Aleksandrs Cauņa (Latvian pronunciation:[ˈt͡sauɲa]; born 19 January 1988) is a Latvian former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.
.jpg) Cauņa withCSKA Moscow in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1988-01-19)19 January 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Place of birth | Daugavpils,Latvian SSR,Soviet Union (nowRepublic of Latvia) | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2002 | Dinaburg | ||
| 2002–2005 | Skonto Riga | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Olimps Riga | 10 | (2) |
| 2006–2011 | Skonto Riga | 77 | (16) |
| 2009 | →Watford (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2011 | →CSKA Moscow (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2017 | CSKA Moscow | 56 | (3) |
| 2017–2018 | RFS | 2 | (0) |
| 2020 | FK Jelgava | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 155 | (22) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2015 | Latvia | 45 | (12) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editClub
editBorn inDaugavpils, at youth level Cauņa played forDinaburg, being brought toSkonto Riga system at the age of 14 in 2002, where he spent three years. In 2006, he joined theLatvian First League sideOlimps Riga, playing 10 matches and scoring 2 goals. In 2006, he re-joined Skonto Riga and got a place in the starting eleven. He was named the best youth player in Latvia despite playing only halfthe season in 2006.
In January 2008 Cauņa was invited to join thePremier League clubChelsea on trial and he trained with the club's reserves.[1] After the 2008 season, Cauņa was on trials at several Premier League clubs, includingBlackburn Rovers andSunderland, but any potential move eventually fell through as managersPaul Ince andRoy Keane left the clubs.[2][3]
On 2 February 2009, he joined EnglishChampionship club Watford on loan until the end of the2008–09 season, with a view to a permanent move.[4] On 3 March he made his debut, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute forJon Harley in the 2–1 defeat toPlymouth Argyle atHome Park. Cauņa scored his first Watford goal on his full debut for the club, firing a powerful half-volley in a 2–2 draw withSouthampton atVicarage Road on 7 April 2009.[5] He returned to Skonto at the end of the season.
On 25 August 2010, he went on trial with EnglishPremier League sideBlackpool, playing in theirLancashire Senior Cup tie againstMorecambe later the same day atBloomfield Road, but did not stay with the club.[6]
CSKA Moscow
editAt the start of 2011 Cauņa went on trial with theRussian Premier League sidePFC CSKA Moscow, and on 1 February 2011 he was loaned to the club for four months.[7] He made his debut on 17 February in theUEFA Europa League match againstPAOK.[8]
On 27 June 2011, CSKA bought out his rights from Skonto and he signed a five-year contract with CSKA.[9] On 18 October 2011, Cauņa scored his first goal in theUEFA Champions League group stages in a 3–0 victory overTrabzonspor.[10]
Cauņa scored his firstRussian Premier League goal for CSKA on 19 August 2012 in a match againstMordovia Saransk. On 26 August 2012, Cauņa scored his second RPL goal againstKrylia Sovetov Samara – a powerful blast from 30 metres,[11] that was later highly rated and put him in the team of the week.[12] On 26 September Cauņa and CSKA matched up againstFC Tom Tomsk at the 1/16 stage ofRussian Cup. CSKA came out with 1–0 win, with Cauņa being a goalscorer. He made an undeniable shot with left foot from outside the penalty area.
Cauņa leftCSKA Moscow by mutual consent on 11 January 2017.[13]
FK Jelgava
editOn 28 December 2018, it was announced that Cauna had signed withFK Jelgava as a coach, but he also wanted to return on the pitch some time as a player.[14]
International career
editCauņa was a vital member of theLatvia national team since his international debut in 2007. He scored his first two international goals in 2009 – in the2010 FIFA World Cup qualification matches againstLuxembourg (a 4–0 win) andSwitzerland (a 2–2 draw). His third goal came on 11 August 2010 in a 4–1 friendly match defeat toCzech Republic. It was his first appearance after recovering from a serious injury and being out of football for almost six months. On 12 October he scored a last-minutebicycle kick to level againstGeorgia in aUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match. In 2008, he helped the team win theBaltic Cup.[15] As of 3 November 2013 he had made 40 appearances for Latvia, scoring 11 goals.[16]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Skonto Riga | 2006 | LMT Virslīga | 10 | 2 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 11 | 2 | ||||
| 2007 | 22 | 4 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 23 | 4 | ||||||
| 2008 | 22 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 22 | 1 | ||||||
| 2009 | 11 | 4 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 13 | 4 | ||||||
| 2010 | 12 | 5 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 5 | ||||||
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 77 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 16 | ||||
| Watford (loan) | 2008–09 | Championship | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 1 | ||
| CSKA Moscow (loan) | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| CSKA Moscow | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 31 | 4 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 56 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 6 | ||
| RFS | 2017 | Latvian Higher League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| FK Jelgava | 2020 | Latvian Higher League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 145 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171 | 23 | ||
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia | 2007 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 44 | 11 | |
- Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cauņa goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 March 2009 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 9 September 2009 | Skonto Stadium,Riga, Latvia |  Switzerland | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 11 August 2010 | Stadion u Nisy,Liberec, Czech Republic |  Czech Republic | 1–4 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 4 | 12 October 2010 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Georgia | 1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 5 | 4 June 2011 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Israel | 1–2 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 6 | 2 September 2011 | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium,Tbilisi, Georgia | Georgia | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 7 | 6 September 2011 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Greece | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 8 | 1 June 2012 | Võru Stadium,Võru, Estonia |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2012 Baltic Cup |
| 9 | 7 September 2012 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia | Greece | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 22 March 2013 | Rheinpark Stadion,Vaduz, Liechtenstein |  Liechtenstein | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 10 October 2015 | Laugardalsvöllur,Reykjavík, Iceland |  Iceland | 2–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
Non-FIFA International goals
edit| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 February 2011 | Mardan Sports Complex,Antalya, Turkey |  Bolivia | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Honours
editSkonto Riga
CSKA Moscow
Latvia
Individual
- Latvian Higher League young footballer of the season:2006
- Latvian Young Footballer of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008
- Latvian Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012
References
edit- ^"Cauņa aizvada pirmo treniņu 'Chelsea' otrās komandas sastāvā". 24 January 2008.
- ^"Inss atlaists, Cauņas izredzes sarūk". 16 December 2008.
- ^"Cauņa: "Pēc Kīna aiziešanas situācija ir bēdīga"". 5 December 2008.
- ^Smith, Frank (2 February 2009)."Watford sign midfielders Don Cowie and Aleksandrs Cauna".Watford Observer. Retrieved25 August 2010.
- ^"Watford 2-2 Southampton".BBC. 7 April 2009. Retrieved30 September 2013.
- ^"TEAM NEWS FROM BLOOMFIELD ROAD".Blackpool F.C. 25 August 2010.Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved25 August 2010.
- ^"Cauņa spēlēs Maskavas "CSKA"". sportacentrs.com. February 2011. Retrieved9 December 2011.
- ^"Cauņa debitē "CSKA" ar aktīvu līdzdarbošanos vārtu guvumā". sportacentrs.com. 17 February 2011. Retrieved9 December 2011.
- ^"Цауня подписал контракт с ПФК ЦСКА".PFC CSKA Moscow. 27 June 2011. Archived fromthe original on 26 March 2012.
- ^"B grupa: Cauņa gūst vārtus Čempionu līgā". sportacentrs.com. 18 October 2011. Retrieved9 December 2011.
- ^"Cauņa gūst vārtus otrajā Krievijas Premjerlīgas spēlē pēc kārtas". 26 August 2012.
- ^"Cauņa simboliskajā izlasē, Višņakovam debija Krievijā". 28 August 2012.
- ^"Александр Цауня покинул ПФК ЦСКА".pfc-cska.com (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 11 January 2017. Retrieved11 January 2017.
- ^Cauņa pievienojas FK «Jelgava» treneru kolektīvam, grib būt arī futbolists, lsm.lv, 28 December 2018
- ^"LFF: Baltijas Kauss". Lff.lv. 30 May 2008. Retrieved9 December 2011.
- ^"LFF: SPĒLĒTĀJI". Lff.lv. Archived fromthe original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved9 December 2011.
- ^"A.Cauņa".uk.soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved1 August 2015.
- ^ab"Aleksandrs Cauņa".National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved11 January 2017.
External links
edit- Aleksandrs Cauna player profile at CSKA Moscow official website
- Aleksandrs Cauna player profile at skontofc.lv
- Aleksandrs Cauna player profile at watfordfc.com
- Aleksandrs Cauņa at Soccerbase
- Aleksandrs Cauņa at National-Football-Teams.com
- Aleksandrs Cauņa at Soccerway
- Aleksandrs Cauņa player profile at lff.lv