Former Latvian national team goalkeeper Pāvels Šteinbors will bring the curtain down on his professional football career this Sunday, his club FC RFS announced today.
The 40-year-old shot-stopper will make his final appearance in the Latvian Virslīga when RFS host FK Grobiņa in what will be his 50th official match for the club. Since joining the team in the summer of 2022, Šteinbors has played a key role in RFS’s success, helping them capture two Virslīga titles and one Latvian Cup. He was also part of the squad that reached the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage in the 2022/23 season, featuring in all six group stage matches.
Before returning to Latvia, Šteinbors enjoyed an impressive spell abroad – particularly in Poland, where he became a fan favorite. Over eight seasons in the Ekstraklasa, he represented Arka Gdynia, Górnik Zabrze, and Jagiellonia Białystok, making 190 appearances and keeping 44 clean sheets. His crowning moment came with Arka Gdynia, where he won the Polish Cup in 2017 and lifted the Polish Super Cup twice.
On the international stage, Šteinbors earned 31 caps for Latvia. After serving for years as backup to Andris Vaņins, he became the national team’s first-choice goalkeeper in 2019 and held the spot for several years.
Throughout his career, Šteinbors also represented Liepājas Metalurgs and FK Jūrmala in Latvia, while his international journey took him as far as South Africa with Golden Arrows and Cyprus with Nea Salamis.
