Jānis Gilis was the first general manager of Latvia national football team

Latvia national football team

The Latvian national football team is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia and represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. So far, they have never qualified for a FIFA World...

 after Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

 regained independence.

Playing career

His first senior team was ASK Riga

FK ASK

FK ASK Riga was a Latvian football club of the Latvian army, founded in 1923. In the 1920s and 1930s it was one of the leading clubs in Latvia. In 1940s it was disbanded, a new football club of the Soviet army was created in Riga under the name FK AVN, later AVN was renamed to ASK...

. From 1965 to 1968 Gilis played in the strongest Latvian team - FK Daugava Rīga

FK Daugava Riga

Previously FK Daugava 90 is a Latvian football club located in Riga and currently playing in Latvian First League. Formerly under the name Daugava the team was the headliner of Latvian football where played most of the countries top players but with the collapse of the Soviet Union the team ceased...

, after a conflict with the team manager he left the team for Zvejnieks Liepāja. The 1969 season Gilis started as a player in FK Lielupe but soon he got an offer to become a manager for Lielupe thus ending his playing career.

Coaching career

His first team as a manager was FK Lielupe, later he was an assisting manager for FK Daugava under Vadims Ulbergs

Vadims Ulbergs

Vadims Ulbergs was a Latvian football player and manager, one of the most respected veterans of Latvian football.-Biography:...

 (from 1977 to 1979), worked as a coach in the Riga school of football, and manager of FK Pārdaugava reserves squad. In 1991 Gilis was appointed as the first general manager of the Latvian national football team after regaining stately independence. The first match under his management for Latvian team was played on April 8, 1992 against Romania

Romania national football team

The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 (0:1). Under Gilis Latvia participated in qualifying for two World cups

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 and one European championship

UEFA European Football Championship

The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...

. The first years for the national team were tough although under Gilis Latvia got some notable wins (1:0 against Northern Ireland, 3:2 against Austria) and also a couple of historical draws (0:0 against Spain and European champions Denmark). Gilis' son Gints Gilis had 5 caps for Latvia under his father. After the work with the national team Gilis managed Liepājas Metalurgs but in 1999 - FK Rīga

FK Riga

FK Rīga was a Latvian football club based in Riga. They played in the Virslīga, the top division in Latvian football. They played their home games at Latvijas Universitates Stadions. In 1999, its first year of existence, the club won the Latvian Cup, beating Skonto at the final. The club also...

 which under Gilis won the Latvian Cup in the first year of the clubs existence. Gilis died on 13 September 2000.

Honours

• Baltic Cup
  • 1993
    Baltic Cup 1993
    The 1993 Baltic Cup football competition took place from July 2 – July 4 at the Kalevi Stadium in Pärnu, Estonia. It was the third annual competition of the three Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – since they regained their independence from the Soviet Union in...