Andrejs Štolcers

Andrejs Štolcers (born 8 July 1974) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Born in Riga, Latvia, Štolcers started his career for Olimpija Rīga. He played there for two years from 1992 to 1994, making 53 league appearances and scoring 22 goals. In 1996, he was taken to Skonto Riga, where he showed his high scoring ability, scoring 15 goals in one season.

In 1997, he started his career abroad, joining the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, where he spent three years, playing 48 matches and scoring 14 goals. In July 2000, he left and joined yet another big club – this time the Russian team Spartak Moscow. He quickly scored five goals in 12 games and in December of the same year was signed by the English club Fulham. Štolcers joined Fulham when they were still in the second tier of English football. However, Fulham's victorious 2000–01 Division One campaign in his first season at the club got them promoted to the Premier League, and Štolcers scored two goals in the process against West Bromwich Albion (on his debut) and Watford. These were his only two league goals for the club, and he failed to score in the Premier League, making just ten appearances over three full seasons at the top level. He did however score twice in a League Cup tie against Bury in November 2002. In 2004, he joined Yeovil Town, playing 36 league matches and scoring 7 goals in all competitions. In 2005, he left England and signed a contract in Azerbaijan with FK Baku. He only played ten games for them and scored four goals.

In 2006, he returned to his native Latvia, rejoining Skonto Riga. In the upcoming season he scored three goals in 16 matches for them and was released. In 2007, he joined JFK Olimps Rīga as the only experienced player in the team to help youngsters with their development. He played 22 matches and scored five goals from 2007 to 2009.

In 2009, he once again left Latvia, unsuccessfully trying to get into the Yeovil Town squad after being on trial, and later joining Bath City. He scored one goal in eight matches for them, and in 2010, Štolcers joined Hayes & Yeading United, where he retired from playing football with one goal in nine matches in his final season.

International career Štolcers's international debut for the Latvia national team came in a 0–0 draw against Denmark on 26 August 1992. He represented his country 81 times and scored seven goals. He played in the 2004 European Championships, held in Portugal.

Managerial career After being released from Hayes and Yeading United in May 2010, Štolcers started his coaching career. Štolcers took part in an international project called Concept4Football, helping youngsters who are not older than 16 years to develop their football abilities. He was also named the club's Technical Director. He left the club on 1 June 2020 after his contract expired.

Career statistics Club

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

Honors Skonto FC Virslīga: 1996

Fulham Football League First Division: 2000–01

FC Baku Azerbaijan Top League: 2005–06

Individual Latvian League best midfielder: 1993