 | (15) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1995–2011 | Latvia | 100 | (4) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2010–2011 | FK Jūrmala (playing assistant coach) | ||
| 2012– | Latvia U-17 | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 April 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 April 2017 |
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Igors Nauris Stepanovs (born 21 January 1976 in Ogre) is a former Latvian football defender, currently the manager of Latvia national under-17 football team. Stepanovs has played 100 international matches and scored 4 goals for the Latvia national team. He made his debut in 1995, and played at Euro 2004.
He started his club career at Skonto-Metāls (now Skonto Riga). He made his debut in senior football at early age, being just 16 years old. Together with Skonto Riga he won 7 national titles. In 1995, he made his debut for Latvia national team and soon he became regular member. While playing with Skonto, Stepanovs played against teams, like Inter Milano, Barcelona and Chelsea. In few games against such football grands, Skonto and Stepanovs showed good performance. In 2000, he attracted interest from many European teams.
In 2000, Arsenal captain Tony Adams was injured, prompting Arsène Wenger to sign Stepanovs for a transfer fee of £1.35 million. He started the season well, scoring a goal for Arsenal in a 2-1 League Cup defeat against Ipswich Town on his debut. His playing time grew until a match against Manchester United, when both sides were battling for the Premier League title. Arsenal lost this game 6-1 and their chances of winning the title were hit. After this disappointing performance, Stepanovs played only once again that season in a game against Manchester City. He recovered to make 6 Premier League appearances the following season as Arsenal won the 2001–02 FA Premier League. 6 would not normally be enough to earn a medal but he was an unused substitute on the day Arsenal clinched the title against Manchester United at Old Trafford, ironically the scene of his lowest point the season before. Arsenal also won the FA Cup in 2002 and 2003 but Stepanovs was left out of both match day squads. He contributed to their 2002 triumph when featuring in a game against Newcastle United during their run.
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