Skonto FC

Did You Know?

• Skonto's 14 consecutive league titles set a European record across men's and women's football until KÍ Klaksvík's women's team matched it in 2013.
• Skonto's first major European victory came in 1994 when they defeated Aberdeen, former European Super Cup winners.

History

Skonto FC was founded in 1991 as Forums-Skonto and immediately began a run of 14 consecutive league championships, a streak that ended when they finished second to FK Liepājas Metalurgs in 2005. In 2006 the club placed third in a tight race with FK Liepājas Metalurgs and FK Ventspils. Skonto also won the Latvian Cup eight times, most recently in 2012. Early titles were contested fiercely with FK Olimpija and RAF Jelgava; the 1992 season required an additional game to break a tie. That same year Skonto debuted in the Champions League by defeating the Faroe Islands champions Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag. After the season, Aleksandrs Starkovs replaced Marks Zahodins as coach. For the next decade no domestic rival offered significant opposition; Skonto went two seasons unbeaten and often secured the title well before the season ended. In 1998 the team recorded its highest single-game goal tally, thrashing FK Valmiera 15–2. Skonto supplied many players to the Latvia national team, including Māris Verpakovskis, Marians Pahars, Aleksandrs Koliņko, Vitālijs Astafjevs, Igors Stepanovs, Imants Bleidelis, Juris Laizāns, Mihails Zemļinskis, Valentīns Lobaņovs, and Andrejs Rubins. A squad heavy with Skonto players helped Latvia qualify for UEFA Euro 2004. Defender Mihails Zemļinskis holds the club records for domestic appearances (252) and European cup appearances (52). Mihails Miholaps is the all-time top scorer with 155 goals in 216 domestic matches and 18 in 38 European cup ties. In July 2000 defender Igors Stepanovs was sold to Arsenal for about £1 million, and in January 2001 midfielder Juris Laizāns joined CSKA Moscow for £1.57 million, then the highest transfer fee received by a Latvian club.

Stadium

Skonto played at the Skonto Stadium, which opened in 2000 and seats 10,000 people. The venue also hosts Latvia national team matches and has held concerts by Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Aerosmith, and Metallica. The record football attendance was 9,500 for Latvia's 1–0 win over Turkey in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualification play-off on 15 November 2003. The stadium is now the home ground of Latvian Higher League club Riga FC.