Jurijs Žigajevs

Jurijs Žigajevs (born 14 November 1985) is a Latvian professional football manager and former player who is currently the chairman of Leevon PPK. He made 31 appearances for the Latvia national team.

Club career

Born in the then Leningrad, Russia Žigajevs moved to Latvia at a young age. In his youth he played for FK Ilūkste and later FK Zibens Zemessardze. In 2002, he signed a professional contract with FK Rīga, playing in the Latvian Higher League. He played there for 6 years, until 2008, making 118 appearances and scoring 17 goals. After, the club's bankrupt Žigajevs signed a contract with another Latvian Higher League club FK Ventspils. He spent 2 seasons there, playing 46 matches and scoring 24 goals. On 3 December 2010, Žigajevs joined Ekstraklasa club Widzew Łódź. Struggling with injuries all season, Žigajevs made only 5 league appearances for the Polish side and in June 2012 re-joined his former club FK Ventspils.

International career

Žigajevs made his international debut for Latvia on 13 October 2007 in a 2–4 win against Iceland. He collected 31 caps and scored 2 goals. He scored his first goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match victory against Luxembourg.

Position

Žigajevs started most games as a right winger.

International goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1. 24 May 2013 Doha, Qatar 1–3 Lost Friendly

Honours Ventspils Latvian Higher League: 2008, 2013, 2014 Latvian Cup: 2012–13, 2016–17 Baltic League: 2009–10