Vitālijs Maksimenko today announced via his Instagram account that he has ended his 16-year professional football career.
The 34-year-old defender, who played for Eolikos in the Greek second league and made 16 appearances last season, started his professional career in 2008 with Daugava Rīga. After that, he moved to Skonto Rīga, with whom he won the Virslīga title.
The big move came in the winter of 2013 when Vitālijs, who had just turned 22, joined current Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. In almost three years at the club, he mostly spent time on loan, playing for Yeovil Town, Kilmarnock, and VVV-Venlo.
After his contract ended with Brighton, Vitālijs returned to Latvia for a very short spell by joining FK Liepāja for two games and then moving to Austrian Bundesliga side SV Mattersburg, with whom he played for two seasons. Then, he spent a season in Poland, but in 2018, he went to play for Slovenian NK Olimpija Ljubljana. There, he had his best success playing abroad, becoming the two-time Slovenian Cup title.
In 2020, Vitālijs tried his luck in Asia by joining Japanese second-league side Omiya Ardija, but after a season, he returned to the place where he felt the most comfortable—Ljubljana. After a half-season spell there, Vitālijs returned to Latvia by joining FC RFS, with whom he made 22 appearances in 2022.
Vitālijs earned 54 caps with the Latvian National team. His debut came against Japan in 2013, when he came off the bench in a loss—0:3. His last game was in 2024 when newly appointed manager Paolo Nicolato decided to call him up, and he played in a draw against Liechtenstein—1:1.
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DENZXoLiox6/?img_index=1