Raimonds Dambis
Encyclopedia
Raimonds Dambis is a former Latvia
n footballer
and football manager.
, Latvia
. As a teenager before World War II
he played with Dobele senior teams but after the war, with Daugava Dobele, he played from 1948 to 1949 in the top Latvian league. Later he joined Vulkāns Kuldīga
which was a higher level team than Daugava. After the 1952 season the technically skilled forward was invited to play with the strongest club of the Latvian league in the 1950s - Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
.
With Metalurgs Dambis won the Latvian league and the Latvian Cup in 1953 and 1954. While in Dobele
and Kuldīga
Dambis was known as a brilliant goalscorer, with Metalurgs he showed himself as a good passer for Miervaldis Drāznieks
and Gustavs Zviedris. He was one of the very few footballers who were not from Liepāja in the Metalurgs squad in the fifties. In 1955 Dambis played with the top Latvian club - Daugava Rīga and scored two goals in the first Soviet league. An injury made him retire from active football in 1955, so Dambis switched to coaching.
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...
n footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and football manager.
Playing biography
Dambis was born in DobeleDobele
Dobele is a town in the cultural region Zemgale in Latvia, and is located near the center of Latvia on the banks of the river Bērze. It received town rights in 1917 whilst being a part of the German occupied Courland Governorate during the First World War...
, 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...
. As a teenager before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he played with Dobele senior teams but after the war, with Daugava Dobele, he played from 1948 to 1949 in the top Latvian league. Later he joined Vulkāns Kuldīga
Vulkans Kuldiga
Vulkāns Kuldīga was a Latvian football club from Kuldīga. It was one of the leading clubs in Latvian football in 1950s and 1960s.-History:A football club by the name of Vulkāns appeared in Kuldīga in the early 1930s as a football club of the Vulkāns factory...
which was a higher level team than Daugava. After the 1952 season the technically skilled forward was invited to play with the strongest club of the Latvian league in the 1950s - Sarkanais Metalurgs Liepāja
FHK Liepajas Metalurgs
FK Liepājas Metalurgs is a Latvian football club, based in the city of Liepāja and playing in the Virslīga. They play at the Daugava Stadium...
.
With Metalurgs Dambis won the Latvian league and the Latvian Cup in 1953 and 1954. While in Dobele
Dobele
Dobele is a town in the cultural region Zemgale in Latvia, and is located near the center of Latvia on the banks of the river Bērze. It received town rights in 1917 whilst being a part of the German occupied Courland Governorate during the First World War...
and Kuldīga
Kuldiga
Kuldīga is a town in western Latvia. It is the center of Kuldīga municipality with a population of approximately 13,500.Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1368...
Dambis was known as a brilliant goalscorer, with Metalurgs he showed himself as a good passer for Miervaldis Drāznieks
Miervaldis Draznieks
Miervaldis Drāznieks was a Latvian footballer, one of the all time best goalscorers in the Latvian league.Almost for the entire his career Drāznieks played in Liepāja scoring 160 goals in the Latvian league. In his first match in the Latvian league in 1947 Drāznieks scored four goals. With Liepājas...
and Gustavs Zviedris. He was one of the very few footballers who were not from Liepāja in the Metalurgs squad in the fifties. In 1955 Dambis played with the top Latvian club - Daugava Rīga and scored two goals in the first Soviet league. An injury made him retire from active football in 1955, so Dambis switched to coaching.
Coaching biography
From 1958 to 1967 Dambis coached FK Tosmare (later renamed as FK Baltika), in 1961 winning the bronze medals of the Latvian league, in 1965 - the Latvian Cup. From 1968 to 1970 he was the head coach of Zvejnieks Liepāja, in the 1970s for several years he was assistant to Afanasijs Ptičkins in Zvejnieks. After a conflict with Ptičkins Dambis left the club never to work in football again.As player
- Latvian top league winner: 2 (1953, 1954)
- Latvian Cup winner: 2 (1953, 1954)