Vitālijs Astafjevs
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vitālijs Astafjevs | ||
| Date of birth | 3 April 1971 | ||
| Place of birth |
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union (now Republic of Latvia) |
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| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Latvia (assistant manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1992 | Daugava Rīga | 26 | (11) |
| 1992–1996 | Skonto | 99 | (43) |
| 1996–1997 | Austria Vienna | 26 | (1) |
| 1997–1999 | Skonto | 55 | (17) |
| 2000–2003 | Bristol Rovers | 108 | (16) |
| 2003–2004 | Admira Wacker | 28 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Rubin Kazan | 30 | (10) |
| 2006–2008 | Skonto | 26 | (6) |
| 2009 | RFS/Olimps | 14 | (1) |
| 2009 | Ventspils | 5 | (0) |
| 2010 | Skonto | 14 | (2) |
| Total | 431 | (109) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1992–2010 | Latvia | 167 | (16) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2010–2014 | Skonto Riga (assistant manager) | ||
| 2012 | Skonto-2 | ||
| 2013 | Latvia U-21 (assistant manager) | ||
| 2013– | Latvia (assistant manager) | ||
| 2014–2016 | FK Jelgava | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 October 2014. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2014 |
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Vitālijs Astafjevs (rus. Виталий Астафьев, born 3 April 1971 in Riga) is a Latvian former football midfielder. Currently he is the assistant manager of Latvia national football team.
In his playing career, he won nine Latvian championships with Skonto Riga. He also played abroad for clubs in Austria, England and Russia. At international level, he also captained his nation at UEFA Euro 2004. With 167 caps for Latvia, Astafjevs held the European record for the most international matches played, until being overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon in 2017; he is currently the joint sixth-most capped male footballer in history, alongside Iker Casillas.
Astafjevs started his professional career with Skonto Riga in 1992, shortly after Latvia had regained its independence from the Soviet Union. He played there for 5 seasons, until 1996, becoming a vital first eleven player. They won the league in each of his first fohr seasons. Twice, in 1995 and 1996, Astafjevs was named the Latvian footballer of the year. In 1995, atypically for a midfielder, he became the top scorer of the league with 19 goals in 28 matches. In 1996, he moved abroad for the first time in his career and joined Austria Vienna in Austria. He played there just for a season and then, in 1997, returned to Skonto. He played there for three seasons, and won three more league titles. He went abroad again in 2000, this time joining Football League Division Two side Bristol Rovers in England.
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