Various Latvian players today played their matches around the world. Roberts Uldriķis is still looking for his first goal with the club, while in Italy Raimonds Krollis got to play his first official minutes in 2025. A contingent of Latvian players also had a game a level below in the Italian Serie D.
3. Liga, Germany
Roberts Uldriķis made his third appearance for the German 3. Liga side Arminia Bielefeld as they suffered a defeat against RW Essen, losing 1-2.
The forward, who moved to Germany in January, started for the second consecutive game. Arminia fell behind early in the match when Torben Musel scored the first goal in the 20th minute. In the second half, RW Essen doubled their lead with a strike from Arslan. However, 16 minutes later, Arminia managed to get one back, but it was too late for a comeback, and they ultimately lost the match.
Uldriķis played for 67 minutes before being substituted when the score was 0-2. Following this loss, Arminia Bielefeld dropped to 6th place in the league table, now eight points away from the leaders, who secure automatic promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.
Arminia Bielefeld’s next game will be on Friday when they travel to Sandhausen.
Premier League, Cambodia
In the Cambodian Premier League, Visakha FC played their first game after the departure of Latvian specialist Jurģis Kalns. With Artūrs Karašauskas for the first time on the bench, Visakha secured a victory against the bottom-of-the-table team, Kirivong Sok Sen Chey, winning 2-1.
Vitālijs Jagodinskis, another Latvian player for Visakha, was not part of the squad for this match. After this win, Visakha sits in 3rd place in the league table with 41 points from 19 games, six points behind the leaders, Phnom Penh Crown.
Serie C, Italy
Raimonds Krollis played his first minutes of 2025, coming on the field at the end of his Triestina’s Italian Serie C game, where they won 3-1 against Lumezzane. Krollis, who is on loan from Spezia, has struggled for playing time this season, making 14 appearances for Triestina. The team is slowly climbing out of the relegation zone, currently sitting in 17th place, just four points behind 15th place Pro Vercelli, which guarantees safety in Serie C for next season.
Serie D, Italy
In Italian Serie D, 19-year-old Mārtiņš Lormanis was an unused substitute as his team, Nuova Sondrio, defeated Ciliverghe Calcio 2-0. Another Latvian who moved to Sondrio in the winter, Kristofers Baumanis, was not named in the squad for this match.
Lormanis, who has been in Italy since 2021, has made 20 appearances in Serie D this season, scoring one goal. Thanks to this win, Sondrio moved up to 15th place in the Serie D Group B league table.
19-year-old goalkeeper Roberts Apsīts, who also plays in Italian Serie D, made his 12th appearance of the season as his team, Gelbison, played to a 3-3 draw against Atletico Uri. Apsīts, a product of the Valmiera FC academy who moved to Italy last September, has allowed 14 goals in the 12 league games he has played and has kept a clean sheet four times. Gelbison currently sits in 2nd place in the league table with 42 points after 22 games, three points behind leaders Cassino in Serie D Group G.
Latvian U19 national team defender Ņikita Martiņenko came on in the second half as his team, Brindisi, achieved a significant 3-0 victory over Palmese 1914 in a Serie D Group H match. Martiņenko, a former JDSF Alberts player, has made 19 appearances in Serie D this season. Ņikita’s Brindisi is currently at the bottom of the league table with just 10 points after 22 games.
Another young player in the Italian lower leagues, Kristofers Stičenko, played the full match as his team, Castrum Favara, suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat against Vibonese Calcio. The 19-year-old Stičenko made his seventh appearance for his new club in Serie D. Castrum Favara currently sits in 9th place in the Serie D Group I league table.
Former FK Metta forward Artjoms Puzirevskis, who plays for Manfredonia Calcio in Serie D, started and played 73 minutes in a 1-1 draw against Ugento. This was Puzirevskis’s third appearance for his club since joining in January. Manfredonia is currently in 15th place in the Serie D Group H league table with 18 points after 22 games.
Leonards Čevers was in goal for Virtus Francavilla during a 1-3 defeat to Acerrana. The 19-year-old goalkeeper, who played for FK Tukums 2000/Telms in the Latvian Virslīga two years ago, has made 17 Serie D league appearances, allowed 18 goals, and kept five clean sheets. His team, Virtus Francavilla, currently sits sixth in the league table with 34 points, as they battle for promotion to Serie C.
