Māris Verpakovskis

Latvia

Born in Liepāja, Latvia, Verpakovskis started his career in hometown club FK Liepājas Metalurgs, for which he played from 1995 till 2001 and scored ten goals in 59 appearances. In 2001 Verpakovskis joined another Latvian side, Skonto Riga, where he scored 41 goals in 77 appearances. This period of time is known for being the peak of Verpakovskis' career. His performances were being recognized by many top European clubs, and in late 2003 he signed a contract with the Ukrainian top team Dynamo Kyiv.

Dynamo Kyiv

Soon after joining, Verpakovskis quickly earned his spot in the starting 11, scoring five goals in 11 appearances. He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal against the Turkish club Trabzonspor, which helped Dynamo Kyiv qualify for the next round and later Verpakovskis also scored a goal against Real Madrid in the group stage, helping to earn a 2–2 draw in Kyiv. Verpakovskis scored a total of three goals in the Champions League. After being honored as Dynamo Kyiv's best player of 2004 by team fans his career slowly started to decline, majorly due to a conflict with Dynamo's former coach Yozhef Sabo. From that time Verpakovkis had been loaned out for several consecutive seasons, as his contract with Dynamo was still active.

Loans

In 2007 Verpakovskis made a promising move to Spain, after he was signed on a loan deal by Getafe. Amid high competition for a place in the starting line-up, Verpakovskis scored one goal in 13 appearances.…

Club

International goals

Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Verpakovskis goal.

Verpakovskis made his debut for the Latvia national team on 9 September 1999 in a 2–1 victory over Greece, scoring in that match. He rose to international prominence as the highest goalscorer for Latvia in their successful UEFA Euro 2004 qualification campaign, with six goals in ten matches. He scored once for Latvia in Euro 2004 and nearly scored what could have been a candidate for goal of the tournament against Germany, dribbling on a weaving run from the halfway line and beating four German players. Verpakovskis was Latvia's top scorer in FIFA World Cup 2006 qualification, UEFA Euro 2008 qualification, as well as the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualification. In September 2013, Verpakovskis won his 100th cap for the Latvia national team in a 1–0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Greece. On 29 May 2014, Verpakovskis played his last international match as Latvia beat Estonia in the semi-finals of the 2014 Baltic Cup. He was symbolically substituted by Edgars Gauračs just 13 minutes into the game and honoured by his teammates, national team's staff and supporters. After his retirement the national team's manager Marians Pahars referred to Verpakovskis as "a national team legend". All in all, internationally Verpakovskis has been capped 104 times for Latvia, scoring 29 goals. He is Latvia's all-time best scorer. Verpakovskis is regarded as the most popular Latvian footballer having surpassed Marians Pahars as his country's most recognisable player. He is the leading all-time top goal…

Verpakovskis is the son of Ilmārs Verpakovskis, a Latvian footballer active from 1979 until 1996. Verpakovskis was managed by his father who was player-manager for FK Liepājas Metalurgs in 1994. The Verpakovskis are the only father-son pair to both play for the Latvia national team.