| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1975-08-16)16 August 1975 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Riga,Latvian SSR,USSR (nowRepublic of Latvia) | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1993 | Skonto | 1 | (0) |
| 1994 | Interskonto | 11 | (1) |
| 1994–1999 | Skonto | 118 | (24) |
| 1999–2002 | Southampton | 3 | (0) |
| 2002–2005 | Viborg | 57 | (6) |
| 2005–2006 | Grazer AK | 28 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Jūrmala | 26 | (7) |
| 2007–2008 | Liepājas Metalurgs | 22 | (1) |
| Total | 266 | (39) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995–2007 | Latvia | 106 | (10) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Imants Bleidelis (born 16 August 1975) is a Latvian former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder. He made 106 appearances for theLatvia national team.
Born inRiga,Latvian SSR,Soviet Union, Bleidelis started his career atSkonto in 1992. In 1994, he played for Inter Skonto, and then between 1994 and 1999 he played 128 games scoring 24 games for Skonto. Skonto then sold him to English club,Southampton who were then in thePremier League, for £650,000,[1] where he joined fellow countrymanMarians Pahars.[2] Bleidelis signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.[1] He played only three league games in three seasons, and after being allowed to go on trial in Denmark withSuperliga club,Viborg January 2003[2] Southampton released him on 26 January,[3] and two days later he signed a two-year contract with Viborg,[2][4] where he scored six goals in 57 appearances.
He left Viborg in winter 2004 after turning down a new contract. Despite offers from two Latvian clubs, Skonto andVenta, in 2005, he moved to Austria to play forAustrian Bundesliga clubGrazer AK, where he signed a two-year contract.[5] He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2005 in theUEFA Cup[6] against English clubMiddlesbrough.[7]
He moved back to Latvia in 2006 withJūrmala. In 2007, he moved toLiepājas Metalurgs. Bleidelis had his contract with Liepājas Metalurgs terminated on 7 July 2008, along with another Latvian international,Andrejs Rubins.
Bleidelis played over 100 international matches and scored ten goals for theLatvia national team. He made his debut on 19 May 1995 againstEstonia in theBaltic Cup. He played at theEuro 2004 finals and his 100th appearance came on 2 June 2007 againstSpain inUEFA European Championship qualifier.[8]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia | 1995 | 6 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 9 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 106 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 June 1997 | Daugava Stadium,Riga, Latvia |  Andorra | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | [10] |
| 2 | 4–1 | ||||||
| 3 | 6 February 1998 | National Stadium,Ta' Qali, Malta |  Georgia | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly | [11] |
| 4 | 26 June 1998 | Pärnu Rannastaadion,Pärnu, Estonia | Andorra | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [12] |
| 5 | 8 September 1999 | Boris Paichadze National Stadium,Tbilisi, Georgia | Georgia | 1–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | [13] |
| 6 | 30 April 2003 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  San Marino | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying | [14] |
| 7 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 8 | 10 September 2003 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Hungary | 2–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying | [15] |
| 9 | 30 April 2005 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | [16] |
| 10 | 8 June 2005 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | [17] |
Skonto[18]
Metalurgs
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