Sergejs Semjonovs is a 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...

n football

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...

 manager and a former footballer.

Playing career

Sergejs Semjonovs was one of the most reliable defenders in Daugava Rīga coached by Jānis Skredelis in mid 1980s when the club was one of the strongest sides in the Soviet first league. He played 9 seasons with Daugava, capping 340 appearances and scoring 3 goals. After the collapse of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 Semjonovs played for some time with a club in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, in 1995 he retired from playing and switched to coaching.

Coaching career

In 1995 Semjonovs was appointed the second coach of Amstrig Riga (later - Daugava), after four years he left for FK Ventspils

FK Ventspils

FK Ventspils is a Latvian football club, based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils city and is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. FK Ventspils plays in the Latvian Virsliga. They are the current champions of the tournament....

 where he worked for six seasons as coach of the reserves squad. Before the 2005 Virslīga

Virsliga

-Past Virslīga winners:-Top scorers:-Riga football league winners:* 1910 Union Riga* 1911 British FC Riga* 1912 Union Riga* 1913 British FC Riga* 1914 British FC Riga* 1915 British FC Riga-Champions of Latvia before Virslīga:* 1922 Ķeizarmežs...

 season Semjonovs was appointed head coach of FK Ventspils but in the middle of the season he left the club. He worked with the reserves of 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...

 until middle of the 2006 season when he was selected head coach. In October 2007 when the results of FK Rīga were getting worse, there were rumours in the Latvian press that Semjonovs would be asked to leave FK Rīga, however with Semjonovs as head coach 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...

 achieved its best placement in Virslīga so far by finishing third as the best Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

 club in front of Skonto FC

Skonto FC

Skonto FC is a Latvian football club, founded in 1991. The club plays at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Skonto won the Virsliga in the first 14 seasons of the league's existence , and often provides the core of the Latvia national football team...

.